Scan barcode
A review by booktoilandtrouble
Happiness by Aminatta Forna
3.0
Happiness by Aminatta Forna
Attila is in London to give a speech on trauma and check up on his niece and her son. Jean is in London to study the urban fox population. The two find friendship when Attila's great nephew goes missing after being taken into care when his mother is taken away by immigration.
Forna's novel is full of parallels, even in the third chapter. This demonstrates the height of the her talent and planning. She grips you, tricks you, and informs you of the most interesting things and places. Focusing on the parallel between immigration and people's attitudes to urban foxes - they are not welcome - she succesfully and subtly solidifies the idea that nationality is a construct, because humans and animals alike can settle and adapt to anywhere. In post Brexit Britain, this novel has become a must read. It demonstrates the cruelty some wouldn't apply to animals, as is in the case of foxes, which immigrants face and the insanity of removing somebody or something which has made a happy home without disruption. We never hear from anyone whose been born and bred in London, because its the kind of city which accumulates a diversity of people due to the opportunity it holds.
The reason it loses two stars for me is how much it drags after the second half. The idea could've been captured quicker and efficiently had it been perhaps 5 chapters shorter. I would've been wowed. Not a lot happens, it's a character study, but with both characters being passive it becomes tedious.
Attila is in London to give a speech on trauma and check up on his niece and her son. Jean is in London to study the urban fox population. The two find friendship when Attila's great nephew goes missing after being taken into care when his mother is taken away by immigration.
Forna's novel is full of parallels, even in the third chapter. This demonstrates the height of the her talent and planning. She grips you, tricks you, and informs you of the most interesting things and places. Focusing on the parallel between immigration and people's attitudes to urban foxes - they are not welcome - she succesfully and subtly solidifies the idea that nationality is a construct, because humans and animals alike can settle and adapt to anywhere. In post Brexit Britain, this novel has become a must read. It demonstrates the cruelty some wouldn't apply to animals, as is in the case of foxes, which immigrants face and the insanity of removing somebody or something which has made a happy home without disruption. We never hear from anyone whose been born and bred in London, because its the kind of city which accumulates a diversity of people due to the opportunity it holds.
The reason it loses two stars for me is how much it drags after the second half. The idea could've been captured quicker and efficiently had it been perhaps 5 chapters shorter. I would've been wowed. Not a lot happens, it's a character study, but with both characters being passive it becomes tedious.