Benjamin Harnett // The Happy Valley

The Happy Valley is a genre-bending work of literary fiction. It is a coming-of-age story, an expansive, surrealist take on American history, a philosophical mystery, a subversive look at our culture, and a lot of fun. It is a nostalgic trip to the early 90's and a challenging look into a possible future to come.

In this “heavily immersive” (Kirkus) kaleidoscopic voyage through the past, present, and future of the United States, a young girl uncovers a secret society, a middle-aged man searches for his lost first love, a group of teens invent a role-playing game, protests threaten to topple the government, and an eccentric lawyer and his young Vietnamese protégée re-open a dormant case.

A perfect companion to The Happy Valley amber blown glass candle!

414 pages. Includes 66 full-page b&w illustrations by the author, maps, an appendix with a detailed timeline, and a reading group guide.

Please note that The Happy Valley will ship directly from the publisher. Want to read it now? The Happy Valley is also available on Kindle. Thank you for your support of independent literature and authors! 

“[A] trippy, ambitous debut novel...poetic, [and] delightfully inventive.” —Edward Sung for IndieReader, ★★★★★

“One of the most intriguing, beguiling, and thought-provoking books I read this year.” —Diana Spencer, author of Varro’s Guide to Being Roman

“Fabulous and engaging...richly creative!” —Glenda Burgess, award-winning author of So Long As We’re Together

About the author: Benjamin Harnett is a poet, fiction writer, historian, and digital engineer. His poetry has appeared recently in Poet Lore, Saranac Review, Juked, and ENTROPY, and forthcoming in SLANT and the Evansville Review. His short-story "Delivery" was Longform's Story of the Week. He was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize in Poetry and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. He lives in Cherry Valley, NY with his wife Toni and a menagerie of eccentric pets. He works for The New York Times.