Happy or Otherwise

by Diana Joseph

The people in Diana Joseph's Happy or Otherwise are looking for ways to live through hurt, some of it passed on like a family heirloom, some of it self-inflicted. Tabbitha, the adult daughter in "Bloodlines," recounts her brother's death and her grieving father's violent response to it. Her memory is compassionate, but unflinched as she reflects on how, even twenty years later, "you don't forget." In "Windows and Words," Leslie, a college senior, falls for a guy who "used philosophy as a form of foreplay." In turn, she decides, "Acting on desire is just another way to procrastinate." The book also explores how people define themselves through the stories they the title character of "Schandorsky's Mother" is writing a poem that "chronicles her relationship" with the father her son has never known. "So someday you'll understand," she tells the puzzled boy. In "Approximate to Salvation," a daughter's claim that a stranger raped her covers up a painful her father's attempt to seduce her. The tales concocted by the narrator of "Naming Stories" reveal her intense longing for a sense of "Sometimes, I told this story," she says, "I was conceived at Woodstock, in the rain, the music, the mud, on the night of a full moon." Another character, Sookey, in "Expatriates," believes "confessing would feel like love." With prose that is sharp, lyrical, and image-driven, Happy or Otherwise is a fierce book with a lot of funny parts.

208 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2003

About the author

Diana Joseph lives in Mankato, Minnesota, where she teaches at Minnesota State University.

Reviews

[Diana Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wrote this book. It was my first--many of the stories in it are from my MFA thesis--and while I think it reads like a first book by a young writer, I'm still pretty proud of it.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joseph's collection of stories exposes the reader to many real life situations that a reader might have overlooked. The different voices in this collection enlighten a reader to the meaning of relationships as she exposes the hidden truths. The love a mother feels for her sick child is contrasted with a mother who lost the child she wasn't sure she wanted. The truths of a father-daughter relationship are unfolded with a yearning to be accepted like her siblings to the desire to be loved like her mother. There are many real life situations that are overlooked during their youth and aren't brought to light until they've found the wisdom to look back as an adult. Joseph's book was inspiring and a tough one to put down.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the REAL stories in this book. They show basic feelings and portray humanity in its raw beauty while making me think, cry, or laugh (sometimes all at once). My friend Diana wrote it... She's hilarious and sometimes oh-so-honest that it makes me cringe.

[Cathy Day]

Interesting to read Joseph's first story collection alongside her memoir, I'm Sorry You Feel that Way.