- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (7 April 1994)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140177027
- ISBN-13: 978-0140177022
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.4 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,882,235 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
'HAPPY NOW is written with a chilling perception. Settle down on the sofa with this one, but make sure you've locked the back door first' TIME OUT 'This is Iain Banks-ish territory, without the SF, but with the incest and the blood. Higson can build up a tense, nifty plot, and has the kind of ear for middle-England angst that more established writers should be jealous of.' Nicholas Lezard, GQ 'an off-beat, atmospheric novel with an underlying, quite subtle wit... Higson's a genius' MIRROR 'Higson manages to balance the extremely anti-social and mentally unstable characters with a very dark wit, so it's not only the macabre details which make this such compelling reading.' THE LIST 'Funny, fast-moving and very readable.' THE EXAMINER (IRELAND)
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
This psychological thriller is about a housebreaker who finds happiness and sexual fulfilment rather than profit from his activities and a dangerously angry man who must find a way of controlling his inherent violence. When their paths cross it leads to horrific consequences.
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First Sentence
Tom Kendall was woken by the sounds of a cat killing the family of blackbirds which had nested in the creeper outside his bedroom window. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tom Kendall was woken by the sounds of a cat killing the family of blackbirds which had nested in the creeper outside his bedroom window. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was the first Higson novel I have read, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised.
Tom is a creature of habit, insular and increasingly frustrated by the behaviour of others. He can't interact in what he perceives to be a "normal" manner, and consequently his frustrations deepen into anger. When the husband of his much-loved but slightly distanced sister is murdered by an intruder in the family kitchen, the killer leaves behind a clue to his identity - of which i won't speak as it may spoil the plot. Tom takes it upon himself to withhold this information from the police, and decides to track him down single handedly.
Tom's motivation for this action is not entirely clear, and his descent into the murkier depths of his past happens rather quickly for a man with such tightly-defined morals. However, Higson is adept at instilling that creepy, uncomfortable feeling into the reader, and for the most part his narrative is believable. I finished this bok in the early hours of the morning, and found myself tiptoeing downstairs to check that the back door was locked. (lucky I did, because it wasn't, which only made me feel more creepy).
I will certainly be reading more of Higson's novels, and I would definitely recommend them to lovers of contemporary British fiction.
Tom is a creature of habit, insular and increasingly frustrated by the behaviour of others. He can't interact in what he perceives to be a "normal" manner, and consequently his frustrations deepen into anger. When the husband of his much-loved but slightly distanced sister is murdered by an intruder in the family kitchen, the killer leaves behind a clue to his identity - of which i won't speak as it may spoil the plot. Tom takes it upon himself to withhold this information from the police, and decides to track him down single handedly.
Tom's motivation for this action is not entirely clear, and his descent into the murkier depths of his past happens rather quickly for a man with such tightly-defined morals. However, Higson is adept at instilling that creepy, uncomfortable feeling into the reader, and for the most part his narrative is believable. I finished this bok in the early hours of the morning, and found myself tiptoeing downstairs to check that the back door was locked. (lucky I did, because it wasn't, which only made me feel more creepy).
I will certainly be reading more of Higson's novels, and I would definitely recommend them to lovers of contemporary British fiction.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read "Happy Now" several years ago, and it haunts me today as much as it did when I first closed the cover.
This is not the snappy comedy fun you might expect from Charlie Higson. It's a compelling character-study of a grey man searching for something bright beneath the mundane, pedestrian rhythms of normality, finding meaning, and then, ultimately...
Ah, but that would be telling...
Bottom line - if you want a laugh-a-minute romp with a strong storyline and great dialogue, try Hugh Laurie's excellent "The Gun Seller". If you want to delve beneath the murk of an appallingly ordinary life, and see what's underneath, Charlie Higson's "Happy Now" will reward your curiosity for years to come
This is not the snappy comedy fun you might expect from Charlie Higson. It's a compelling character-study of a grey man searching for something bright beneath the mundane, pedestrian rhythms of normality, finding meaning, and then, ultimately...
Ah, but that would be telling...
Bottom line - if you want a laugh-a-minute romp with a strong storyline and great dialogue, try Hugh Laurie's excellent "The Gun Seller". If you want to delve beneath the murk of an appallingly ordinary life, and see what's underneath, Charlie Higson's "Happy Now" will reward your curiosity for years to come
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Quite simply his deepest and most mature work. I loved all his books for their grotesqueness and absurdity. This however looks a little deeper into the psyche.
And this is not the "fast show" so don't compare!
And this is not the "fast show" so don't compare!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not the best
Have ready many of his books and this one was not great. Very like the others but without the story to carry the reader along.
Published on 10 July 2009 by M. Clark
Excellent As Usual
Charles Higson is a genius. This is a real page turner and had me experiencing all manner of emotions. I have now read all his books and will pray for a new release sometime soon. Read more
Published on 14 Sep 2006 by Imspiring to the end
Higson's character development make this book what it is.
I don't think it's much of a classic story, but Happy Now is a brilliant novel, with very depthy descriptions of the character's feelings, thoughts and emotions which contribute to... Read more
Published on 20 Mar 2000
Still not there
It's not Higson's 1st Novel, it's his third, as I understand it. And he's still not reproducing the cleverness of the Fast Show. Read more
Published on 1 Dec 1999 by Mark Owen
Disturbing
Funny? I am shocked at the previous reviewers comments. It is anything but funny, and I am sure it is not meant to be. Read more
Published on 7 Oct 1999
Black Comedy
Charlie Higson's first novel is a joy, and a dark warning on anger management and how self-help groups help destroy a man's soul. Read more
Published on 5 May 1999
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