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Description
Ethan, a young lawyer in New York, learns that his father has long kept a second family--a Thai wife and two kids living in Queens. In the aftermath of this revelation, Ethan's mother spends a year working abroad, returning much changed, and events introduce her to the other wife. Across town, Ethan's half brothers are caught in their own complicated journeys: one brother's penchant for minor delinquency has escalated, and the other must travel to Bangkok to bail him out, while the bargains their mother has struck about love and money continue to shape their lives.
As Ethan finds himself caught in a love triangle of his own, the interwoven fates of these two households elegantly unfurl to encompass a woman rallying to help an ill brother with an unreliable lover and a filmmaker with a girlhood spent in Nepal. Evoking a generous and humane spirit, and a story that ranges over three continents, Secrets of Happiness elucidates the ways people marshal the resources at hand to forge their own forms of joy.
Advance Praise
“Secrets of Happiness unfolds across families and lovers, across time and expectations, across the country and across the world, and the bigger it gets, the more it shows how deeply connected we are. Joan Silber writes with a frankness and freshness that draws the reader closer with every page. It would be impossible to overstate just how good this book is.” —Ann Patchett
"Joan Silber is a masterful writer of multifaceted characters in complex relationship dynamics . . . Her new novel follows a man harboring a secret—he's leading two lives, part of two families—and the impact of his deception radiates far beyond him." —Arianna Rebolini, Buzzfeed, One of the Most Anticipated Books of the Year
"This complex, intergenerational novel spans three continents as it reveals the connection between the two families, no longer secret to each other." —The Millions, One of the Most Anticipated Books of the Year
"A new Joan Silber book is always a reason to celebrate. Her latest is the story of a family—two families—exploding after a years-long infidelity comes to light, told in intersecting, polyphonic voices, like a tapestry of those affected." —Literary Hub, One of the Most Anticipated Books of the Year
"A new novel in stories from the master of the form . . . Silber's storytelling is so artful [and] so filled with humor and aperçus . . . Echoes the great Grace Paley, to whom Silber is so close in spirit and voice. While Paley was an all–New York gal, Silber makes faraway places seem familiar—oh, for the time when we can work on knowing the world even one-tenth as well as she does. These secrets of happiness really will make you happy, at least for a few sweet hours." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
An O, The Oprah Magazine Most Anticipated Book of Next Year
“[An] intricate and emotionally elaborate study of emotional ties. This mesmerizing story of love, lies, and the consequences of betrayal brims with heart and intelligence."—Publishers Weekly
Available Editions
EDITION | Other Format |
ISBN | 9781640094451 |
PRICE | $27.00 (USD) |
Links
Available on NetGalley
(PDF) |
(PDF) |
(PDF) |