The Happy Valley

by Benjamin Harnett

In this kaleidoscopic voyage through the past, present, and future of the United States, a young girl uncovers a secret society, a middle-aged man searches for his lost first love, a group of teens invent a role-playing game, protests threaten to topple the government, and an eccentric lawyer and his young Vietnamese protégée re-open a dormant case.

In the early 1990s in Harmony Valley, a rural, Upstate New York village faded from its 18th and 19th century heyday, a group of teens engaged in an idiosyncratic role-playing game cross paths with June, a mysterious girl whose family has deep roots in the area, and Clyde Duane, a janitor who makes weekly visits to a strange room-the headquarters of a secret society-opening its door with a golden, serpent-headed key. Meanwhile an eccentric Utica lawyer pulls his young Vietnamese protégée into their firm's special case, which stretches back to the 1840s.

Decades later, in 2034, as the United States is breaking apart and a new way of life taking shape, June has disappeared. The mystery of her disappearance inspires a journey back to "The Happy Valley," and a reevaluation of the past that exposes the dark personal and societal secrets betraying our founding myths.

This atmospheric mystery, at turns gothic, poetic, cerebral, and funny, ranges from rural New York to the outer reaches of the Zebulon Galaxy; from the 1700s to the 4th decade of the 21st century.

Genres: Fiction

414 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting trip through a familiar, yet changed, world. Childhood rememberings and friendships brought forward to older adult life, with pieces of puzzles coming together. Strange, yet lovely.

My thanks to the author, Benjamin Harnett, and the publisher, Serpenr Key Press, for my ebook which was received through a Goodreads Giveaway.

[Kim Lockhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to sit with this one a while after finishing, to let it all coalesce in my mind. This is a story told in a present day and an alt-future America, which also reaches tendrils into the past. The narrative skips back and forth in time, always from the first person perspective of the narrator, who along with the reader, must carefully piece together what he believes to be true, sifting through cryptic clues, trying to weigh his assumptions, and navigating some truly trippy experiences. It's a long wild ride, with lots of stops and starts and quite a few red herrings along the way. This one is for the thinkers.

[Susan Atherly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I agree with a lot of the other early reviewers. This is one of those books, like Atlas of the World, that will take some time to digest and may require a re-read to know how successful it was in its ambitions. Whether you like it or not will probably be dependent on you.

One thing is clear, it is very original and well written.

I received this from Amazon in a Goodreads Giveaway. Thank you, Kindle folks.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not really sure what I just read, but I am sure it was an enchanting read. Maybe the book was dosed (thanks to that spooky vial) and this has all been one weird trip. Living in western/upstate New York reading about local areas is always a bit odd in itself. Even more so when the plot is slightly off kilter but the places are (mostly) real. Move over alternate history, here comes alternate future history.

[Suanne Laqueur · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m annoyed I slogged through that for no satisfying reason. The writing was good, but I have no idea what this book was about.

[Maggie Rotter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, now. This is one of those unclassifiable novels that will grab your brain and not let go - or have you scratching your head but reading anyway just to see what happens next. And in an alternate America - all of it - that could be anything. Take a chance.

[Dr. K · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Happy Valley is an artfully written debut novel with somewhat of an identity crisis. At its core, it’s a coming of age novel where one character observes, befriends, and idolizes an older girl who harbours secrets. These secrets are shared baby their small town and, in a speculative near-future, by wider society. This society has also seen a fall of democracy/capitalism as we know it, although this part is almost a footnote relative to the main character’s own journey.

I spent most of my time reading feeling very intrigued. Our narrator is largely in the dark to what’s happening around him and I shared his confusion. Around the 70% mark this started to get irritating (think: “no one is telling me anything! Why won’t you tell me anything” “because you already know, wink wink”) and I found the final payoff anticlimactic. This however reminded me of both Wolf in White Van as well as I’m Thinking of Ending Things - both didn’t resonate with me for similar reasons, but I think fans of these will find a lot in Happy Valley.

On a positive note: the writing is exquisite and evoked the 80s-90s nostalgia so perfectly. Most chapters have 1-2 accompanying gorgeous illustrations that further set a nostalgic and eerie scene.

Recommended for readers who lean politically left, are a bit geeky, and have strong nostalgia for the late 20th century.

Thank you to Books Sirens, through whom I received an advance review copy for free and am leaving a voluntary and honest review.

More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/N3d0uvty-uQ

[Jacqueline Nyathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remain baffled. I have no real idea what I just read. The Happy Valley meanders, wanders, rambles, touches on secret societies but doesn’t quite explain them (or even the one that’s in the book, if it exists in the book), and is the story of one man’s dogged pursuit of a very mysterious woman–except, as he says in the book, he’s looking for her in the past, not the present. It’s also, glancingly, the story of the collapse of The World As We Know It, to bring about a new order that seems to be based on socialism, that seems to carry on from where the Occupy protests left off; but you’re a better man than me if you can make head or tail of the allusions in the book.

I’ve concluded I’m not smart enough to work out all the references, and I got tired of the very, very many descriptions of everything, and I mean everything. I also kept reading because I was waiting for the pay-off, which, I mean, I don’t know. And that’s my summary of this book: it was interesting, but I honestly don’t know.

I hope other people read it, and explain, because it feels like it’s very interesting, if I could only get it.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Serpent Key Press for access to this ARC.

[Sneha · Rating 5 out of 5]

BOOK REVIEW: The Happy Valley

Recently I got my hands on Benjamin Harnett's debut book "The Happy Valley". It is a captivating story that hooked my attention from the first page itself. The book is written in two parts: Key and the Farm.

The story features a middle-aged man who met a girl named June at the age of 12. June is his ex-lover now and the narrator returns to his hometown Harmony Valley. He is looking for a clue for June. June's interest was in L.E.F (“The Order of Friends of Liberty”) whereas the narrator wasn't interested.

As the story progresses, Vietnamese lawyer Tiffany Ho joined a generational enterprise. Get a copy of this book. It will be exciting to find out what the narrator will do. The story is full of mystery and it pulled me in so much that I forgot the real world around me for a while. The characters are written well and will stay in my head for a long time.

Benjamin has done great work in this book as a debut author. I am looking forward to reading more books by him in the future.

Rating: 5/5 ⭐

[Amanda Ruby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through the exhaustion and general malaise of the COVID era and beyond, I’ve had neither the energy nor the enthusiasm to devour many books. This one broke my literary stupor.

It’s hard not to identify with the protagonist. The author manages to make him very real and human, and tap into the various mindsets he has at different ages. The portrayal of upstate and central New York resonates, the decay and potential for meaningful lives and rebirths. The prose meanders at times, but so do our brains. And what’s this…cautious optimism about the future? I don’t know if I hold such high hopes for us, but I’ll be thrilled to be wrong.

Pick it up and you will be absorbed.

[_sassy_39 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Happy Valley is the debut book of the author Benjamin Harnett. In this story, an unnamed narrator sets out on a journey to find his ex-lover June who has disappeared.

In the first part Farm, the narrator recalls meeting June in junior high when June's family relocated to the farm from Ohio. The narrator and his friends created a role-playing game. June agreed to join but she has some secret plans.

Clyde Duane, school janitor, has a mysterious golden key. Soon, June disappears and the investigation begins. Read this story to find out who is behind June's disappearance.

The storyline is intriguing. The title of the book is suitable. The language used in the book is lucid and I was able to follow the story easily. The pace is fine and I enjoyed every bit of this story. Go for it without any second thoughts.

[bookhaven__ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Happy Valley
By
Benjamin Harnett

Review:
Benjamin Harnett's "The Happy Valley" is such an interesting read. An unnamed narrator in first person recalls his youth on the farm. He met a girl at a school and they became lovers. But now June has disappeared. The narrator is searching for her.

There is a mystery involved in the story. There is a mysterious key, a janitor, a law firm and a secret room. The story is set in the near future and in the past as well. As the narrator finds her, we get to know more about her.

Those who love reading lengthy dystopian stories should definitely get their hands on this one. The plot of the story is unique. June and the unnamed narrator are two of my favorite characters. Benjamin has an impressive writing style and he managed to construct the story well. Go ahead with this without any second thoughts.

Rating: 5/5

[Gene Desrochers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the meandering intelligence of this seemingly benign novel. The way the narrator pines for June. The way Tiffany connects at the end. The way it’s confusing yet intriguing. I found this listed at the bottom of a blog and for some reason was draw to it. I’m glad I discovered a new author with a different viewpoint.

[Lisa Grønsund]

I've received an advanced digital copy of this book, courtesy of the author and publisher, via Netgalley, for review consideration.

RTC

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty good, a wild ride thru the life in the USA!

[Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned about this book from Reddit, and I am grateful for Reddit which evokes a kind of nostalgia but not as much as Oregon Trail, but I no longer have Oregon Trail. It is possible though that I really learned about this book long ago from Oregon Trail and simply forgot until the time was right and the Reddit-shaped wormhole opened and out popped the book. It is possible that we are in the 2030s which sounded impossibly far in the future until I consulted the calendar and saw it is only one decade away. I have many thoughts about this book, a few of which I posted to Medium (unpaywalled).

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished this book two days ago and am still unsure of what to think/or of what I read.
Pros: The dystopian/utopian society, mention of the revolution and a quasi-egalatarian society (tying in somewhat recent events for my generation in the last 10-15 years, reminiscent of Occupy Wallstreet, etc.) Beautiful descriptions/imagery. The main character's development (or unfolding, at least, as his musings were circular--although I would argue this is fairly realistic.) Although I was left wanting a bit more, the author wrote things in such a way that I couldn't wait to be able to pick back up in the story on my lunch hour, after work, etc. The book is well written and easy to read/follow/relate.

Cons: Wish there was more character development of Tiffany- left me wanting to know more. Wanted more fleshing regarding Jeremiah Jeremiah (attorney). **SPOILERS** At the end, I would have liked a bit more development regarding Francis...or perhaps some more allusions/foreshadowing regarding her sprinkled throughout the book. There was so much description and deliberate compartmentalization of sub-topics (e.g., different aspects of the past), but I felt the book somewhat missed a needed cohesion to truly bind things together.

Item of note: I listened to the audiobook of this, which has a female narrator. The female narrator + the fact that I am a female led me to believe the unnamed main character was a female. I thought this for quite a while and thought perhaps there was a concept surrounding a young LGBT+ character finding themselves, etc. At some point, I realized the main character was a dude. For some reason, the book was a little less interesting here. Perhaps that is because I prefer female main characters, which is a personal preference.

[Jacqueline Nyathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remain baffled. I have no real idea what I just read. The Happy Valley meanders, wanders, rambles, touches on secret societies but doesn’t quite explain them (or even the one that’s in the book, if it exists in the book), and is the story of one man’s dogged pursuit of a very mysterious woman–except, as he says in the book, he’s looking for her in the past, not the present. It’s also, glancingly, the story of the collapse of The World As We Know It, to bring about a new order that seems to be based on socialism, that seems to carry on from where the Occupy protests left off; but you’re a better man than me if you can make head or tail of the allusions in the book.

I’ve concluded I’m not smart enough to work out all the references, and I got tired of the very, very many descriptions of everything, and I mean everything. I also kept reading because I was waiting for the pay-off, which, I mean, I don’t know. And that’s my summary of this book: it was interesting, but I honestly don’t know.

I hope other people read it, and explain, because it feels like it’s very interesting, if I could only get it.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Serpent Key Press for access to this ARC.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the first half.
It did not keep my interest.
Too much going on.
Thanks to Goodreads for my kindle copy.

[Lorraine · Rating 1 out of 5]

A Goodreads giveaway!
Started reading this book, it was very slow and very boring!
I gave up!

[Kristy Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

GoodRead giveaway win