Happy All the Time Audiobook By Laurie Colwin cover art

Happy All the Time

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Happy All the Time

By: Laurie Colwin
Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
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A modern classic first published in 1978 that is as much a sophisticated romantic comedy about the love between two partners as it is a novel about the powerful bonds shared by family members, friends, colleagues and confidants.

"A funny, loving, celebratory book in which everything is perfect." —The Boston Globe

Guido and Vincent, best friends (and third cousins), aren’t expecting to fall head-over-heels in love, but that is exactly what happens. Guido is smitten with Holly, a dazzling young woman who chafes at the idea of complacency, while Vincent falls for Misty, a work colleague with an acerbic sense of humor who seems as uninterested in romance as she is in Vincent (at first). In the months that follow, both couples will experience the rituals of courtship, jealousy, estrangement, family entanglements, and other perils of the heart as they try to find love in spite of themselves.

Colwin is a master of portraying the messiness of life: here, in hilarious and endearing prose, she follows these two improbable pairs, and their families, as they navigate and ultimately find happiness together—not all the time, but for most of it.

With a foreword by Katherine Heiny, author of Early Morning Riser.

©2014 Laurie Colwin (P)2022 Random House Audio Contemporary Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Funny Heartfelt Witty

Critic reviews

“A jewel of romantic comedy. . . . A comedy of manners that reminds us that manners are comic and should be enjoyed as such. . . . This giddy courtship novel features Misty Berkowitz, Colwin’s most memorable creation — think Larry David, but with a secretly vulnerable, generous heart.” —The New York Times

"Shimmering, funny. It made everything in my life seem a whole lot better." —Cosmopolitan

"A pleasure ... endless surprises and ultimately boundless joy ... It would be difficult not to enjoy it all." —The New Yorker
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I loved that this was a story about common psychological issues - wondering about love, choosing a partner, differences in life outlook, dealing with friends and relatives, marriage, work. The characters are charming and funny. The narrator was great, as well, performing the different actors with recognizable and believable voices.

Charming characters

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The audiobook narrator’s talent for different voices, accents, and cadences kept me hooked! A decent story was brought to life by Flanagan

Amazing narrator for a good story

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Common story , common characters, common problems no unique aspect to the story, and the language was not inspired.

Trite

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It was an enjoyable book. I really like reading books by women authors because their perspective is genuinely different than men. However, for much of the book I kept saying, "Run Vincent, run, keep running and don't look back."

Nice Story

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