{"product_id":"happy-9781035405886","title":"Happy","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e''A MIRACULOUS NOVEL''\u003cb\u003e MEGHA MAJUMDAR\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e''PLAYFUL AND PROFOUND . . . USING WRY HUMOUR TO DELIVER A DEAD SERIOUS MESSAGE'' \u003cb\u003eMELISSA FU\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''A BONKERS STORY THAT READS LIKE A FINE TEN-COURSE MEAL'' \u003cb\u003eGARY SHTEYNGART\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA young cinephile leaves his rural village in India with big dreams, only to find himself trapped in menial jobs and forced to work off a debt he may never repay.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In a small farming village in Punjab, India, a boy crouches over his brother''s phone in a rapeseed field watching clips of Godard''s \u003ci\u003eBande à part\u003c\/i\u003e on YouTube. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e His name is Happy Singh Soni and when he''s not sleeping among the cabbages and eating sugary rotis, Happy dreams of becoming an actor, one who plays the melancholy roles; the sad, pretty boys, rare in Indian cinema. He plans a clandestine journey to Europe, where he''ll finally land a breakout role. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter a nightmarish passage to Italy, Happy still manages to find relief in food and fantasy\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePlayful, funny, and wildly free, \u003ci\u003eHappy\u003c\/i\u003e inhabits the seam between beauty and tragedy. A miraculous novel.\u003c\/b\u003e -- MEGHA MAJUMDAR, author of A Burning\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA bonkers story that reads like a fine ten-course meal.\u003c\/b\u003e -- GARY SHTEYNGART, author of Our Country Friends\u003cbr\u003eWith an innovative form that is simultaneously \u003cb\u003eplayful and profound\u003c\/b\u003e, Celina Baljeet Basra's HAPPY is outstanding! From the first to the final pages, I was completely charmed by Happy and his crew as they made their treacherous journey towards dreams of a better life. Using wry humour to deliver a dead serious message with laser-sharp lightness, \u003cb\u003eBasra gives depth and definition to the unjust and inhumane conditions facing many migrants and undocumented workers. Read this book\u003c\/b\u003e. -- MELISSA FU, author of Peach Blossom Spring\u003cbr\u003eRevealed in short snippets of imagined dialogue and interspersed with the perspectives of other characters and even inanimate objects, Happy's view of the world starts off as quirky and charming, but gains increasing pathos as the divide between his starry-eyed hopes and his increasingly hopeless reality grows. \u003cb\u003eHappy's singular voice echoes long after the close to this striking story.\u003c\/b\u003e * Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) *\u003cbr\u003eFirst-time novelist Basra delivers \u003cb\u003ea damning indictment of capitalism\u003c\/b\u003e, a system that swallows the global poor whole and spits out wasted humans. At the same time, Basra maintains a light touch; \u003cb\u003ethe novel wears its burdens with good humor.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Poornima Apte * Booklist (Starred Review) *\u003cbr\u003eHappy presents: his world. \u003cb\u003eA fragmented, kaleidoscopic whiz in-keeping with his dreamy, ever-optimistic outlook\u003c\/b\u003e. Hardships are presented starkly but with humour, the worst of which we are spared in the moment by his glancing away, taking refuge in his own fantasies of superstardom. Immigration, drug abuse, gentrification, racism and death, Happy lives them fully until the book's surprising denoument. \u003cb\u003eA fantastic little gem of a book\u003c\/b\u003e. -- CHIKODILI EMELUMADU, author of Dazzling\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Headline Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48738057748823,"sku":"9781035405886","price":17.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781035405886.jpg?v=1723811717","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/happy-9781035405886","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}