Synopsis
Meet Felicissimo, Felix, Fee.
He's a happy-go-lucky, fun-loving fellow who likes a night out on the
town, a good time with a woman, a cigar and a shot. For all that, he's
an enterprising immigrant who works hard as a machinist, saves his money
and cherishes friendship and family. He believes in America the Melting
Pot, fair play and freedom.
On a wintry night in Cincinnati in 1935, his world turns ugly. This
gentle man (unless provoked) who bears no ill will finds himself wanted
by the police, boxed in by circumstances beyond his control. A friend
who could provide an alibi betrays him in his hour of need. Fearing the
authorities, he becomes a man on the run.
But this stranger who speaks broken English doesn't know how to behave
like a fugitive. When he lands in Trump, a tiny town on the
Maryland-West Virginia border, he draws attention with his Hollywood
good looks, strong work ethic and zest for life -- in short, by
being Fee, by being himself.
Despite his problems, and with little regard for himself -- some
consider him simply a fool -- he enriches those he meets in subtle and
not-so-subtle ways as he confronts racism, physical and sexual abuse,
and the artificial boundaries placed on the human spirit.
Review
Author D.C. Koh has reached back into the past to create a novel that seems newer and fresher than most of what's found in digital or brick-and-mortar bookstores today. Depicting Cincinnati and Maryland in the mid 1930's, this one-of-a-kind tale is alive with energy--not only in the story it tells but also in the way it is told, plus the marvelous characters it brings to life. Koh has chosen to spin this yarn through the mouths and minds of the people on the pages. From chapter to chapter, readers get a different point of view depending upon who is speaking. And speak they do--each with a unique voice and attitude that breathes flesh and blood into the narrative. Purists, unable to cope with anything less than disciplined spelling and grammar, may find Koh's stylistic approach off-putting. But the adventuresome reader will immediately grasp, enjoy, and appreciate the scope of each character's understanding and the "sound" of how each character speaks. The plot is simple, yet involving. An Italian immigrant has trouble with a rowdy Irishman in a bar. Later the Irishman winds up dead in the Italian's apartment. The immigrant, convinced the authorities will never believe his version of the events that unfolded, flees the city. He winds up at a boarding house in a small town, where his personality, his innate honesty, and his all-consuming life force effects everyone who comes in contact with him. Eventually, his past begins to catch up with him, but will it be in time to match what his future has in store? The players in this drama spring from each page in imminently believable form. Felix is the Italian, strong, straight, optimistic, yet realistic. Mike is his brother, troubled, lost, doomed. Redhead Red is a woman of questionable morals but unquestioned loyalty. Roberto is a sly Cuban as stealthy as he is smart. Hargrove and Levi are young black boys as talented as they are mischievous. Henrietta takes in boarders but can't seem to take in change. Plus there are many more, as interesting as their handles, Big Frankie, Lulu, John Law, and Joe Doakes, just to name a few. Koh's is a book filled with all that we encounter in life--comedy and tragedy, exultation and desolation, love, lust, friendship, prejudice, betrayal, despair, and hope. Just as in life, there is a measure of sadness, but fortunately for readers, it can be overcome and looked back on fondly when remembering time well spent with Happiest One!Joe KilgorePacific Book Review
"The conversational dialogue throughout Happiest One! drives its pace. ... The issues [the immigrant Felix] faces percolate throughout the book."
-- Pearl Matibe, U.S. Review of Books
"Koh's text is ambitious: The entire story is told in short chapters by a rotating group of first-person narrators. ... An intriguing tale ... the dialogue is musical ... the pacing is fast."
-- Kirkus Reviews
"The protagonist, Felicissimo, Felix to the fumble-tongued, is a no-retreat, self-respecting Italian immigrant. ... This man's essential decency is entrancing. ... This is an original experiment in storytelling ... that ultimately seduces the reader at an emotional level. ... I closed the covers with a pang."
-- David Lloyd Sutton, San Francisco Book Review
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