{"product_id":"my-american-unhappiness-paperback","title":"My American Unhappiness - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eDean Bakopoulos\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Bakopoulos has invented a man for all rainy seasons--a horny, heartbroken cousin of Richard Ford's Frank Bascombe.\" --Tom Piazza\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A winning distraction, a smart entertainment.\" --\u003cem\u003eNew York Times Book Review \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA clairvoyant when it comes to the Starbucks orders, a renegade when it comes to bureaucracy, Zeke asks almost everybody he meets, \"Why are you so unhappy?\" The answers he receives--a mix of true sadness and absurd complaint--become the core of an obsessive project, \"The Inventory of American Unhappiness,\" a project that becomes all the more personally meaningful as he follows steps outlined in a women's magazine on finding the perfect mate. Incisively tapping the voice of one of the most charming--and deluded--narrators to come along in years, Dean Bakopolous captures our zeitgeist with lacerating wit and a big heart, confirming Jonathan Miles's (author of \u003cem\u003eDear American Airlines\u003c\/em\u003e) claim that \"there's no such thing as unhappiness when you're holding a Dean Bakopolous novel.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Hilarious and heartfelt . . . This funny-sad novel seems to take elements of the author's own life . . . and twists them in a funhouse mirror--with delightful results.\" --NPR\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\"My American Unhappiness\" is a major accomplishment from one of my generation's finest storytellers, a profoundly funny, moving, beautifully detailed, and ultimately hopeful portrait of our country in a certain moment.\" --Davy Rothbart, founder and editor of \"Found\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA clairvoyant when it comes to the Starbucks orders of strangers, a quixotic renegade when it comes to the federal bureaucracy, and a devoted believer in the afternoon cocktail and the evening binge, Zeke Pappas is a thirty‑three‑year‑old scholar who asks almost everybody he meets, \"Why are you so unhappy?\" The answers he receives -- a mix of true sadness and absurd complaint -- become the core of his obsessive project, \"The Inventory of American Unhappiness.\" Zeke, meanwhile, remains delightfully oblivious to the increasingly harsh realities that threaten his daily routine, opting instead to focus his energy on finding the perfect mate so that he can gain custody of his orphaned nieces. Following steps outlined in a women's magazine, the ever‑optimistic Zeke identifies some \"prospects\" a newly divorced neighbor, a coffeehouse barista, his administrative assistant, and Sofia Coppola (\"Why not aim high?\").\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne of the most charmingly deluded narrators to come along in years, Zeke has an irreverent voice that is a marvel of lacerating wit and heart‑on‑sleeve emotion, underscored by a creeping paranoia and made more urgent by the hope that if he can only find a wife, he might have a second chance at life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Bakopoulos has invented a man for all rainy seasons a horny, heartbroken cousin of Richard Ford s Frank Bascombe. Tom Piazza \u003cbr\u003e A winning distraction, a smart entertainment. \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003eA clairvoyant when it comes to the Starbucks orders, a renegade when it comes to bureaucracy, Zeke asks almost everybody he meets, Why are you so unhappy? The answers he receives a mix of true sadness and absurd complaint become the core of an obsessive project, The Inventory of American Unhappiness, a project that becomes all the more personally meaningful as he follows steps outlined in a women s magazine on finding the perfect mate. Incisively tapping the voice of one of the most charming and deluded narrators to come along in years, Dean Bakopolous captures our zeitgeist with lacerating wit and a big heart, confirming Jonathan Miles s (author of \u003ci\u003eDear American Airlines\u003c\/i\u003e) claim that there s no such thing as unhappiness when you re holding a Dean Bakopolous novel. \u003cbr\u003e Hilarious and heartfelt . . . This funny-sad novel seems to take elements of the author s own life . . . and twists them in a funhouse mirror with delightful results. NPR \u003cbr\u003e[author photo]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDean Bakopoulos\u003c\/b\u003e, the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Arts grant, teaches creative writing and literature at Grinnell College and in the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers. His first novel, \u003ci\u003ePlease Don t Come Back from the Moon\u003c\/i\u003e, was a \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Book.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eDean Bakopoulos, the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Arts grant, teaches creative writing and literature at Grinnell College and in the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers. His first novel, \u003ci\u003ePlease Don't Come Back from the Moon\u003c\/i\u003e, was a New York Times Notable Book.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 288\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.84 x 8.07 x 5.29 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 03, 2012\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52520098955571,"sku":"9780547549101","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0300\/5595\/6612\/files\/QURmbFMyTXhEa3Q0YzQ2K3lsQzczQT09.webp?v=1760518415","url":"https:\/\/www.vysn.com\/en-ca\/products\/my-american-unhappiness-paperback","provider":"VYSN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}