Book description
Following a young woman over the course of one outrageous and insufferable downtown dinner party at the home of her estranged best friends--an artist and curator couple, whom she now realizes stand for everything she detests--Happiness and Love is a piercing debut novel about brazen materialism, self-obsession, and the empty careerism of so-called cultural elites. Years after escaping New York and the center of its artistic world--a group of self-important, depraved, and unscrupulous artists, curators, and hangers-on--our narrator is back in town. With no plans to see anyone she once knew, she's wandering around the Lower East Side, thinking about the recent death of her former best friend, Rebecca, when she runs into Eugene, one half of the artist-curator couple at the heart of her old social set. Despite her better judgement, she accepts his invitation to a dinner party. And though the party is held only hours after Rebecca's funeral, it not a memorial of Rebecca but a dinner held in honor of a young, newly famous actress whose lateness delays the party by hours. As the guests sip their natural wine and await the actress's arrival, the narrator, from her perch on the corner seat of a white sofa, silently, systematically, and mercilessly eviscerates them--their manners, their relationships, their delusions and failures, and the complete moral poverty that brings them here, to Nicole and Eugene's loft on the Bowery. When the guest of honor finally does arrive, she sets in motion a disastrous end to the evening, laying bare the depravity and decadence of the hosts' empty little lives--a hollowness that the narrator herself knows all too well.
About the Author
Zoe Dubno is a writer from New York. She attended Oberlin College and has an MFA from Rutgers University, Newark. Her fiction has appeared in Granta and Muumuu House and NY Tyrant, her nonfiction in The New York Times Magazine, The New York Review of Books, The Guardian, The Nation, Vogue, BOMB, and elsewhere. She lives in New York and London. Happiness and Love is her first novel.
The Shield Toronto
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WanderWord
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Lewd Dice
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Devine Melon
Sharing audiobooks with friends through AirDrop and Sharing on ListenBook Pro is a fantastic way to spread the joy of audiobooks. Sharing audiobooks with friends is a blast. AirDrop makes it seamless.
Hoboken Nightingale
Audiobook multitasking made easy β this app's functionality is a marvel. Automated artwork and metadata extraction keeps my audiobook library visually appealing.
Toe
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Danger Menace
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Snowflake Pixie
Chapters make navigation a breeze. I can easily pick up where I left off. Adjusting the narrator's voice tone is a fantastic feature. It adds a personal touch. Beautiful design and intuitive interface. Very user-friendly.
Green Scavenger
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InsightInkwell
The app is constantly updated with new features. The developers really care. I'm so glad I chose the audiobook version! The narrator added layers of meaning I might have missed reading silently. Their interpretation of the material felt thoughtful and authentic. The recording was technically perfect - no reverb, no peaking, just clean, pleasant audio.
Centurion Sherman
I'm impressed by how much more I'm learning through audiobooks compared to traditional reading. The ability to change playback speed and audio volume on ListenBook gives me full control over my listening experience. ListenBook's drag-and-drop download feature from web browsers is incredibly convenient. Downloading audiobooks has never been this easy. Automated metadata extraction is a time-saver. My library is so organized now. I was thoroughly impressed by this audiobook. The combination of engaging content and skilled narration made my daily commute something to look forward to. The narrator's timing and intonation were spot-on, enhancing rather than distracting from the material. Definitely worth a credit!
Feral Mayhem
The interface is beautiful and functional. ListenBook is my go-to app for audiobooks. Decent audiobook but I think I would have enjoyed reading it more. Some of the more subtle humor didn't quite land in the audio format.
Undergrad
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Lucky Brandy
ListenBook Pro's noise reduction feature is a true savior for immersive listening, even in busy surroundings. The audio filters make a noticeable difference. ListenBook provides an excellent listening experience.
Feral Filly
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Red Delicious
ListenBook has rekindled my love for learning, one audio experience at a time. π Turning my phone into a portal of stories β this app's ease of use is remarkable! π±π« Audiobook heaven! This app has revolutionized the way I enjoy stories. Its sleek design and seamless functionality make it a must-have for book lovers. ππ§ Download options are versatile, making it easy to get audiobooks from various sources.
Killer Curio
Sharing audiobooks with friends through AirDrop and Sharing on ListenBook is a fantastic way to spread the joy of listening. A functional audiobook production that met basic requirements. The narrator's voice was pleasant enough to listen to for extended periods, though their performance didn't add much interpretation to the text. The audio engineering was competent without being remarkable.
Berry Succubus
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Red Hot Kevorkian
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MysticMingle
With ListenBook, my daily commutes have become a cherished time for learning and enjoyment. I've never experienced such a smooth audiobook player. The playback is seamless. ListenBookβs bookmarking feature is incredibly useful. I never lose my place in a book. The app is perfect for people with busy schedules. I can listen on the go.
Playing a wide variety of audio formats
Works on all devices with iOS 13 and newer
Huge amount of features for a small price
Frequent updates to add new features and improve existing ones
Advanced playback controls
Live sound processing
Changing the timbre of the reader's voice and noise reduction
Translated into more than 20 languages
If you love listening to fiction audiobooks, ListenBook has features to make the process easier.
Edit book data: title, author, cover
Use equalizer to make the sound comfortable for you
Adjust the playback speed
Enjoy dark and light app themes
Supported formats: MP3, M4B, AWB, FLAC, OGG audio files and many more (must be DRM free)
Auto-Bookmarks make it easy to find your place
AirPlay support allows redirection of audio output.
VoiceOver support
Dark mode for night owls
Convenient bookmarking system helps you mark the most important places.
Unlimited bookmarks for each audiobook
Put your own cover on the wager
Share your audiobook with friends
Lock-screen control
Customise app with extensive options
Sleep timer with shake to reset, set custom notification sounds, and a few unique options
Auto rewind depending on paused time, customize rewind times to your liking
Removing background noise from recordings made in classrooms and meetings
Changing the timbre of the reader's voice for a better listening experience