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The Happiness Show

A Novel

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

She ached for him. She longed for him. She missed the way he made her feel and how funny and smart and sexy she felt with him. And young. She missed the version of herself that she had left behind.

At thirty-eight, Lizzie Quealy thinks she has things sorted: a happy relationship, a couple of gorgeous kids, a steadfast best friend and a career she loves. But when Lizzie bumps into Tom, an old flame from her globe-trotting twenties, her life begins to unravel.

Tom is her 'unfinished business': the man she might have spent her life with, if things had gone a little differently. Ten years on, the spark is still there – but how far is Lizzie prepared to go to recapture it, and at what cost?

Set in Melbourne, London and Bali, via Tokyo and the Trans-Siberian Express, The Happiness Show is a refreshingly honest story about love, fidelity and the messiness of second chances. Sexy and hilarious, it explores the rules and taboos of contemporary relationships – and what happens when they stand in the way of one woman's pursuit of happiness.

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    • Books+Publishing

      July 2, 2012
      In The Happiness Show, Australian comedian and writer Catherine Deveny turns her hand to fiction for the first time. The result is a lively, if a little predictable, blend of love, sex and light-hearted social commentary, delivered with Deveny’s trademark dry wit. The novel follows comedian and mum Lizzie Quealy, 38, who thinks she’s got her life sorted—but has she really? On a business trip to London, Lizzie bumps into ex-boyfriend Tom, the great ‘what if?’ of Lizzie’s backpacking years. Will she risk everything for a second chance with Tom? Deveny has a keen eye for topical issues and the complications of modern life, and Lizzie’s dilemma will be perfect fodder for book clubs. The Happiness Show isn’t without its flaws: Deveny’s characters fire off one-liners like they’re living in a sitcom, and the plotting feels a little haphazard at times. But her cast are vividly drawn and likeable, and Deveny’s honesty and humour give a familiar romantic dilemma a fresh edge. The Happiness Show is a great summer read with broad commercial appeal.

      Carody Culver is a bookseller at Black Cat Books in Brisbane, a PhD student and a freelance reviewer

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  • English

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