Happy Stories, Mostly by Norman Erikson Pasaribu

Happy Stories, Mostly by Norman Erikson Pasaribu brings together twelve stories described as playful, shape-shifting and emotionally charged. The collection is presented as writing that “quears the norm”, placing queer characters into situations and plot structures more typically reserved for heterosexual characters.

Inspired by Simone Weil’s concept of “decreation”, the book often draws on Batak and Christian cultural elements. The stories are written to speak to one another through recurring phrases and themes, with fragments of one narrative appearing inside another. References move between airports, stacks of men’s lifestyle magazines and memories of Toy Story 3, creating separate pieces that connect into a larger whole. The collection is described as blending science fiction, absurdism and alternative-historical realism, with key facts deliberately omitted as sad, happy, forgotten or unbearable.

Key details

• Author: Norman Erikson Pasaribu
• Collection of twelve stories
• Inspired by Simone Weil’s concept of “decreation”
• Draws on Batak and Christian cultural elements
• Described as blending science fiction, absurdism and alternative-historical realism

Synopsis

This collection presents interconnected stories that echo one another through repeated phrases, themes and embedded fragments. It moves through varied settings and cultural references while placing queer characters into roles and narratives usually occupied by heterosexual characters. The book is described as aiming to destabilise a heteronormative world by revealing what is absent, with crucial facts left out as sad, happy, forgotten or unbearable.