HAPPINESS AS SUCH

The hauntingly beautiful epistolary novel from a glowing light of modern Italian literature (New York Times Book Review)Longlisted for the PEN Translation AwardAt the heart of Happiness as Such is an absencean abyss that pulls everyone to its brinkcreated by a familys only son Michele who has fled from Italy to England to escape the dangers and threats of his radical political ties. This novel is part epistolary: his mother writes letters to him nagging him; his sister Angelica writes missing him; so does Mara his former lover telling him about the birth of her son who may be his own. Left to clean up Micheles mess his family and friends complain commiserate tease and grieve struggling valiantly with the small and large calamities of their interconnected lives.Natalia Ginzburg''s most beloved book in Italy and one of her finest achievements Happiness as Such is an original wise raw comic novel that cuts to the bone.