Happiness

'Forna's voice is relentlessly compelling; her ability to summon atmosphere extraordinary ... A thing of lasting beauty' OBSERVER SHORTLISTED FOR THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE 2019 SHORTLISTED FOR THE JHALAK PRIZE 2019 A breathtaking novel from Orange Prize-shortlisted and Commonwealth Writers' Prize-winning author Aminatta Forna Waterloo Bridge; London. Two strangers collide. Attila; a Ghanaian psychiatrist; and Jean; an American studying the habits of urban foxes. From this chance encounter in the midst of the rush of a great city; numerous moments of connections span out and interweave; bringing disparate lives together. Attila has arrived in London with two tasks: to deliver a keynote speech on trauma and to check up on the daughter of friends; his 'niece'; Ama; who hasn't called home in a while. It soon emerges that she has been swept up in an immigration crackdown - and now her young son Tano is missing. When; by chance; Attila bumps into Jean again; she joins him in his search for Tano; mobilizing into action the network she has built up; mainly from the many West African immigrants working London's myriad streets; of volunteer fox-spotters: security guards; hotel doormen; traffic wardens. All unite to help and as the search continues; a deepening friendship between Attila and Jean unfolds. In this delicate yet powerful novel of loves lost and new; of past griefs and of the hidden side of a teeming metropolis; Aminatta Forna asks us to consider the values of the society we live in; our co-existence with one another and all living creatures - and the true nature of happiness. _____________________ 'Entering Forna's sweeping universe transports you to a place that feels familiar; but also totally feral and full of surprises' FINANCIAL TIMES 'Happiness is a great pleasure to read because of how much life is packed in by Forna ... [it features] the most appealing protagonist I have encountered in a long while' THE TIMES 'The best writer of fiction in this field' EVENING STANDARD