Search for Happiness

by David Ritz

Essay on the nature, meaning and pursuit of happiness. What is means to be happy and how to obtain happiness.

400 pages, Paperback

First published June 26, 1980

Reviews

[Aaron Esthelm · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's alright. kinda long and droning and the ending comes out of nowhere. disregarding that it's fun. you aren't unearthing any great truths here and what would you expect from a book about a soap opera writer. The characters strain belief but hey maybe the 80s were like this idk. The main dude is the worst and Anna is crazy. no one's normal in this shit at all.

except maybe seames he seemed fine.
good even, he's kinda talked about like the asshole of the book but dude was rational. wanted to date his costar did and when she started to think they were their characters he dipped out kept her on the line for a bit to long but hey maybe he hoped she'd snap out of it. anyway this is stream of consciousness for reasons beyond mortal comprehension.

in conclusion, I hope you have a nice day and may you find peace

[Nick Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the funny, addictive and astonishingly dirty saga of the foul-mouthed head writer of a daytime soap, "Search For Happiness", and the actress who becomes a bit too involved in her character's storyline.
I wasn't overly surprised by the ending, because, it really couldn't end any other way. What I did find difficult to believe was that soap audiences in 1980 would've been fascinated by a chastity-vow wrestling nun. Both 'Days of our Lives' & 'Love is a Many Splendored Thing' had tread that territory back in the '60s. I did, however, thoroughly appreciate the line: "Soap viewers want less happiness and more search". They're right; all the searching in this novel brought me lots of happiness.