- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: McClelland & Stewart; 1 edition (Jan 3 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0771068972
- ISBN-13: 978-0771068973
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 13.7 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 318 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #186,733 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Books in Canada
Readers who salivate when insiders dish the dirt will not be disappointed by ex-National Post entertainment critic Kristina Onstad’s debut offering. Taking us behind the front lines of Toronto’s ongoing newspaper war via narrator Maxime, entertainment writer at “The Daily”, Onstad peppers her text with sardonic insights about “the paper [perceived to be] so right that Hitler would have made the commute” to its suburban location. The sad reality is an “office full of embittered Brits,” where the “hostile yellow Post-it note” is “a very popular form of passive-aggressive inter-office expression.” Maxime’s early love for films took root in a lonely childhood, and her West Coast memories nicely balance Toronto’s alcohol-soaked glamour. Though she punctuates her text with accounts of Max’s hilarious encounters with Ethan, Nicole, and Jennifer, Onstad is not entirely unsympathetic to journos slogging away in press junket hell. Max, whose escape to the movies started with her mother’s death and her father’s neglect, eventually edges her tale away from film festivals and openings to deal with lost love, friendship, family.
This may look like a portrait of a brainy woman and her relationship blues, but a closer inspection reveals the still-bewildered child wearing the T-shirt inscribed “Ms. Behaving”. As the plot picks up pace, a new man arrives; the print wars fade into old news, and scalpel-edged satire yields, a bit fortuitously, to romance.
Nancy Wigston (Books in Canada)
This may look like a portrait of a brainy woman and her relationship blues, but a closer inspection reveals the still-bewildered child wearing the T-shirt inscribed “Ms. Behaving”. As the plot picks up pace, a new man arrives; the print wars fade into old news, and scalpel-edged satire yields, a bit fortuitously, to romance.
Nancy Wigston (Books in Canada)
Review
“Pop culture geeks will go nuts for Onstad’s brutal dissection of the life of a media whore. . . . A triumph.”
— NOW Magazine
“Katrina Onstad’s How Happy to Be is an acerbic, hilarious and culturally astute page-turner of a debut.”
— Flare
“Young women will relate profoundly and personally . . . . A working woman’s Nick Hornby, Onstad has created a pithy, poppy text about being adrift.”
— Globe and Mail
“Katrina Onstad’s debut novel is wickedly funny, with a biting edge that makes How Happy to Be a must-read for those cold winter nights.”
— Weekly Scoop
“A deft meditation on nostalgia, grieving and familial relations. . . .Fresh, compelling and flawless.”
— Toronto Star
“[An] ambitious and impressive first novel . . . intelligent and arresting. An auspicious literary debut.”
— National Post
“Witty. . . fine writing.”
— Montreal Gazette
“How Happy to Be successfully mixes funny and frothy chick-lit scenarios with an ambitious emotional reckoning.”
— Fashion Magazine
“Katrina Onstad finds that magic place between fact and fiction and charms the reader with her discovery. A wonderful book.”
—Douglas Coupland
“Katrina Onstad writes poignantly about the failed ideals of one generation and the lack of ideals in this one. From communes to movie stars, this book is an act of redemption, one that is funny, wise and honest.”
—David Layton
“Katrina Onstad offers a sharp, new edge to the Canadian literary landscape. How Happy to Be jumps out at the reader with a hip, ironic voice that offers a poignant mixture of sassy humour and raw exploration of human alienation.”
—Lawrence Hill
— NOW Magazine
“Katrina Onstad’s How Happy to Be is an acerbic, hilarious and culturally astute page-turner of a debut.”
— Flare
“Young women will relate profoundly and personally . . . . A working woman’s Nick Hornby, Onstad has created a pithy, poppy text about being adrift.”
— Globe and Mail
“Katrina Onstad’s debut novel is wickedly funny, with a biting edge that makes How Happy to Be a must-read for those cold winter nights.”
— Weekly Scoop
“A deft meditation on nostalgia, grieving and familial relations. . . .Fresh, compelling and flawless.”
— Toronto Star
“[An] ambitious and impressive first novel . . . intelligent and arresting. An auspicious literary debut.”
— National Post
“Witty. . . fine writing.”
— Montreal Gazette
“How Happy to Be successfully mixes funny and frothy chick-lit scenarios with an ambitious emotional reckoning.”
— Fashion Magazine
“Katrina Onstad finds that magic place between fact and fiction and charms the reader with her discovery. A wonderful book.”
—Douglas Coupland
“Katrina Onstad writes poignantly about the failed ideals of one generation and the lack of ideals in this one. From communes to movie stars, this book is an act of redemption, one that is funny, wise and honest.”
—David Layton
“Katrina Onstad offers a sharp, new edge to the Canadian literary landscape. How Happy to Be jumps out at the reader with a hip, ironic voice that offers a poignant mixture of sassy humour and raw exploration of human alienation.”
—Lawrence Hill
Inside This Book
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not one of my favourites.,
By Antonette (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: How Happy to Be (Paperback)
I, too, bought this book based on positive reviews, but I guess I'm in the minority here because I did not like it at all. I did not find the writing witty, clever or charming and it was not a struggle to close the book each day. As determined as I was to finish it, is as hard as it was to do so. I feel like returning it and asking for my money back.I did not find one charming or likable trait about Max and although her relationships with Theo and Sunera were interesting enough, it wasn't enough, in my opinion, to make this book a winner.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
I agree with Coupland,
By A Customer
This review is from: How Happy to Be (Paperback)
I picked this up yesterday because of the comment from Douglas Coupland, one of my favourites. And he was absolutely right. Onstad is a charming writer. I started reading it yesterday afternoon and couldn't put it down. I read until 3am. I really cared about the characters and their decisions.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funny and thoughtful - brought tears to my eyes,
By A Customer
This review is from: How Happy to Be (Paperback)
I didn't know what to expect from this book. I know Onstad's writing from her film criticism, which I like, but I didn't know if she'd do as well at fiction. Well, she does. It's funny and sharp, which wasn't a surprise, but I was surprised at how sad some of it was, and how good she was at creating a mood with her words. I laughed out loud at some parts and became almost tearful at others, which isn't usual for me when reading a book. I look forward to more fiction from her.
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