{"product_id":"happy","title":"Happy","description":"\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eA young cinephile leaves his rural village in India with big dreams, only to find himself trapped in menial jobs and forced to work off a debt he may never repay.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIn a small farming village in Punjab, India, a boy crouches over his brother's phone in a rapeseed field watching clips of Godard's \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBande a part\u003c\/i\u003e on YouTube. \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eHis name is Happy Singh Soni and when he's not sleeping among the cabbages and eating sugary rotis, Happy dreams of becoming an actor, one who plays the melancholy roles; the sad, pretty boys, rare in Indian cinema. He plans a clandestine journey to Europe, where he'll finally land a breakout role.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAfter a nightmarish passage to Italy, Happy still manages to find relief in food and fantasy, even as he is forced into ever-worsening work conditions on a radish farm by the syndicate involved in smuggling him to Europe to pay off the supposed debt they claim he has accrued. While disillusionment amongst the farm workers rise, Happy will find the love - and tragedy - that his favourite films always promised. \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAt turns funny and heart-breaking, sunny and tragic, \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eHappy\u003c\/i\u003e is a formally ambitious novel about the psychic fissures produced by the splintering of nations, and the lovely, generative, artful coping mechanisms created by generations of diasporic people.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWith this ingenious, daringly cinematic debut, Celina Baljeet Basra argues for the things that are basic to human survival: food, water, shelter, but also pleasure, romance, art, and the right to a vivid inner life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFormat: Oversized Paperback \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePublished: UK, 2023\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePublisher: Headline Publishing Group\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePages: 262 \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLanguage: English\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eISBN 13: 9781035405893\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eISBN 10: 103540589X\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Celina Baljeet Basra","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44901494423818,"sku":"","price":19.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0282\/6066\/3399\/files\/9781035405893.jpg?v=1700565211","url":"https:\/\/www.shakespeareandsons.com\/products\/happy","provider":"Shakespeare \u0026 Sons Buchhandel GmbH","version":"1.0","type":"link"}