Perfect Happiness

by Anjel Lertxundi, Amaia Gabantxo (Translator)

Perfect Happiness can be described as a realist novella with lyrical overtones. It explores how witnessing a terrorist assassination affects a teenage girl’s life over a span of fourteen years. Against this backdrop Lertxundi explores one of his recurring themes: the relationship between art and death. Perfect Happiness is moral without being didactic, and confessional – as well as natural and fluid – in tone. Confronting its horrific theme with profound existential understanding, it is an eloquent plea for the right to beauty and happiness and the importance of following one’s conscience.

145 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Stacia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly this is a story about a young teenage girl who inadvertently witnesses a man gunned down/murdered in the Basque Country. She doesn't see the murderer(s) but instead locks eyes with the victim (rumored to perhaps be a drug dealer) as he dies. She's still standing there in shock as paramedics, police, & a reporter/photographer arrive. Her photo at the scene appears in the newspaper the next day, used as a juxtaposition of "innocence" vs. "crime" in her town. The book focuses largely on her trying to process it, as well as how her parents & people who see her in the newspaper react. She initially thinks she will be "over it" in a day or two, but (as we all know) trauma hangs around for much longer & she attempts to deal with hers with her art (she's a pianist).

The story could have been rounded out more, for sure, but somehow even in its simplicity, I found it compelling. While smaller in scale, Perfect Happiness brought to mind The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vásquez which looks at trauma & impact on a generation of people growing up during the time of Escobar & the Colombian drug wars.

Interesting book, especially since (decades ago) I witnessed the Guardia Civil in Spain, sitting in their always running jeeps, idling along city streets, in driveways/entrances, & on foot with their machine guns 24/7, especially during times of heightened ETA bombings & attacks. Seeing such displays of force was both reassuring & terrifying while traversing Madrid & other cities/towns in Spain. This book made me remember these conflicting emotions. Overall, I found Perfect Happiness thought-provoking.

[Sonora · Rating 3 out of 5]

When in the Basque country, read what the Basques write.

[Aitor Etxeberria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enun espero denboa oson neskan burujana izango zanik...

[Tadeáš · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felicidad perfecta es una obra muy recomendable. Valoro muy positivamente su calidad literaria y, sobre todo, su carácter testimonial. Me ha gustado especialmente cómo la trama se conecta con el contexto real de ETA y también cómo integra referencias a la cultura española. Para concluir, me gustaría destacar una frase de la página 122 que me ha gustado mucho: «Sólo identificamos en las fotos de prensa a quienes conocemos previamente o a quienes aparecen con cierta asiduidad».