Happiness

Description

The story begins on London’s Waterloo Bridge when two strangers literally collide. Attila Asane, a Ghanaian psychiatrist specializing in the study of trauma in war zones, is in London to deliver a keynote speech. Jean Turane, an American biologist, is in the city studying the habits of urban foxes. Their chance encounter pulls them into a shared mystery when Attila’s “niece,” an undocumented immigrant, is swept up in a government crackdown and her young son, Tano, goes missing. Together, they navigate the “feral” underside of London—aided by a network of West African street workers (security guards, doormen, and traffic wardens)—to find the boy. Through their journey, Forna challenges the clinical Western definition of “happiness” as the absence of pain, arguing instead for a resilience that comes from acknowledging the wild, unpredictable nature of life.