ALL THE HAPPINESS YOU DESERVE by Michael Piafsky

All the Happiness You Deserve by Michael Piafsky tracks vignettes from one man’s life from boyhood to grandfatherhood through short chapters – some only as long as 2 pages – that cover a particular event or short period in his life.  The story jumps from the narrator’s painful childhood (his father is gruff and often mean, and his mother and sister disappear for 2 years before returning without an explanation), to his years in college in Boston, a move to Seattle, a career in finance in New York, a disgraceful exit to the midwest, a daughter, a failed marriage and retirement. Scotty’s is an ordinary, unglorious life, with a few peaks and a lot of valleys.

Piafsky’s writing is anything but ordinary, though. He is one gorgeous writer. It took me quite a while to get through All the Happiness You Deserve because I didn’t want to skim through anything in this book. It is full of small, intimate details that convey the narrator’s humanity and really make him known to the reader. He can be maddening, especially as he messes up his life over and over. But Piafsky’s writing is just such a pleasure. Interestingly, All The Happiness You Deserve is written in the second person, which I don’t always love, but it works here.

Did I mention that this is a debut novel?

I don’t think All The Happiness You Deserve got that much attention when it came out. That’s a shame. This unique, beautiful book deserves a wider audience. It’s not an uplifting read – in fact it can be downright sad – but it reminded me why I love reading, and why I am in awe of good writers.

Give it a try.