An unexpected friendship saves a young man’s life in this moving, utterly charming debut about chosen family, the winding road to happiness, and the grace of second chances.
Could I one day inspire happiness in others, the same way he seemed to do in me?
It’s 2005 and Harley has dropped out of college to move home, back to rural England, where he works a dead-end job at a movie theater. Estranged from his father and finding every attempt at happiness futile, Harley is on the verge of making a devastating final decision. Fortunately for him, things don’t go according to plan, and his attempt on his own life is interrupted by his new roommate, Muddy.
Muddy is everything Harley is not: ostensibly heterosexual, freewheeling, confident in his masculinity. Despite their differences, a deep friendship blossoms between them when Muddy takes Harley under his wing and shows him everything that, in his eyes, makes life worth living: bird-watching,...

zlib/no-category/Elvin James Mensah/Small Joys: A Novel_115890575.epub

Mensah, Elvin James

Penguin Random House Distribution

Random House, Incorporated

Penguin Random House LLC

Ballantine Books

United States, United States of America

First edition, New York, 2023

sources:
9780593499962

"An unexpected friendship saves a young man's life in this moving, utterly charming debut about chosen family, the winding road to happiness, and the grace of second chances. Could I one day inspire happiness in others, the same way he seemed to do in me? It's 2005 and Harley has dropped out of college to move home, back to rural England where he works a dead-end job at a movie theater. Estranged from his father and finding every attempt at happiness futile, he is on the verge of making a devastating final decision. Fortunately for him, things don't go according to plan, and his attempt on his own life is interrupted by his new roommate, Muddy. Muddy is everything Harley is not: white, ostensibly heterosexual, freewheeling, confident in his masculinity. Despite their differences, a deep friendship blossoms between them when Muddy takes Harley under his wing and shows him everything that, in his eyes, makes life worth living: birdwatching, karaoke, rugby, and the band Oasis. But this newfound friendship is complicated. It has enormous repercussions for the pair's romantically entangled friend group-with Chelsea, an overbearing striver whose generosity they begrudgingly rely on; with Finlay, her raffish and uncouth boyfriend; and with Noria, who despite her simmering confidence is smarting from a series of unreturned affections. And then there's the violent affair with an older man that Harley finds himself slipping back into... As secrets and jealousies endanger all that Harley has come to rely on, he finds himself faltering once again, even though he finally has something-and someone-to live for. Soul-stirring and witty, full of hope and peopled with characters who feel like close friends, Small Joys explores a young man's turbulent journey toward happiness and announces the arrival of an exciting voice in fiction"-- Provided by publisher

“This funny and bighearted debut is an ode to queer friendship and chosen family. . . . A tender and generous novel about finding your people, getting vulnerable, and celebrating every joy—big or small.”— BuzzFeed
Could I one day inspire happiness in others, the same way he seemed to do in me?
Harley is a young queer black man struggling to find his way in nineties Britain. Returning home, having just dropped out of college, he is racked by feelings of failure and inadequacy. Standing in the woods one day, on the verge of doing something drastic and irreversible, Harley is held back by a stranger: a tall, husky guy who emerges from the bushes holding a pair of binoculars.
Muddy is an ebullient bird-watcher whose lust for his own life makes others feel better by association. A rugby fanatic and Oasis obsessive, he quickly becomes a devoted and loyal friend to Harley, who finds his enthusiasm infectious and his dimples irresistible. In no time, they become inseparable. Harley starts to think that life may be worth living after all, while Muddy discovers things about himself that the lads down at the rugby club would struggle to understand.
But when figures from the past threaten to plunge Harley back into the depths of depression, his only hope of survival is through Muddy and the small joys that they create together. Moving, funny, and tender, Small Joys is an epic novel about ordinary lives that introduces the world to an unforgettable cast of characters and a major new literary talent.

2024-12-23