Secrets of Happiness
by Joan Silber
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Pub Date May 04 2021 | Archive Date May 04 2021
Counterpoint Press | Counterpoint
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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
AARP, a Top Pick for Spring
An Observer Most Anticipated Book for Spring
A Library Journal Title to Watch
"Secrets of Happiness” looks like a series of linked stories, but it’s more like a roulette wheel in print: Each chapter spins to some other character in a large circle of possibilities. It takes only a moment to get your bearings, and the disappointment of leaving one narrator behind is instantly replaced by the delight of meeting a new one . . . These stories unfurl with such verbal verisimilitude that they’re like late-night phone calls from old friends. Every imperative page trips along with the wry wisdom of ordinary speech—the illusion of artlessness that only the most artful writers can create . . . Their stories—like ours—all revolve around money and love. Can a check ever come with no strings attached? Who cares enough to nurse the dying? Who deserves the inheritance? These tales turn on such questions, as though Silber were holding a coin in the light, testing the mettle of each grasping, grateful, generous soul . . . In quiet, surprising moments, 'Secrets of Happiness' suggests something lies beyond the columns of loss and gain, something one character calls 'the sunny opacity that love can induce.'" —Ron Charles, The Washington Post
"From a master of family dramas comes this new one about a young lawyer in New York who learns that his father has long kept a second family living in Queens. In the aftermath, each family member is caught in their own complicated journey, as they come to terms with who they are and what they believe in. Taking place over three continents, Secrets of Happiness is about surprise loyalties, love triangles and how a family can tap into a reservoir of inner strength." —Sarah Stiefvater, PureWow
"The worlds she twines together in her new book of linked short stories, 'Secrets of Happiness,' span oceans and continents, along with the social divides that were E.M. Forster’s focus . . . Silber’s knack for inhabiting far-flung realities is remarkable . . . The book’s narrative suspense increases with the arrival of each new narrator (there are six altogether). Perplexing plot points in one episode—a seemingly pointless lawsuit, for instance—find explanation, if not justification, in the next. Along with the pleasure of figuring out the connections between these characters, there’s a thematic suspense to the book too, implicit in its title. All Silber’s narrators voice variations on the questions: What brings happiness in life? Where do greed, desire and bargaining ability fit into the picture? Where does contentment with having less? . . . 'Secrets of Happiness' pays the best kind of attention to its characters’ desires, dilemmas and, of course, connections." —Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"Few make fiction feel as exciting as Silber—and not in plot, but mere structure. Characters impact one another. Tones shift with perspective. Scenes build with profound scope . . . This latest novel feels like vintage Silber: stories interlinked with the confidence of Elizabeth Strout, but all their own mood and power." —David Canfield, Entertainment Weekly
"The complex seesaw of love and finances, both offered and withheld, is explored throughout seven chapters and across four continents. Silber’s device—a secondary character from one chapter commanding the narrative in the next—is as effortless as a dragonfly skimming over a pond . . . Secrets of Happiness also explores the great generosity of love that exists in families, whether we’re born into them or choose them. Rarely is a novel of moral ideas so buoyant in spirit or so exquisitely crafted." —Lauren Bufferd, BookPage (starred review)
"Silber moves easily in and out of her characters’ heads; the novel is deceptively airy, yet, given a reflective reading, it has an ethical center without the shortcut of easy morality. Silber’s fans, and readers who enjoy smart, humane contemporary fiction that doesn’t talk down to them, will enjoy this work." —Library Journal
“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) |
| PAGES | 288 |
Links
Featured Reviews
Reviewer 441055
This book explores a myriad of characters whom are all connected through love and family. What intrigued me with each single individual whether it be Rachel, Tara, Saul or Ethan, is that they all held something back from others as if being fully exposed and vulnerable would lead to fleeting happiness. I think the message of this book is that the secrets of happiness is that there is no one hard and fast rule and that it is truly chosen just how we choose how to live as well as whom to share it with. An intellectually stimulating and intriguing read.
Diane P, Educator
Silber's clever family-oriented novel is filled with familiar, yet diverse characters. Soon in the novel, we learn that the married father of a family with adult children, a man who spent a large portion of his time traveling in Asia for his job, had a new family that he brought over from Thailand, living not far from them.
The novel is told through numerous characters, characters who initially are much easier to recognize and then others, that left me wondering who we were now being introduced to, which at times slowed down the pace for a bit, but then the original characters returned, and the novel took a turn where the characters merge on different levels, to take care of a man dying of leukemia.
The secrets of happiness are not that secretive in the end, and the happiness is also less secretive, as we see how this father, the father who dies early on in this novel, is connected to so many people in so many countries, in so many ways, and how that connection is to some degree the secret of their happiness.
Karen M, Reviewer
SECRETS OF HAPPINESS
BY JOAN SiLBER
I have been a devoted fan of Joan Silber's writing for twenty plus year's. You can imagine how excited I was to see this novel arrive on my dashboard. Joan writes interesting and unique literary fiction that is way above average. I didn't even read what this was about I knew that I would enjoy it and it didn't disappoint me as she never has before.
In the very beginning we learn that the husband and father of a long term marriage has had a secret family with two adult children that live near by. He was always travelling or away from home on business but now we understand why. These aren't spoilers as it is something said in the synopsis and happens very early on.
What I found amazing is how civil the two wives are to each other when learning about this infidelity because the husband suffers a stroke and some mini strokes that makes him not act himself. The long term wife handles her husband's infidelity and second family like its not a big blow. There are many character's and a lot going on which I appreciated. The writing is smooth and seamless.
Maribel and Schuyler having an affair in England. She know's Schuyler is married to Veronica in New York but goes ahead and continues. When he takes a call and leaves the room, she gets jealous. An accident happens. Maribel has what could be a hard phone call, but she shows great self restraint.
Rachel and her brother Saul who has leukemia and Saul's long term boyfriend named Kirk whose apartment was his meant Saul having to find a new place to live. Saul is a 57 year old librarian with little money. Rachel is stunned and outraged but she always liked Kirk. Saul says don't make a big deal out of this. And what the outcome is surprising.
Joan Silber is a master of infusing the gray area into her characterizations and their realizations. She makes us feel the good of humanity in ending each of her multi-character vignettes find that upbeat ray of hopefulness and redemption. That is what I love about reading her work. There could be gut wrenching sadness but she leaves each scenario with level headed prose that is not depressing.
Highly recommended. This one is my favorite of her novels. There is so much more to this multilayered character driven narrative. There are many diverse character's and places but it is simple to keep them all straight in your mind because they are memorable.
Publication Date: May 4, 2021
Thank you to Net Galley, Joan Silber and Counterpoint Press for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
#SecretsofHappiness #JoanSilber #CounterpointPress #NetGalley
Jill S, Reviewer
Who knows where happiness comes from? In this exquisite new book by Joan Silber, the vanity of grasping for happiness—which is destined to slip out of our hands—is revealed through six interlocking narrators. Their tenuous grip is revealed as the very nature of what makes them happy shifts its shape.
It all starts with a man named Gil—a husband and father who is revealed to have two families after he suffers a stroke. Both his American and his Thai-born wife have two children each, and surprisingly, the wives they master the art of restraint in dealing with each other.
And then it spirals out from there. We discover the stories of Gil’s adult gay son, Ethan—who finds himself in his own love triangle—as well as Joe (the son of the Thai-born wife) and his girlfriend Veronica who married a wealthy man named Schuyler who is having an affair with a British woman named Maribel. And then we meet Rachel, whose brother Saul is dying of cancer, and Bud who was raised by John Birchers, and Tara from transitioned from Kathmandu to Berkeley and other characters, some of whom have six degrees of separation.
The quest for happiness, Joan Silber seems to be saying, is universal as we span countries and genders and ages and ethnicities. And sometimes, the lessons we learn are not the ones we expect to learn: that happiness can come from leading an authentic life or letting go of a material possession or an expected way of living our life. A one-time lover from far away, the dying lover of a current lover, a husband’s secret second wife—all of them provide insights and ways to move forward.
Joan Silber, as always, writes as if it were effortless (and this is merely an illusion) and infuses her nuanced characters with a kind of quirky wisdom. Despite some situations which at first appear to be sad, what ties these stories together is the hope of redemption and the belief that the possibilities of some form of happiness exist, even if in impermanence. A big thanks to #CounterpointPress and #NetGalley for the opportunity to become an early reader of an author I’ve long loved.
Kasa C, Reviewer
Joan Silber has written some wonderful books, but this may be my favorite. She employs a convention I particularly like - her novels consist of interlocking stories in which the characters are related. The underlying thread that weaves through these stories is love, most specifically, familial love in all its messiness. Brothers and sisters, parents and their offspring, how people meet, how they stay together and what binds them or tears them apart. Whether it was as one character supposes "... the whole notion of families was misguided and false"... or as later he thinks when he discovers the ties are inescapable, "Were you always and forever what you were born into? I had set up my life relying on other principles." There is not a clichéd or boring situation in any of these stories, and as they intersect, Silber's characters find themselves if not all the answers.
Cynthia K, Reviewer
Secrets of Happiness is a story of family, friendship, and love, spanning three continents.
Joan Silber has a clever way of bonding the characters in funny, honest, and very relatable situations. Their lives are interconnected and woven intricately through the novel, and their voices are strong.
The reader becomes immersed with the various characters—Ethan, Joe, Maribel, Rachel, and Saul, all tied together by Gil, a man with secrets, a second family. We navigate through their complicated lives, experiencing both empathy and compassion.
I thoroughly enjoyed Secrets of Happiness and read it quickly, anticipating the ending and how happiness is defined by each character. A big thanks to NetGalley for letting me read it. #SecretsofHappiness #NetGalley
Rebecca L, Reviewer
Outstanding! Thought provoking stories where characters are connected in some way. I really enjoyed these stories but also trying to determine the connection from prior stories. I somewhat put off reading this for a couple of days because I thought it might be a self help book. While it’s not that format, I feel I did glean some peace and knowledge from these stories. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
Tom O, Reviewer
SECRETS OF HAPPINESS by award-winning author Joan Silber is an absorbing, detailed, multi-character saga that traverses the planet, with vivid stops in Thailand. I loved every single character in this book. I loved the fumbling that lovers went through and the unpleasant surprises they threw on one another. I recommend this book wholeheartedly. Thank you NetGalley. Thank you Counterpoint Publishing.
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