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Happy Life
ByPublisher Description
A tender and wistfully satirical novel about the desire to change your life by bestselling French author David Foenkinos
"Foenkinos's surreal yet relatable novel…considers life in our age of anxiety, when other people's picture-perfect lives make our own seem drab in comparison." —Washington Post
Everyone, at some point in their lives, wants to be someone else.
Eric Kherson—40, divorced, distracted—is spiraling. He has devoted his life to a successful career as the marketing director of a leading sports brand. But when family disaster rocks him to his core, he finds himself adrift from his family and questioning all his choices.
That is, until an acquaintance from his schooldays offers him a high-powered government position. Desperate for escape, he throws himself into her enigmatic world of high-risk deals and endless networking, doing anything it takes to get a contract signed.
But on a business trip to Seoul, Eric starts feeling worse than ever. Wandering the city's streets, he comes across Happy Life, a store that offers its customers something that could change their lives: a fake funeral. Happy Life will write your eulogy, arrange the flowers, and allow you to lie inside your own coffin. Why? They believe the experience will help you reinvent yourself.
But above all for Eric, Happy Life sparks a business venture of his own that might do just that…
A celebrated French bestseller, Happy Life is a life-affirming story of hope and recovery, perfect for fans of Matt Haig and Nathan Hill.
"Foenkinos's surreal yet relatable novel…considers life in our age of anxiety, when other people's picture-perfect lives make our own seem drab in comparison." —Washington Post
Everyone, at some point in their lives, wants to be someone else.
Eric Kherson—40, divorced, distracted—is spiraling. He has devoted his life to a successful career as the marketing director of a leading sports brand. But when family disaster rocks him to his core, he finds himself adrift from his family and questioning all his choices.
That is, until an acquaintance from his schooldays offers him a high-powered government position. Desperate for escape, he throws himself into her enigmatic world of high-risk deals and endless networking, doing anything it takes to get a contract signed.
But on a business trip to Seoul, Eric starts feeling worse than ever. Wandering the city's streets, he comes across Happy Life, a store that offers its customers something that could change their lives: a fake funeral. Happy Life will write your eulogy, arrange the flowers, and allow you to lie inside your own coffin. Why? They believe the experience will help you reinvent yourself.
But above all for Eric, Happy Life sparks a business venture of his own that might do just that…
A celebrated French bestseller, Happy Life is a life-affirming story of hope and recovery, perfect for fans of Matt Haig and Nathan Hill.
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About David Foenkinos
David Foenkinos is a novelist, screenwriter and director. He is the author of fourteen novels that have been translated into forty languages. Several of his works have been adapted for film, including Delicacy (2011). The Mystery of Henri Pick (2020) was published in collaboration with Channel 4's Walter Presents, and Second Best was adapted for a major UK stage production in 2025. He received the 2014 Prix Renaudot and Prix Goncourt des Lycéens for Charlotte.
Sam Taylor is an award-winning literary translator and novelist. He has translated more than 60 books from the French, including Laurent Binet’s HHhH and Leïla Slimani’s The Perfect Nanny.
Sam Taylor is an award-winning literary translator and novelist. He has translated more than 60 books from the French, including Laurent Binet’s HHhH and Leïla Slimani’s The Perfect Nanny.
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