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A review by samarakroeger
Happiness, as Such by Natalia Ginzburg
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
new favorite alert! I’ve been obsessed with Natalia Ginzburg for a while now (and obsessed with all the writers who also love her), so it’s about time I read a book I absolutely adored from her.
Happiness, as Such is a quiet little book, part epistolary, that follows the people in Michele’s life after he moves to England and all of their interconnected relationships. Michele is mostly absent from the story itself, despite being the titular character (originally published in Italian as Caro Michele).
This book has to have provided a lot of inspiration for Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You (which is a book that is clearly influenced by Ginzburg, with characters in the text who reference her). They are remarkably similar in form, though Rooney’s iteration is more clearly structured and organized, utilizing a half epistolary, half distant third narration with plenty of unembellished dialogue thrown in. I am enamored with both books.
Happiness, as Such is a quiet little book, part epistolary, that follows the people in Michele’s life after he moves to England and all of their interconnected relationships. Michele is mostly absent from the story itself, despite being the titular character (originally published in Italian as Caro Michele).
This book has to have provided a lot of inspiration for Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You (which is a book that is clearly influenced by Ginzburg, with characters in the text who reference her). They are remarkably similar in form, though Rooney’s iteration is more clearly structured and organized, utilizing a half epistolary, half distant third narration with plenty of unembellished dialogue thrown in. I am enamored with both books.