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Happyland: A Novel
Happy Masters is a megalomaniacal entrepreneur, a shrewd negotiator, and the mastermind behind Happy Girls, a phenomenally successful doll company. When she happens upon the sleepy village of Equinox, New York, she gets the idea that will transform her life and all the lives around her—to remake Equinox in her image, part retail mecca, part amusement park, part Stepfordian nightmare. In her quest to have it all, Happy will seduce, manipulate, or deceive anyone who gets in her way—including an unassuming mayor, a hapless college president, a grumpy barkeeper, a fiercely contrarian librarian, and the young women of tiny Equinox College. This entertaining satire explores what happens when fulfilling your dreams becomes a nightmare.
325 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2007
About the author
J. Robert Lennon
46 books291 followersJ. Robert Lennon is the author of three story collections and ten novels, and is co-editor of CRITICAL HITS, an anthology of writing on video games. He lives in Ithaca, New York.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 6, 2020
I thought it was unusual, and happily so, that Harper's published in serial form this novel in 2006...four installments. About 16 pages per issue. I remember enjoying the book. I still have the book (in loose-leaf from from Harpers).
September 3, 2013
With J Robert Lennon's writing, past experience tells you to prepare for the unexpected. Having read both Castle and Familiar, I've become accustomed to his unusual twists and turns, and read HAPPYLAND fully anticipating more of the same.
Will the dolls turn out to be demonic? Will Happy Masters end up slipping into doll-obsessed madness? Will the townsfolk all be turned into dolls?
Amazingly, and a little upsettingly, nothing of the sort happens. HAPPYLAND simply tells the story of a rich, egotistical toy mogul who has designs on the quiet little town of Equinox. Moving in and buying out everything and everyone she can, Happy quickly pisses off the townspeople as she razes their regular stomping grounds and begins to build her Happyland empire.
Lennon's narrative attacks the story line from third person which allows us to see this hostile takeover from multiple perspectives - those who are infatuated with Happy and her toy company (Happy Girl Inc), those who prefer the town to be left alone, and even from Happy's deluded point of view.
As I made my way through the book, I started to see it as a cautionary tale about the dangerous and powerful combination of money, ego, and imagination. It's that I'll-run-you-over-so-you-better-get-out-the-way complex, that I'll-use-you-and-abuse-you-and-watch-you-crumble-and-fall mentality, that inexhaustible desire to use people as ... wait for it... puppets to get what you need, that fuels the fantastical within this novel.
It also demonstrates the sad-but-true cut throat world we live in where the sneaky and the dishonest always seem to thrive while the honest and amiable fight to survive. Even at her worst, Happy made out a million times better than any of the townspeople ever did. Even when the all evil, manipulable things she did caught up with her, even then, she walked away unscathed - a little more worn, a little more wise, but completely and absolutely unscathed.
Money, the things that drives us all mad. Mad with the desire to have it. Mad with depression and desperation when we can't get it or had it and lost it. Mad with power when we finally get it.
And while I found this a perfectly enjoyable read, I wouldn't have blinked twice at a little demonic doll action...
Will the dolls turn out to be demonic? Will Happy Masters end up slipping into doll-obsessed madness? Will the townsfolk all be turned into dolls?
Amazingly, and a little upsettingly, nothing of the sort happens. HAPPYLAND simply tells the story of a rich, egotistical toy mogul who has designs on the quiet little town of Equinox. Moving in and buying out everything and everyone she can, Happy quickly pisses off the townspeople as she razes their regular stomping grounds and begins to build her Happyland empire.
Lennon's narrative attacks the story line from third person which allows us to see this hostile takeover from multiple perspectives - those who are infatuated with Happy and her toy company (Happy Girl Inc), those who prefer the town to be left alone, and even from Happy's deluded point of view.
As I made my way through the book, I started to see it as a cautionary tale about the dangerous and powerful combination of money, ego, and imagination. It's that I'll-run-you-over-so-you-better-get-out-the-way complex, that I'll-use-you-and-abuse-you-and-watch-you-crumble-and-fall mentality, that inexhaustible desire to use people as ... wait for it... puppets to get what you need, that fuels the fantastical within this novel.
It also demonstrates the sad-but-true cut throat world we live in where the sneaky and the dishonest always seem to thrive while the honest and amiable fight to survive. Even at her worst, Happy made out a million times better than any of the townspeople ever did. Even when the all evil, manipulable things she did caught up with her, even then, she walked away unscathed - a little more worn, a little more wise, but completely and absolutely unscathed.
Money, the things that drives us all mad. Mad with the desire to have it. Mad with depression and desperation when we can't get it or had it and lost it. Mad with power when we finally get it.
And while I found this a perfectly enjoyable read, I wouldn't have blinked twice at a little demonic doll action...
December 6, 2013
A 4.5. This is a first-rate novel of the type where an event (in this case, a person) shakes up the lives of a number of people whose lives weren’t going anywhere at all. The genre is more comedy than tragedy, but it can have tragic results. Perhaps we should call the genre the Aufwuhlungsroman.
The prose, the structure, the choreography of character collisions, the balance of satire and drama (with drama becoming dominant as the novel progresses), the ironies, the setpieces — Lennon proves to be a master of them all. He has come a long way from his first novel, The Light of the Falling Stars, which I stopped reading a hundred pages in. This is as good a mainstream novel as is being written here and now.
Ignore the backstory. This is a work of the imagination that began from the barebones of a real-life story and quickly took on its own life. The backstory is the least important thing about the novel.
The prose, the structure, the choreography of character collisions, the balance of satire and drama (with drama becoming dominant as the novel progresses), the ironies, the setpieces — Lennon proves to be a master of them all. He has come a long way from his first novel, The Light of the Falling Stars, which I stopped reading a hundred pages in. This is as good a mainstream novel as is being written here and now.
Ignore the backstory. This is a work of the imagination that began from the barebones of a real-life story and quickly took on its own life. The backstory is the least important thing about the novel.
August 6, 2022
Probably more like 3.5 stars, but I enjoyed it so I'm rounding up.
"Happyland" is a novel inspired by what happened to Aurora in upstate when the founder of the American Girl dolls remade the town. Some publishers found it uncomfortably close to that story and the book was kicked from publisher to publisher for years because everyone was afraid of getting sued.
Maybe it's the upstate New York setting or the class conflict, or the mocking of college academics but "Happyland" really reminded me of Richard Russo. If you like his work you'll probably enjoy this. Like Russo it gets a little too sentimental at times, but then the humor returns and you're able to push through and keep reading. Lennon doesn't quite bring his characters to life like Russo.
"They represented a view of life, particularly American life, that was less a philosophy than a highly selective, market-tested sampler of the less unsavory manifestations of human nature."
"Happyland" is a novel inspired by what happened to Aurora in upstate when the founder of the American Girl dolls remade the town. Some publishers found it uncomfortably close to that story and the book was kicked from publisher to publisher for years because everyone was afraid of getting sued.
Maybe it's the upstate New York setting or the class conflict, or the mocking of college academics but "Happyland" really reminded me of Richard Russo. If you like his work you'll probably enjoy this. Like Russo it gets a little too sentimental at times, but then the humor returns and you're able to push through and keep reading. Lennon doesn't quite bring his characters to life like Russo.
"They represented a view of life, particularly American life, that was less a philosophy than a highly selective, market-tested sampler of the less unsavory manifestations of human nature."
October 18, 2017
I have grown tired of men writing women so poorly it becomes an act of misogyny.
October 20, 2013
What a great book! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Weirdly enough, I was hooked from the introduction/acknowledgement secrtion. Lennon has been writing this book since 2003, and I was ready to be blown away by this labor of love. I was not disappointed.
The story follows Happy Masters, a take-no-prisoners kind of doll mogul and millionaire. She's middle-aged and yet adorable. It makes for a curious contrast to see her sweet-faced self trample all over people, their lives, their wishes and dreams, and morality in general. I LOVE her character. Maybe I'm crazy (you know how Barney in How I Met Your Mother thinks the Karate Kid is about the blond bully and his tragic story of undeserved defeat?). Maybe I'm bourgeoisie, because I kind of rooted for her; I wanted the ignorant little town of losers to be bulldozed to make room for another dirty Disneyland. Maybe I like the macabre, because I wanted Happy to win, only for her empire to go up in flames. I wanted nobody to be happy. Or maybe someone else felt this way? I swear I'm not a sociopath.
Happy's not the only one I loved. Jennifer and her husband Bud, who are co-owners of gas staton/ice cream stand, are freaking hilarious. Jennifer is a hard-ass who doesn't know how the hell she would up in a marriage with two kids, and who will put up a fight against Happy's encroaching empire just because she's bored. Bud, whose real name was snuffed out by the thumb of his terrifying wife, just helplessly watches and "Aww, Jenny"s on the sidelines. I didn't like the spinster librarian, Ruth Spinks, but I definitely appreciated the way he constructed her character. I loved Reeve Tennyson, the hapless president of the in-town women's college who feels very uncomfortable around lesbians. Janet, a student at said college who has put Happy on a sexy, sexy saint pedestal. I could go on, there are so many great people and moments. I give extra stars for amazing characters, and this is definitely the case. I could read about these people forever.
I think I expected the book to go in a different direction, and when it didn't I felt a little deflated. Not disappointed, because this is a very strong, fantastically written book. I just wanted a little more sinister, a little more figurative explosions. I may change my mind about the rating later, but I just wasn't too keen on the whole Dave/Kevin/Happy thing at the end. Maybe too abrupt? But there was good build-up, so I'm probably wrong. I need some more time, dang it! I already spend a morning in the shower contemplating my rating. We will see what I say in a month.
I want to read the rest of J. Robert Lennon's work. Even on the off-chance that I don't like the stories, I'm sure he more than delivers in the character department.
Oh my god, just remembered the Sally Streit debacle in the book. So funny. Go read it, everybody. If you want a good story about a small town that gets in the way of a money-hungry human bulldozer, check this out.
EDIT: Just noticed that this book is shelved under sci-fi, paranormal, fantasy, and horror. Um, what book did these people read? Just so you know, there is nothing paranormal about this book. Other than the insatiable greed and supernatural manipulation abilities of Happy, I guess. It's not horror, either, at least not in the true sense. So, make sure you know what you're getting into when you start this book. It's what fooled me, for sure.
-I got a free e-book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review-
The story follows Happy Masters, a take-no-prisoners kind of doll mogul and millionaire. She's middle-aged and yet adorable. It makes for a curious contrast to see her sweet-faced self trample all over people, their lives, their wishes and dreams, and morality in general. I LOVE her character. Maybe I'm crazy (you know how Barney in How I Met Your Mother thinks the Karate Kid is about the blond bully and his tragic story of undeserved defeat?). Maybe I'm bourgeoisie, because I kind of rooted for her; I wanted the ignorant little town of losers to be bulldozed to make room for another dirty Disneyland. Maybe I like the macabre, because I wanted Happy to win, only for her empire to go up in flames. I wanted nobody to be happy. Or maybe someone else felt this way? I swear I'm not a sociopath.
Happy's not the only one I loved. Jennifer and her husband Bud, who are co-owners of gas staton/ice cream stand, are freaking hilarious. Jennifer is a hard-ass who doesn't know how the hell she would up in a marriage with two kids, and who will put up a fight against Happy's encroaching empire just because she's bored. Bud, whose real name was snuffed out by the thumb of his terrifying wife, just helplessly watches and "Aww, Jenny"s on the sidelines. I didn't like the spinster librarian, Ruth Spinks, but I definitely appreciated the way he constructed her character. I loved Reeve Tennyson, the hapless president of the in-town women's college who feels very uncomfortable around lesbians. Janet, a student at said college who has put Happy on a sexy, sexy saint pedestal. I could go on, there are so many great people and moments. I give extra stars for amazing characters, and this is definitely the case. I could read about these people forever.
I think I expected the book to go in a different direction, and when it didn't I felt a little deflated. Not disappointed, because this is a very strong, fantastically written book. I just wanted a little more sinister, a little more figurative explosions. I may change my mind about the rating later, but I just wasn't too keen on the whole Dave/Kevin/Happy thing at the end. Maybe too abrupt? But there was good build-up, so I'm probably wrong. I need some more time, dang it! I already spend a morning in the shower contemplating my rating. We will see what I say in a month.
I want to read the rest of J. Robert Lennon's work. Even on the off-chance that I don't like the stories, I'm sure he more than delivers in the character department.
Oh my god, just remembered the Sally Streit debacle in the book. So funny. Go read it, everybody. If you want a good story about a small town that gets in the way of a money-hungry human bulldozer, check this out.
EDIT: Just noticed that this book is shelved under sci-fi, paranormal, fantasy, and horror. Um, what book did these people read? Just so you know, there is nothing paranormal about this book. Other than the insatiable greed and supernatural manipulation abilities of Happy, I guess. It's not horror, either, at least not in the true sense. So, make sure you know what you're getting into when you start this book. It's what fooled me, for sure.
-I got a free e-book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review-
December 18, 2014
This novel caught my attention as I knew something about the real life story that it is loosely based on. In both the real and the fictional stories, a woman who has married into great wealth decides to channel her boredom into a doll-making venture. And these are not just any dolls. These are expensive dolls that each have an identity, a period or ethnic costume and a book to go with them.
Once she has achieved success with this doll-making venture, what does she do? She decides to buy herself a house which becomes the couple's new home base, though this home is in a small town in central New York State. And the town is in need of a makeover, and the heroine proceeds to take on that task herself. She achieves this by buying up everything in town that needs fixing. In the process she causes hurt feelings and suspicion.
In both the real and the fictional stories there is also a women's college in this small town and there are people who do not like that their town is being taken over.
In the book the main character is named Happy Masters. She is ambitious, beautiful and quite ruthless. She seems to be everywhere Allah one time. The other characters in the book are not as well understood. How can the husband who has more money and is always on the road with this own business concerns not be involved in the house she has purchased. How is it that he so willingly accepts all these changes she makes to their lives which must be incredibly inconvenient for a guy on the go all the time?
The other characters in the book: the mayor of Equinox, the college president, the college girl she hires as her assistant, the bar owner, the college librarian, the handyman, the couple who own a gas station/ice cream stand - they all share certain traits. The people from the town are either on to her and want her out but are living some different version of a pathetic life before and after her presence or they are enamored by her or her money. The men are mostly taken in by her. Many of the women (except the college trustees who seem incredibly naive) are very suspicious of her and her motivations.
The story gets a little too ridiculous. It is entertaining reading and does provoke some thoughts about human nature. How money motivates some people, how gullible people are, how futile it is sometimes to search for justice when powerful people are against you. But otherwise it's okay light reading.
Once she has achieved success with this doll-making venture, what does she do? She decides to buy herself a house which becomes the couple's new home base, though this home is in a small town in central New York State. And the town is in need of a makeover, and the heroine proceeds to take on that task herself. She achieves this by buying up everything in town that needs fixing. In the process she causes hurt feelings and suspicion.
In both the real and the fictional stories there is also a women's college in this small town and there are people who do not like that their town is being taken over.
In the book the main character is named Happy Masters. She is ambitious, beautiful and quite ruthless. She seems to be everywhere Allah one time. The other characters in the book are not as well understood. How can the husband who has more money and is always on the road with this own business concerns not be involved in the house she has purchased. How is it that he so willingly accepts all these changes she makes to their lives which must be incredibly inconvenient for a guy on the go all the time?
The other characters in the book: the mayor of Equinox, the college president, the college girl she hires as her assistant, the bar owner, the college librarian, the handyman, the couple who own a gas station/ice cream stand - they all share certain traits. The people from the town are either on to her and want her out but are living some different version of a pathetic life before and after her presence or they are enamored by her or her money. The men are mostly taken in by her. Many of the women (except the college trustees who seem incredibly naive) are very suspicious of her and her motivations.
The story gets a little too ridiculous. It is entertaining reading and does provoke some thoughts about human nature. How money motivates some people, how gullible people are, how futile it is sometimes to search for justice when powerful people are against you. But otherwise it's okay light reading.
January 21, 2014
Doll company owner attempts to purchase town and re-make it into a company town for tourists, runs into problems with actual people not buying into her vision. Plus a side of small town humor, planning issues, and historical society reps, and add an all girls college liberal arts campus filled with naive young women exploring their sexuality.
I should have loved this, but I'm sort of meh. I think the author's just trying a bit too hard to be precious, and maybe too hard to try to distance everything from the real life inspiration for the novel. And while there's lots of characterization and backstory for the characters, they mostly still feel strangely flat and hollow.
I should have loved this, but I'm sort of meh. I think the author's just trying a bit too hard to be precious, and maybe too hard to try to distance everything from the real life inspiration for the novel. And while there's lots of characterization and backstory for the characters, they mostly still feel strangely flat and hollow.
October 6, 2013
J. Robert Lennon's characters are anything but happy in "Happyland," a novel about a tiny town taken over by a egotistic doll creator. As Happy Masters follows a selfish plan to make over Equinox into her own playground, the residents - or least some of them - try to take back their homes.
The narrative is well written, however the plot is predictable.
The narrative is well written, however the plot is predictable.
June 8, 2014
Happy Masters, head of a doll empire (like American Girls), moves to a small town in the Finger Lakes and spends the book remaking it in her image of what a small town should be. Entertaining and disturbing.
August 2, 2014
Fans of Shirley Jackson will love this book with the controversial publication history. It's a must-read for fans of dark humor. See the review at The Book Wheel.
July 17, 2008
Read this in Harpers: really interesting, based on the American Girl story.
January 17, 2009
I really loved this book. It was syndicated in Harper's Magazine, because of some interesting side controversies.
September 16, 2013
Deliciously dark, and very satirical. Never having been an America Girl owner or fan, I was fine with the sinister side of this story! Terrifically absorbing.
October 6, 2013
4.5 stars! A snappy, snarky read.
October 12, 2013
Entertaining, well written.
June 29, 2014
Loved this.
December 28, 2020
3.5 stars
Interesting but ultimately feels half baked. This feels like an idea that needed fleshing out further, and I also think the form it’s in could use some editing.
Interesting but ultimately feels half baked. This feels like an idea that needed fleshing out further, and I also think the form it’s in could use some editing.
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January 25, 2018Hoopla Digital, Didn't finish, seems like all characters are hated by the author.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews