The Day Before Happiness

Erri De Luca, Jill Foulston (In House Editor)

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Hardback

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English

Penguin
15 August 2016

Fiction & Literature; Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945); Fiction in translation

'Happiness - was it right to name it without knowing it? It sounded shameless in my mouth, like when someone shows off about knowing a celebrity and just uses their first name, saying Marcello when they really mean Mastroianni...' A young orphan boy grows up in Naples, playing football, roaming the city's streets and hidden places. The older boys call him 'monkey' because he can climb anywhere. He is alone, apart from Don Gaetano, the apartment caretaker, who feeds him, teaches him to play scopa, and tells him stories about women, history and the dark secrets of Naples' past. Then one day the boy sees a young girl standing at a window. It is an encounter that will haunt his life for years and, eventually, shape his destiny. Lyrical and exuberant, told with the simplicity of a fairy tale and the intensity of a memory, The Day Before Happiness is the story of friendship, a city and what makes us who we are.

By: Erri De Luca
Translated by: Jill Foulston (In House Editor)
Imprint: Penguin
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 222mm, Width: 142mm, Spine: 13mm
Weight: 206g
ISBN: 9780141398396
ISBN 10: 0141398396
Pages: 128
Publication Date: 15 August 2016
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Erri De Luca (born in Naples in 1950) is a bestselling Italian novelist. He was awarded the France Culture Prize in 1994 and the Femina Etranger in 2002. He is also a translator from Ancient Hebrew and Yiddish and was a member of the jury at the Cannes Festival in 2003. A passionate mountain climber, he currently lives in the countryside near Rome.

Reviews for The Day Before Happiness

Tender, lyrical without apology, and intensely moving Library Journal The only true first-rate writer that the new millennium has given us so far Corriere della Serra The story of a risky happiness, the happiness of a city in revolt, of a violent and rediscovered love Avvenire High hopes in clear language, cautions against real evil, and scenes thick with poetic sentiment - these elements fuel the warmth to be found in De Luca's brief but affecting novels The National