The Pursuit of Happiness

by Douglas Kennedy and Freya Kennedy

Book Overview

The critically acclaimed bestseller from the number one bestselling author of The Moment and A Special Relationship. A powerful romantic novel set in the tumultuous world of post-war America.

New York, 1945 - Sara Smythe, a young, beautiful and intelligent woman, ready to make her own way in the big city, attends her brother's Thanksgiving Eve party. As the party gets into full swing, in walks Jack Malone, a US Army...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0099415372
• ISBN13: 9780099415374
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Arrow
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Read it straight through in 8 hours

At first I was disinterested in a story that I thought to be a romance written by a man...but then I started reading and couldn't stop. It's more of a life story of a family that's lives are interwoven with another woman and her life. How the groups become entagled and grow. Almost like two ships that pass in the night and somehow become connected. So no matter where they go or what they do they are always together. A story about a love that is timeless and strong and something that neither party can deny or control and the beauty of the inner strength that holds us together as individuals. A good read.

GRIPPING!

"I first saw her standing near my mother's coffin. She was in her seventies - a tall angular woman with fine grey hair gathered in a compact bun at the back of the neck." If you love long fat books, this one is for you. Not only is it long and fat but also it is a great book that will keep you up all hours of the night. I love it and I loved the intriguing characters right through. Like a jigsaw puzzle, the reader finds herself trying to fit the pieces together out of mysterious happenings in the characters lives, but one is not able to do this until you see the last page. In The Pursuit Of Happiness, the war is over and there is a party going on at Thanksgiving Eve at Eric Smythe's apartment. It is at this party that his sister Sara Smythe meets an attractive guy Jack Malone and there is an instant attraction between these. From hereon these two people would turn the world upside down, with their heavy influences on their friends, family and all whom they will come into contact with. Hearts will be broken some may be mended as they become toughened. By the end of the book you will wonder, how could all of this have happened just like that? Hope my review is not too vague but it was very hard trying to avoid spoilers this time around. Trust me it is worth your time and money.Enjoy! Reviewed by Heather Marshall Negahdar (SUGAR-CANE 01/07/08)

The Art of the Novel is Alive & Well

This is the sixth novel that I've read by Douglas Kennedy, and all are excellent, but really, they're more than excellent, because his work overall is exceptional, the man has talent, because simply he has the novelist's skill to write a strictly transfixing tale and draw the reader in no matter the apparent banality (on the surface) of the general plot. Unfortunately I have left this particular novel till now to read, and without question it is Kennedy's best work. The Pursuit of Happiness is a perfect example of a seemingly mundane plot: The time is post WW2, when life's possibilities for young Americans seemed limitless. Privileged WASP girl, Sara, defies conservative well-to-do parents, graduates Bryn Mawr, and against her parent's wishes chooses to live in Manhattan with a low paying writing position at Life Magazine. Sara's brilliant and rebellious older brother Eric Smythe is also living in the big city, writing plays and dabbling in the then "fashionable" political persuasion of communism. Both are writers and have the potential to be great ones. Sara meets handsome war time journalist, Jack Malone, (great name) at her brother's bohemian New Year's Eve party and they fall in love at first sight. They make love that night only the next morning Sara discovers Jack has to go back over seas that day but "promises" to write her three times everyday and return in nine months to live happily ever after...this never happens. Poor Sara writes him and never receives a word which proceeds to ruin her life...and on from there. This could well sound interesting to some and soap opera clichéd to other's, however, the story is anything but "interesting" or clichéd because it is Kennedy's skill at characterization, his ability as a writer to give the reader a close empathic identification with the main character, all set in the context of post war Manhattan - a time and place where dreams can and do come true. Written in the first person, we see, feel and experience all Sara Smythe's lows and extreme highs - we want her to win because she is at bottom a woman who knows herself and is willing to do anything necessary to do the "right" thing in life but later learns a valuable lesson. Personally, as an amateur writer of fiction, the ability for a male writer to write so convincingly as a woman is astounding to me. One of Kennedy's other excellent novels, A Special Relationship, proved this skill beyond a reasonable doubt. The Pursuit of Happiness is almost epic in its scope, set against the McCarthy witch hunts aimed at the American entertainment Industry during the 50's, forcing, like the Nazi SS, innocent citizen's to name names to protect their livelihoods, destroying too many lives...this is a period in American history that should never be forgotten. The Pursuit of Happiness is not only a good novel but a great one, proving to me that the art of the novel is alive and well.

A love story, a historical novel

I'm not a fan of love stories, though love is part of many novels. This book, on the surface, seems to be little more than a tragic love story. But it is set during the McCarthy era in New York, and it depicts people and places with resounding veracity.I was drawn to this by the author's other works, which can be wild, wacky and funny, but this novel is a different style for Kennedy. You may not find it to your liking, but there is a haunting that remains in your soul after reading this book that makes it worthwhile.

Wonderful!

I loved this book - could not put it down. It is utterly involving and feels real. No cop-outs, great characterisation, good plot, rich language - a quality pageturner.