An Archive of Happiness
Published on 2. September 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
300 pages
978-1-908058-77-5 (ISBN)
Description
An Archive of Happiness is set in the Scottish Highlands over the course of one day during the Avens family's annual get-together.
It's the summer solstice and theirs is a fractured family, broken by arguments, by things said and not said, by a mother who has left and a father who was left behind.
What happens on this day will force them to cleave together to survive and redraw the traditional bonds of family.
* Longlisted for the 2020 Highland Book Prize*
"This is such a big-hearted, intricate and compelling novel: it is as robust and delicate as the landscapes it inhabits. Reeder tells a story of loss, fracture and repair, every sentence infused with both clear-sightedness and love."
-Jenn Ashworth
"An Archive of Happiness is a poignant, multi-layered exploration of family relationships brilliantly revealed. A haunting story told in exquisite prose."
- Ruth Hogan
It's the summer solstice and theirs is a fractured family, broken by arguments, by things said and not said, by a mother who has left and a father who was left behind.
What happens on this day will force them to cleave together to survive and redraw the traditional bonds of family.
* Longlisted for the 2020 Highland Book Prize*
"This is such a big-hearted, intricate and compelling novel: it is as robust and delicate as the landscapes it inhabits. Reeder tells a story of loss, fracture and repair, every sentence infused with both clear-sightedness and love."
-Jenn Ashworth
"An Archive of Happiness is a poignant, multi-layered exploration of family relationships brilliantly revealed. A haunting story told in exquisite prose."
- Ruth Hogan
Reviews / Votes
'An Archive of Happiness is a poignant, multi-layered exploration of family relationships brilliantly revealed. A haunting story told in exquisite prose.' Ruth Hogan ; 'This is such a big-hearted, intricate and compelling novel: it is as robust and delicate as the landscapes it inhabits. Reeder tells a story of loss, fracture and repair, every sentence infused with both clear-sightedness and love.' Jenn AshworthMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 138 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
352 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-908058-77-5 (9781908058775)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Elizabeth K Reeder is a Chicago native now living in Scotland. She writes novels, essays and stories. She is fascinated by things we build and dismantle (houses, identity, family, community) and how we write about them. Her first novel, Ramshackle, was shortlisted for a number of awards including a Saltire Literary Award. Interested in writing that creates spaces between forms, subjects and discipline, she supports writers/artists/thinkers to make our best work including making space for risk, exuberant failure, collaborations, and rigorous creative editorial processes. microbursts, a collection of her lyric essays produced in collaboration with artist Amanda Thomson, will be published by Prototype Publications in Spring 2021. She's a MacDowell Colony Fellow and a senior lecturer in Creative Writing at University of Glasgow.