"The Age of Nice is at hand, and there's nothing we can do about it." But the protagonist of Will Ferguson's Happiness, terminally luckless book editor Edwin de Valu, does want to do something. In fact, he feels obliged to put a stop to the Age of Nice, because it's all his fault. Desperate to save a flagging career in the world of self-help publishing, Edwin has staked everything on a dubious, thousand-page manuscript bearing the motto "Live! Love! Learn!" Promising its readers endless wealth, effortless weight loss, and everlasting happiness, the book has become a runaway success. And that's where Edwin's problems really begin. There's the murderous cartel of drug and tobacco barons who want Edwin's head on a plate, as well as the fact that misery, cynicism, irrational hatred, draught beer--all the things that once made Edwin's life as an underdog bearable--have become outlawed. It's down to one man to save the globe from the tyranny of the group hug! But can Edwin do it before the world economy melts down and a bestselling serial killer called Dr. Ethics enacts his own deadly revenge?

It has been said--possibly by the sort of homily-peddling guru that Ferguson attacks so masterfully in his debut novel--that there are many routes to happiness. The general effect of reading this razor-sharp satire on the self-help industry is to understand that these routes lead us nowhere, except perhaps to a cul-de-sac called Hell. This would be depressing to realize, except that Happiness clubs its readers into submission with the sort of zany, almost otherworldly wit that makes us profoundly glad to be alive. --Matthew Baylis, Amazon.co.uk


From Publishers Weekly
Though it might seem redundant to satirize the self-help industry, Canadian writer Ferguson (Hokkaido Highway Blues) makes a heroic effort in his first novel, combining sitcom-like gags about the publishing industry with the truism that if a self-help book ever actually succeeded in its goals, it would wipe out its own market. The massive and horrible What I Learned on the Mountain, by Rajee Tupak Soiree, arrives in Edwin de Valu's slush pile and is promptly tossed in the garbage by the hapless editor. However, Mr. Mead, owner of Panderic Books, needs a self-help book to fill a hole in the fall catalogue. Edwin volunteers Tupak's magnum opus, then sets out to retrieve it from the waste system and edit it, a process that proves to be unsettling. Edwin's editorial ordeals are mitigated by his immediate boss, May Weatherhill, with whom he is carrying on an intermittent affair, although he is married to the insufferable Jenni. Eventually, the book comes out and becomes a sleeper hit: soon all of America is quitting smoking, drinking, drugging and even reading (except for Tupak's oeuvre). Edwin and Mr. Mead are so horrified by the new world they have helped create that, accompanied by Mr. Ethics, a former Panderic self-help author who is on the lam from prison, they resolve to find and kill Tupak. This is a richly imagined and at times darkly humorous book, but Ferguson's felicities are undermined by the clunky obviousness of his biggest jokes.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


Book Description

Why would there be a contract out on Edwin de Valu's life? Edwin -- the wiry low-level editor at Panderic Press. Why has rage disappeared from the roads and McDonald's gone alfalfa? How come everyone seems so damn happy? And most importantly, who, or what, is Tupak Soiree?

When an enormous self-help manuscript lands on Edwin's desk, it's headed for the trash. Edwin's cynicism of self-help books, coupled with his filthy mood that morning, results in him dismissing Tupak Soiree's What I Learned on the Mountain and using it as a doorstop. However, Tupak's manuscript is unique -- a self-help book that actually works. Before Edwin knows it, a chain of events begins that affects not only his own life but the world at large.

For those who choke on Chicken Soup for the Soul or have choice words for Dr. Phil, Will Ferguson offers up a killer dose of Happiness™ -- a masterpiece of comic fiction.


About the Author
Will Ferguson is the author of several books, including the critically acclaimed travel memoir Hokkaido Highway Blues; Hitchhiking japan; and the controversial cultural critique Why I Hate Canadians. His first three books were plucked from the slush pile. Happiness#8482; is his first novel and has already been translated into more than a dozen languages around the world. He lives in Calgary, in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review from Discover Great New Writers
Don't look too closely for the meaning of life in this fast-paced, remorselessly sharp-witted novel. Just when you think you've got it figured out, along comes Happiness™ to tell you differently. Edwin de Valu is a cynical associate acquisitions editor in the self-help division of a trade publishing house. With his reputation at stake and a deadline looming, an eerie-looking 1,000-page manuscript adorned with daisy stickers and chockful of feel-good platitudes lands on his desk. Is it too good to be true? (Probably, but we'll get to that later.)

Edwin grudgingly publishes the bloated, self-important work, titled What I Learned on the Mountain, and to everyone's surprise (especially Edwin's), it hits the big time with a message that sets off a chain of earth-shattering events. But the strangest effect of the "book" on its readership is that it makes them, well, nice. Needless to say, an unhappy band of rogue capitalists arrives to exact revenge on Edwin for precipitating the downfall of Western civilization. And to save his own life, Edwin is forced to embark on a search-and-destroy mission -- his sole object the demise of the self-help guru he helped create.

Thank you, Will Ferguson, for reminding is that it's perfectly fine to be unhappy, because the alternative isn't all it's cracked up to be. (Summer 2002 Selection)

FROM THE PUBLISHER

From the author of the critically acclaimed Hokkaido Highway Blues comes this hysterically funny debut novel, a searing and compulsive satire on the concept of self-help and contemporary America. When an enormous self-help manuscript arrives on the desk of Edwin de Valu, a stressed-out, overworked, and underpaid editor at New York's Panderic Press, its fate seems destined for the bin. Edwin's cynicism about self-help books, coupled with his filthy mood that morning, results in his dismissing Tupak Soiree's What I Learned on the Mountain in the most ignominious fashion: he doesn't even bother to reply. However, during an editorial meeting Edwin is confronted by a questioning publisher, one desperate for the next big thing. Without thinking, and in need of something to report, Edwin begins to extol the virtues of What I Learned on the Mountain, and the excitement around the table is palpable. With every reason. Tupak Soiree's doorstopper becomes a very unique thing: a self-help book that actually works, and it launches a chain of events that will have enormous consequences not just on Edwin's life but for the world at large. Ferguson's first novel is a masterpiece of comic fiction, a must for anyone who has choked on Chicken Soup for the Soul or ever wanted to kill Dr. Phil.

FROM THE CRITICS

The Washington Post

Although advertised as hilarious, Happiness has an ominous truth at its core. Novelist Will Ferguson has written the ultimate satire on self-help books, full of hijinks and capers -- think of Monty Python skits replete with both juvenility and Latin terms. Its conclusion, however, mutes the belly laughs: "we can't . . . close our eyes and hug ourselves into believing that old age, death and disillusion don't exist." — Carolyn S. Briggs

Publishers Weekly

Though it might seem redundant to satirize the self-help industry, Canadian writer Ferguson (Hokkaido Highway Blues) makes a heroic effort in his first novel, combining sitcom-like gags about the publishing industry with the truism that if a self-help book ever actually succeeded in its goals, it would wipe out its own market. The massive and horrible What I Learned on the Mountain, by Rajee Tupak Soiree, arrives in Edwin de Valu's slush pile and is promptly tossed in the garbage by the hapless editor. However, Mr. Mead, owner of Panderic Books, needs a self-help book to fill a hole in the fall catalogue. Edwin volunteers Tupak's magnum opus, then sets out to retrieve it from the waste system and edit it, a process that proves to be unsettling. Edwin's editorial ordeals are mitigated by his immediate boss, May Weatherhill, with whom he is carrying on an intermittent affair, although he is married to the insufferable Jenni. Eventually, the book comes out and becomes a sleeper hit: soon all of America is quitting smoking, drinking, drugging and even reading (except for Tupak's oeuvre). Edwin and Mr. Mead are so horrified by the new world they have helped create that, accompanied by Mr. Ethics, a former Panderic self-help author who is on the lam from prison, they resolve to find and kill Tupak. This is a richly imagined and at times darkly humorous book, but Ferguson's felicities are undermined by the clunky obviousness of his biggest jokes. Agent, Carolyn Swayze. (June 10) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

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