Happiness Has a Slippery Tail

This novel paints the portrait of a Lebanese family that has settled in Montreal. The central figure is Dounia, a 75-year-old mother and grandmother. Hers is a story of loss-she first leaves her own village to live in her husband's hometown, and then is wrenched from her homeland, not once but twice, to live in a strange land whose language and customs are foreign to her.

Dounia can neither read nor write, and she speaks only Arabic. Illiterate yet perceptive, nourished by Lebanese proverbs and pearls of wisdom, she has a unique and captivating voice. She struggles, yes, but manages to achieve fulfilment in her new world: "My home is where my grandchildren are, clinging to my neck, calling me Sitto Dounia […] in my language. I want to die where my children and my grandchildren live."

Abla Farhoud was an actor and playwright before becoming a novelist in 1998 with the publication of this novel, the French title of which was Le bonheur a la queue glissante, awarded the France-Québec – Philippe Rossillon Prize. Other novels followed, including Le Sourire de la petite Juive (published in English as Hutchison Street), Le dernier des Snoreux, and the posthumous book Havre-Saint-Pierre. Abla Farhoud passed away in 2021. Back in Lebanon, we did everything outdoors rather than staying cooped up within four walls. Sure, we stayed in the house in winter, but it was so short. I don't know how that dark mood dissipated, nor at what moment I started noticing that there was a sky here, too, and that it was sometimes quite blue and very beautiful. It took me around ten years, I think. Ten years without a sky-that's a long time.
Born in Lebanon in 1945, Abla Farhoud immigrated to Canada in 1951. She later moved back to Lebanon and spent some time in France. She studied theatre at the Université du Québec à Montréal and wrote several plays. In 1998, she published her first novel, Le bonheur a la queue glissante, for which she was awarded the Prix France-Québec – Philippe Rossillon. A number of acclaimed novels followed.

Abla Farhoud passed away in 2021. She is survived by her children-musician Mathieu Farhoud-Dionne, also known as Chafiik, and singer-songwriter Alecka Farhoud. This is the story of Dounia, a Lebanese woman who struggles with her new life in Quebec. Isolated by language and cultural barriers, she nevertheless has the resilience and strength of character to evoke both the tragic and joyful moments of her family life. Abla Farhoud's classic first novel brings the Lebanese immigrant experience in Quebec to life through the story of a mother, Dounia, raising her French-speaking children in a new culture. This sensitive rendering of the novel in English translation allows Dounia's story to unfold with dignity. Le bonheur a la queue glissante, by acclaimed author Abla Farhoud, is a masterful work. Yet, despite the positive reception the novel has received at home and abroad, it has never been published in English in its entirety. The translation of Abla Fahroud's first novel will bring one of the jewels of Canadian literature to new audiences, in Canada and abroad, while filling a major literary gap in Canada. With more than 18,000 copies sold in the original French in Quebec, this bestseller has its place in our catalogue of literary works by great Canadians. Translated by Governor General's Literary Award winner for Translation, Judith Weisz Woodsworth. This masterfully written novel is a story of resilience - broaching topics such as war, domestic abuse, and resettlement - but also of love and hope.
Foreword

Acknowledgments

Happiness Has a Slippery Tail

Glossary of Proverbs

Works by Abla Farhoud