| Edition |
First Feminist Press edition. |
| Description |
146 pages ; 20 cm. |
| Note |
"The original Indonesian-language versions of the stories in this book were first published in Cerita-cerita Bahagia, Hampir Seluruhnya by Norman Erikson Pasaribu (Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 2020)"--Title page verso. |
| Contents |
Enkidu comes knocking on New Year's Eve -- A bedtime story for your long sleep -- So what's your name, Sandra? -- A young poet's guide to surviving a broken heart -- The true story of the story of the giant -- Three love you, four despise you -- Metaxu: Jakarta, 2038 -- Deep brown, verging on black -- Welcome to the Department of Unanswered Prayers -- Ad maioren dei gloriam -- Our descendants will be as numerous as the clouds in the sky -- Her story -- Publication notes -- Author acknowledgments -- A mostly happy chat about Happy stories, mostly. |
| Summary |
"Happy Stories, Mostly is a short story collection by queer Indonesian author Norman Erikson Pasaribu. Blending together speculative fiction and absurdism, these 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"-- Provided by publisher. |
|
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. An 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, Happy Stories, Mostly considers an oblique approach to human In the words of one of the stories' narrators, "I work in the dark. Like mushrooms. I don't need light to thrive." |
| Language |
Translated from the Indonesian. |
| Subject |
Pasaribu, Norman Erikson, 1990- -- Translations into English.
|
|
Happiness -- Fiction.
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Loneliness -- Fiction.
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Interpersonal relations -- Fiction.
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Short stories.
|
| Genre/Form |
Short stories. (OCoLC)fst01726740
|
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Translations. (OCoLC)fst01423791
|
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Queer fiction.
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Psychological fiction.
|
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Short stories.
|
| Added Author |
Tsao, Tiffany, translator.
|
| Added Title |
Cerita-cerita bahagia, hampir seluruhnya. English
|
| Other Form: |
Online version: Pasaribu, Norman Erikson, 1990- Happy stories, mostly. First Feminist Press edition. New York City : The Feminist Press, 2023 9781952177064 (DLC) 2022040919 |
| ISBN |
9781952177057 (paperback) |
|
1952177057 (paperback) |
|
9781952177064 (ebook) |
|
