{"product_id":"happy-stories-mostly-paperback","title":"Happy Stories, Mostly - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eNorman Erikson Pasaribu\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eTiffany Tsao\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn their stunning fiction debut, queer Indonesian writer Norman Erikson Pasaribu blends together speculative fiction and dark absurdism, drawing from Batak and Christian cultural elements.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLonglisted for the International Booker Prize, \u003ci\u003eHappy Stories, Mostly\u003c\/i\u003e introduces \"one of the most important Indonesian writers today\" (\u003ci\u003eLitro Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e). These twelve short stories ask what it means to be almost happy--to nearly find joy, to sort-of be accepted, but to never fully grasp one's desire. Joy shimmers on the horizon, just out of reach.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn employee navigates their new workplace, a department of Heaven devoted to archiving unanswered prayers; a tourist in Vietnam seeks solace following her son's suicide; a young student befriends a classmate obsessed with verifying the existence of a mythical hundred-foot-tall man. A tragicomic collection that probes the miraculous, melancholy nature of survival amid loneliness, \u003ci\u003eHappy Stories, Mostly\u003c\/i\u003e considers an oblique approach to human life: In the words of one of the stories' narrators, \"I work in the dark. Like mushrooms. I don't need light to thrive.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNorman Erikson Pasaribu\u003c\/b\u003e is a Toba Batak writer of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. H\u003ci\u003eappy Stories, Mostly\u003c\/i\u003e (translated by Tiffany Tsao) won the 2022 Republic of Consciousness Prize and was longlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTiffany Tsao\u003c\/b\u003e translates Indonesian fiction and poetry. Her translations of Norman Erikson Pasaribu's fiction have won the Republic of Consciousness Prize in the UK and been longlisted for the International Booker Prize. She is also the translator of Budi Darma's \u003ci\u003ePeople from Bloomington\u003c\/i\u003e (Penguin Classics 2022). She also writes novels, the most recent of which is \u003ci\u003eThe Majesties\u003c\/i\u003e (Atria Books 2020). She lives in Sydney.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 168\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.6 x 7.9 x 4.8 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e June 06, 2023\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42170458013831,"sku":"9781952177057","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/78324213bea2abf59a779d753ac0a90c.webp?v=1733348340","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/happy-stories-mostly-paperback","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}