…not quite purely coincindental in the case of “Happyland” (panned by Conversational Reading), a serialized novel appearing in Harper’s. Even the name of the main character, Happy Masters, is strikingly close to her real-life inspiration, Pleasant Rowland. In fact, “Happyland” is so close to reality that W.W. Norton declined to publish it for fear of libel. But why?
Most people, it seems, would rather not see themselves in print. Understandable; the way we view ourselves rarely matches up with the way other people view us, even if their view of us is mostly positive.
But as I’ve harped about before, fiction and nonfiction are tremendously close. Anna Wintour is recognizable in The Devil Wears Prada, so much so that she went to the premiere wearing, of course, Prada. In fact, that’s a much more potentially libelous book than “Happyland.” All of this makes me wonder if the author is telling the truth when he claims the book was dropped because of potential litigation, or if that was a… fiction.