Happiness

Rating:
Summary: Better than "Why I Hate Canadians"
Review: "Happiness" (I refuse to put in the lame TM joke that Ferguson seems to think is entirely original when it's a joke most software developers stopped thinking was funny by about 1996) is not entirely bad although highly reminiscent of Nick Hornby's "How to be Good" (an entirely better book). "Happiness" is about what happens when a self-help book (or regime as in the case of Hornby's novel) works all too well. Alas, Ferguson's execution leaves a tiny bit to be desired. Ferguson's main character is, get this, an editor at a publishing company. Ha ha. Oh what devastatingly original wit. To reference Hornby again, in Hornby's novel "Fever Pitch" he pokes a nice bit of fun at authors who only seem to be able to write about being writers. Half of "Happiness" ends up reading like an inside joke. Yes, yes editors are lamentable creatures, a joke Ferguson never seems to get tired of dragging out ever chapter.

Okay we get it, eh?

The book has some merit, however. It is genuinely funny in parts. The last 20% of the book does begin to draw you in and moves at a nice clip as the main characters begin to unravel the mystery of the self-help book's authorship. Ferguson does make a great observation that the whole self help industry is so loaded with moronic crap that it's a wonder it has never collapsed into self-parody. There's a minor background theme in this book about generational warfare between Gen X, Boomers, Gen Y, and the WWII "The Greatest" Generation. Ferguson generally doesn't develop it much, which is good because I'm sure he doesn't have a lot original to say. It's just nice that it's there, like a twist of lemon in a Coke.

Still, I'm not sure why he seems to poke so much fun at editors as none of his books ever seem to have had much of an editorial hand in them. Ferguson's actual prose is reasonably weak. Ferguson would be much funnier if he had a good editor make him pour some cold blood on his prose, get rid of the inside jokes, and just generally tighten up what reads at times like a man who pats himself on the back every time he writes a paragraph. There's a couple glaring blunders that passed by Ferguson and his editors. The action takes place in an American city (unidentified in the book but based on either New York or Chicago). The main character visits a motel. The sign outside the motel boasts all the rooms have "Colour TV". Okay that's the way they spell color in Canada but an American motel wouldn't spell it like that with the crazy Canadian u. And then Ferguson's character consumes Smarties, an M&M variant available only in Canada. Natch. On a more obscure level, Ferguson seems to believe Unix is a programming language. One of his characters codes in Unix. Will, you code "for" Unix, not "in" Unix. Unix is an operating system, like Windows. You don't write Windows. You write C, C++, C# for Windows, for Unix, for Mac...

What made me think Ferguson was deserving of a home style beating, however, is the final section of his book is titled Ragnarok. He puts in a mocked up little note, onstensibly from his own editor, asking "Ragnarok isn't this a bit obscure?" Ummm. No. I would like to think people who bother to read CanLit have at least a passing knowledge of Norse mythology and could identify the term as the Norse version of Armageddon.

"Happiness" ended up winning the Leacock medal for humor the year it was published and it's hard to believe there weren't funnier works of fiction published that year in Canada. Still, compared to some other self-referential dreck out passing as comedy (like there like Peter Farrelly's "The Comedy Writer") it's not half bad.

Rating:
Summary: Help Yourself to Some Novel Self-Help!
Review: "Happiness" by Will Ferguson dishes out rough truths with plenty of pleasure. This is a satirical look at the perils of having all your wishes come true through a wonderful "What If" book. Just what if we all became happy and satisfied to the point of bliss? Would we have a happy and blissful world? Would we live happily ever after?

The answers to the above questions are fully answered through the life of Edwin de Valu, the main character in this very surprising funny novel. Edwin, a self help book editor, finds himself being a catalyst for the ultimate self help book that turns his publishing house into a bliss factory. The publication of "What I Learned on the Mountain Top" by Tupak Sorie becomes the last book and philosophy needed by human kind and the results had me laughing out loud, which is rare in a book anymore.

This book will have you thinking deeply about how our economy is so dependent on our ability to be fragile imperfect consumers caught up in self-image and that dream of becoming all we can be. The saving power of humor is what drives this story to a socially pointed ending. While revealing the foibles of the Self Help movement and industry, it clarifies what is really meaningful to human beings, our ability to feel emotions on all levels, good and bad, our ability to laugh at ourselves, and most importantly, to be passionate about life.

It is almost like Will Ferguson has read all the self help books ever written, has put them through a publishing mock grinder, took the left over pieces and created a truly honest naked look at our present post modern selves in a most humorous innovative way. Strangely, this book may inadvertently become the ultimate self-help book his novel is warning us about! If it does, don't worry, be happy. :)

Rating:
Summary: Intelligent rather than clever
Review: A good first novel from Ferguson, who offers intelligent comments on life and people. We follow Edwin de Valu, mediocre editor, through the ordeal of finding and publishing the ultimate self-help book: the one that works!

And here we already have the best things about Happiness(TM)--its title and premise. The rest of it is good, but not as good. Ferguson comments intelligently but not cleverly. Some of the supporting characters are colorful, in general they are well developed, and the plot is consistent. Everything is good, polished, well presented, and so on and so forth. But the novel feels contrived, it doesn't have the wit of Ferguson's non-fiction books.

On the minus side, Ferguson is a little preachy. He gives his own recipe for happiness, a seize-the-moment philosophy of life. Ferguson probably didn't intend this ironical twist, but his attack on self-help literature can be read as the author's advice to the world on how people can be happy, i.e. get away from self-help schemes. Sounds like self-help to me.

I so wanted to love this novel! I've been a Ferguson junkie ever since I picked "Bastards and Boneheads" as a quick travel read; he showed me the light and I am a born-again Canadian because of him. So maybe I expected too much. As it is, I moderately liked it. Three stars.

Rating:
Summary: sardonic, real, yet somehow still gentle and endearing
Review: A wonderful novel. If you want a plot synopsis, then skip this and read another customer review, editorial review, or the book jacket. The bottom line is if you are tired of trite, unsincere, Oprah book club crap, read this. The humor is dark, the subject matter can be scary (especially for the intellectually, emotionally, or materialistically arrogant), and the conclusion is not presented in a nice, neatly wrapped package. So if you want a book that is scathingly funny, entertaining, thought-provoking, and pertinent to our times, read "Happiness".

Rating:
Summary: A Great Read!
Review: Although I haven't finished the book yet, I want to say that I am enjoying it and you should read it too. I first picked up the book out of interest, wondering what an editor of a self help book would do if the self help book worked. I soon found myself caught up in the characters and had to keep peeking inside the book to find out what Edwin and May were up to. I laughed out loud and had a feeling from the beginning that I would enjoy this book. I'm just over a third of the way through, but feel confident enough to write a note here saying that, "It's good." I'm sure the author will continue to entertain me throughout the rest of the book with his wit, and style, and characterization. Thanks, Will for a good laugh and an enjoyable time.

Rating:
Summary: Live love learn...
Review: An enjoyable read.

An excellent poke at us. At our civilisation. At our need for cures for how we are and how we live. At the consequences of the cures.

Now excuse me while I go and shift my paradigms, sharpen my saw, kick over the beehive,...

4/5 - a good read.



Rating:
Summary: Happiness when the book ends
Review: Beyond the obvious, the lighthearted approach and the humor, already stated in most reviews, there seems to be a philosophical approach. There is room in the discussion for some deeper thought. Is Will Ferguson the Jean-Paul Sartre of the 21st century?

Rating:
Summary: Will ferguson, philosopher
Review: Beyond the obvious, the lighthearted approach and the humor, already stated in most reviews, there seems to be a philosophical approach. There is room in the discussion for some deeper thought. Is Will Ferguson the Jean-Paul Sartre of the 21st century?

Rating:
Summary: Another awesome book from Ferguson
Review: Could Will Ferguson get any funnier? I have to admit, as a long time Ferguson fan, I was certain he wouldn't be able to transfer his wit to the fiction genre. I was thrilled to find myself proved wrong. Happiness proves Ferguson is damn funny, whether he's skewering policitians or publishers. Buy this book.

Rating:
Summary: Smile!
Review: Cynical, sardonic, sarcastic, satirical - if these words intrigue you, then "Happiness" will surely make you smile.

The book's entire concept is based on a single statement made to the author about how an effective self-help book would actually cause more problems than it would solve. With this nugget of cynicism as its backbone, the delightfully satirical tale unfolds.

Fiction novels are typically based in reality, but "Happiness" chronicles an imaginary world "in the near future, say, 10 minutes from now." Although it can be difficult at times to grasp any sense of realism in this frame of reference, it ultimately works because Ferguson effectively draws readers into his sarcastic and skewed vision.

Self-help books may seem like an easy target to make fun of, but Ferguson takes his cynicism a step further by lampooning society in general. In the process, he makes interesting points about a world without vices and insecurities. What would happen if we quit worrying about our appearance or lost interest in movies and sports? Would the world really be a Happy place? Ferguson's novel addresses this question with enough wittiness and sarcasm to keep you blissfully entertained.