Things That Cause Inappropriate Happiness

More about the book

Things That Cause Inappropriate Happiness is Danila Botha's third collection of short fiction. In these thirteen brilliant stories, she observes with her signature vulnerability and humour what it's like not to fit in. From a photographer teaching English in the Middle East ("Sometimes I Like to Shoot Kids") to a chalk eating South African immigrant teen, who struggles to fit in ("Nothing My Parents Taught me Turned Out to be True") to a neurodiverse travel agent who is tired of pretending to be like everyone else ("Congratulations on Everything") to a woman who fakes a pregnancy ("All Good Things Take Time") and an artist with a desperate need to communicate during the pandemic ("There's Something I've Been Meaning To Say To You"), these stories pulse with the empathy and originality Botha has become known for. As in her previous collection, the Trillium and Vine nominated For All the Men (and Some of the Women) I've Known, Things That Cause Inappropriate Happiness will make you laugh, and cry but above all, it will make you feel less alone.