Happy-Go-Lucky (book)
| Company type | Book |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | May 31, 2022 |
| Founder | David Sedaris |
| Products | Essay collection |
| Parent | Little, Brown and Company |
Happy-Go-Lucky is a compilation of 18 semi-autobiographical essays authored by David Sedaris and released on May 31, 2022, through Little, Brown and Company. Of these, thirteen essays had appeared earlier in magazines or via Amazon Original Stories, occasionally under alternate titles or in different formats.
Synopsis
In Happy-Go-Lucky, Sedaris picks up where he left off in Calypso, examining his journey into late middle age amid the concluding period of the first Trump administration and the COVID-19 pandemic. The collection delves into his personal experiences, relationships with family members—including siblings and his long-term partner Hugh—as well as the deterioration of his 98-year-old father, with whom he shared a complicated bond.
Reception
Upon release, Happy-Go-Lucky entered The New York Times nonfiction best-seller list at the top position for the week ending June 4, 2022.
Publishers Weekly described the work as "darker than usual yet equally rich and rewarding." Anita Snow from the Associated Press commended Sedaris for balancing humor with harsh honesty while candidly revealing the contradictions within his family and life. Offering a more critical perspective, Houman Barekat of The Guardian labeled Sedaris as "glib regarding racial issues," "irritable" toward younger generations, and both "petty" and "resentful," though he conceded these traits contribute to Sedaris’s relatability. Barekat summarized that Sedaris is "engaging though seldom mesmerizing" on the page.