My American Unhappiness (Hardcover) product details page

160;"Why are you so unhappy?" That8217;s the question that Zeke Pappas, a thirty-three year old scholar, asks almost everybody he meets as part of an obsessive project, "The Inventory of American Unhappiness." The answers he receives8212;a mix of true sadness and absurd complaint8212;create a collage of woe reflective of the time. Zeke, meanwhile, remains delightfully oblivious to the increasingly harsh realities that threaten his daily routine, opting instead to focus his energy on finding the perfect mate so that he can gain custody of his orphaned nieces. Following steps outlined in a women8217;s magazine, the ever-optimistic Zeke identifies some 8216;prospects8217;: a newly divorced neighbor, a Starbuck8217;s barista, his administrative assistant, and Sofia Coppola ("Why not aim high?").

A clairvoyant when it comes to the Starbucks orders of strangers, a quixotic renegade when it comes to federal bureaucracy, and a devoted believer in the afternoon cocktail and the evening binge, Zeke8217;s irreverent voice is a marvel of lacerating wit and heart-on-sleeve emotion, underscored by a creeping paranoia and made more urgent by the hope that if he can only find a wife, he might have a second chance at life.