Author:Rawi Hage
Our unnamed narrator has left his Middle-Eastern home and settled in a chilly, western city. He lives as an exile, untrusted, unwanted, foreign. A stranger trying to make sense of a strange land.
But he brings with him secrets - of a family tragedy that he failed to prevent and a childhood overshadowed by war. And as he wanders snowy streets, falling in love with fellow exile Shoreh, he realizes that to find a place in this alien world it is necessary to become someone else. Someone he never dared to be in his past life . . .
Gripping. A humane and compassionate storyteller
—— New StatesmanBeautifully paced, filled with picaresque wit and misadventure, anchored by a dark and uncompromising vision . . . Rawi Hage has joined the great pantheon of Canadian writers whose work we read with admiration and excitement
—— Colm ToíbínCompelling, intriguing, deceptive
—— Financial TimesFurther evidence of Hage's large and unsettling talent
—— GuardianTough is adept at translating academic jargon into precise, accessible prose . . . Tough promotes [his argument] so persuasively.
—— New York TimesA thought-provoking new book . . . An important step in the right direction.
—— Psychology TodayWhen author Paul Tough released How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character in 2012, it spent more than a year on the New York Times bestseller lists and was translated into 27 languages . . . Now he’s back with a new book that builds on his previous work. Helping Children Succeed: What Works and Why explains how parents, teachers and administrators can create environments to foster qualities that lead to success.
—— Knowledge@Wharton – The Magazine of Wharton Business SchoolTough mixes hard truths and hopefulness . . . Tough offers limited proof that early stress can be overcome and that kids who get care when they are still very young can enter kindergarten at the same level as better-off kids.
—— New YorkerRuth Whippman manages the trick of being funny about what is, deep down, a serious problem
—— Oliver Burkeman, Guardian columnist and author of THE ANTIDOTE: HAPPINESS FOR PEOPLE WHO CAN'T STAND POSITIVE THINKINGIf you're on a quest for happiness, you want to start with buying this book. Wit, wisdom, and the kind of analysis only a Brit could bring to the topics of anxiety and contentment ... I laughed my way through it.
—— Linda Tirado, author of HAND TO MOUTH: LIVING IN BOOTSTRAP AMERICAWith insight and intellect, Whippman brings a fresh perspective to American culture that is almost impossible to find in today’s positivity-at-all-costs ethos ... a vibrant, hilarious, necessary book.
—— Tara Conklin, author of New York Times bestseller, THE HOUSE GIRLRuth Whippman cuts to the heart of America's obsession with happiness - and the strange and wonderful things we do to obtain it ... a funny, timely book that everyone should read
—— Jessica Valenti, author of FULL FRONTAL FEMINISM AND SEX OBJECTFor anyone who has fallen prey to a book promising the secret of a happy life, and then failed to feel any happier, THIS book, by Whippman, might just provide the answers you didn't even know you were seeking.
—— Malena Watrous, author of IF YOU FOLLOW ME and Lead Instructor, Online Creative Writing, Stanford UniversitySo well-written and witty, you won’t notice that Whippman is delivering a devastating verdict on positive psychology as pseudoscience.
—— Dr James Coyne, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, University of PennsylvaniaRuth Whippman captures the absurdity of our late capitalist moment with sharp, insightful prose and a wicked sense of humor that makes every single page a pure joy to read. The Pursuit of Happiness not only entertains without fail, but it also offers a wealth of devastating insights into how our culture demands happiness of us in ways that only seem to make us miserable ... I don't think I've enjoyed cultural observations this much since David Foster Wallace's A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again. Reading this book is like touring America with a scary-smart friend who can't stop elbowing you in the ribs and saying, "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?!" If you want to understand why our culture incites pure dread and alienation in so many of us (often without always recognizing it), read this book.
—— Heather Havrilesky, writer behind "Ask Polly" for New York Magazine and author of How to Be a Person in the World