This book is definitely going to be divisive. Unfortunately it just didn’t work for me. I understand that the main character is not likable, but being inside her brain that long was too much for me. I think readers will either love this or hate it. Unfortunately for me, I am the latter.

What an unforgettable read.

Zoe Dubno’s Happiness and Love is a brilliant, acerbic stream-of-consciousness novel that calls to mind the story of Thomas Bernhard’s Woodcutters. We follow a young woman trapped—physically and emotionally—at a dinner party hosted by people she once called friends but now views with increasing disdain.

Set in a massive Manhattan apartment and populated by the worst kind of self-obsessed elitists, the evening spirals into a psychological reckoning. Ostensibly, the dinner is in memory of Rebecca, the narrator’s estranged friend, a recently deceased actress. But as the night drags on, the real reason for the gathering becomes clear: it's not a memorial at all, but a celebration for a rising star, a young celebrity who represents everything hollow in the culture the narrator detests.

What follows is an unraveling—of false friendships, of performative grief and of the cult of fame. Told in one long, biting monologue, Happiness and Love is both a character study and a cultural takedown, culminating in a finale led by the guest of honor that is as satisfying as it absolutely scathing!

Just as it's muse, the Woodcutters, Happiness and Love is a iconic critique of consumerism, self-obsession, and the emptiness of modern social performance—all in under 200 pages.

#Scribner #HappinessAndLove #ZoeDubno #literaryfiction #dinnerpartyfromhell #thomasbernhardvibes

This book is absolutely brutal.
All the narrative happens inside the protagonist head during a single night, as she attends a dîner party after her estranged friend's funeral.
All her thoughts are pure vitriol.
I loved the talent of the protagonist to dissect the worst flaws of the people around her, to the point of cruelty, and as her thoughts unravelled, her own hypocrisy became more and more difficult to stand.
It is definitely a very original and impactful read.
I think the writing is great. It is very raw, and has interesting even somehow funny moments but honestly it was a tough read and I'm glad it was short one, I'm not sure I could have stomach more of it.

I truly think this has become a new favorite book of mine. There’s nothing I love more than books that dress down pseudo-intellectual rich people, and this one absolutely delivered. I once again think of the Virginia Woolf quote about how people read fiction like it’s gossip- this book absolutely fits that description. At first I didn’t know what to make of the structure of the prose, as it is all one continuous paragraph and uses run-on sentences. However, rather than feeling sloppy, this style of writing really allows you to sink deeply into it and take it all in as it bombards you with absolute insanity. A very fun read, I’d recommend it to anyone who has been a part of the art world in any capacity.

Thanks to Netgalley and Scribner for the ebook. This is a pretty amazing achievement for a first novel that is one long, angry (also observant and very funny) screed about falling into the cult of the New York art world, escaping to Europe and then, running out of a viable visa, right back in New York and ambushed to rejoin this despised group for one night only under the guise of celebrating one who has just passed away, but that only turns into a night to try and claw a famous actress into their clutches, only to have the actress speak simply and eviscerate the whole room. Even though this short novel is written without chapter or paragraph breaks, she still takes her time identifying each major character, showing the ways that first attracted her, only to find their deadly flaws by the end. It’s quite a performance.