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HappyBy: Celina Baljeet Basra 'This novel is genius . . . strange and superb . . . radiant and exhilarating' THE TELEGRAPH 'A magnificent attempt to help us understand the mixture of optimism, self defense, hope and delusion[needed] to make the monumental choice of whether or not to leave home' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW ' A sobering reminder' WASHINGTON POST 'Leaping, chattering, dancing atop this conundrum [of global migration] comes the hero of Celina
By: Celina Baljeet Basra'This novel is genius . . . strange and superb . . . radiant and exhilarating' THE TELEGRAPH
'A magnificent attempt to help us understand the mixture of optimism, self-defense, hope and delusion[needed] to make the monumental choice of whether or not to leave home' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
' A sobering reminder' WASHINGTON POST
'Leaping, chattering, dancing atop this conundrum [of global migration] comes the hero of Celina Baljeet Basra's debut novel, Happy Singh Soni, his head bursting with ideas, his heart set on gargantuan dreams' NEW YORK TIMES
A starry-eyed young cinephile leaves his rural village in India with big dreams, only to find himself trapped in menial jobs and forced to work off a debt he may never repay.
In a small farming village in Punjab, India, a boy crouches over his brother's phone in a rapeseed field watching clips of Godard's Bande à part on YouTube.
His name is Happy Singh Soni and when he's not sleeping among the cabbages and eating sugary rotis, Happy dreams of becoming an actor, one who plays the melancholy roles; the sad, pretty boys, rare in Indian cinema. He plans a clandestine journey to Europe, where he'll finally land a breakout role.
After a nightmarish passage to Italy, Happy still manages to find relief in food and fantasy, even as he is forced into ever-worsening work conditions on a radish farm by the syndicate involved in smuggling him to Europe to pay off the supposed debt they claim he has accrued. While disillusionment amongst the farm workers rise, Happy will find the love - and tragedy - that his favourite films always promised.
At turns funny and heart-breaking, sunny and tragic, Happy is a formally ambitious novel about the psychic fissures produced by the splintering of nations, and the lovely, generative, artful coping mechanisms created by generations of diasporic people. With this ingenious, daringly cinematic debut, Celina Baljeet Basra argues for the things that are basic to human survival: food, water, shelter, but also pleasure, romance, art, and the right to a vivid inner life.
More praise for HAPPY:
'A MIRACULOUS NOVEL' MEGHA MAJUMDAR
'PLAYFUL AND PROFOUND . . . USING WRY HUMOUR TO DELIVER A DEAD SERIOUS MESSAGE' MELISSA FU
'A BONKERS STORY THAT READS LIKE A FINE TEN-COURSE MEAL' GARY SHTEYNGART
'A FANTASTIC LITTLE GEM OF A BOOK' CHIKODILI EMELUMADU
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4.6 ★★★★★
Based on 25 reviews
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
The Innovator's DNA - Disruptive Research - Disruptive Writing
A Politically Correct Status Quo
It is politically correct in management circles to say that you are "results oriented" or that you "drive for results" in your organization.
The status quo in business schools is to indoctrinate students in the delivery skills of analyzing, planning, detail-oriented implementing, and disciplined executing.
This book and the research upon which it is based disrupts that politically correct status quo.
Clayton Christensen has spent close to two decades creating the research, conceptual, and application foundation of the disruptive innovation body of knowledge. He has been working for more than 8 years with Jeff Dyer and Hal Gregersen, both gifted researchers, teachers, and consultants in their own right, on this project. These guys are a disruptive "dream team" of contributors.
This book articulates an extension of the disruptive innovation body of knowledge that clearly describes an individual profile of the disruptive innovator and an organizational profile of an organization that makes disruptive innovation happen.
So what makes this book disruptive?
The first thing is timing. It arrives on the scene at a time when innovation is one of the most critical components of a solution to our global financial and organizational mess. If we are to get out of our morass of debt and sluggish growth and respond to the continually emerging challenges of a burgeoning global society it will ride on the backs and wings of innovation. The status quo must be disrupted for us to survive and thrive!
Second is the audacity of the core models. The authors claim that innovation can be learned at both the individual and organizational level. Individuals can increase their ability to discover (Discovery Quotient - DQ) and learn to be more innovative. They cite the four specific behavioral skills of asking questions, engaging in observations, networking with people who have a different point of view, and experimenting to figure out what can work as the common elements of what innovators do. They also identify the cognitive skill of associational thinking, the ability to find connections between ideas that do not seem to be related to each other, as the connection between the behavioral skills and the generation of ideas. They extend their claim that the innovation competency can be learned to the organizational domain by saying that organizations can become more innovative through developing and leading people, designing and implementing processes, and advocating and living by philosophies that support innovation. These two arguments stand in stark contrast to the beliefs and practices of a vast majority of leaders and institutions.
(For a diagram of the Model see [...])
'And all of this is built upon the third source of disruption: research. Their work is based on well-founded research into the "DNA" of the world's leading innovators and the world's most innovative organizations. The authors conducted nearly 100 interviews of world class innovators and their colleagues to get at the heart of what innovators do. They also interviewed and surveyed executives who are not innovators. (Their survey data base has over 5000 respondents in it.) So they have been able to compare and contrast the two populations to more clearly see what it takes to effectively innovate.
They have also done research on business results attributable to innovation. Collaborating with HOLT (a division of Credit Suisse) they were able to craft a measurement called the "innovation premium." This measure identifies if an organization's market capitalization can be accounted for by existing cash flows or if there is an innovation influence on the stock price. By using this measure, they have been able to clearly and objectively identify which organizations are benefiting from innovation.
Yet to Explore
The tension in the balance of influence and power between the leaders with predominantly "Discovery" or "Delivery" mindsets is an area that has yet to be explored. If the premises of this book are sound, and I believe they are, we need to figure out how to manage that tension and balance in order to generate, incubate, and strengthen innovative ideas as we bring them to full fruition in the marketplace. Great ideas that are not delivered upon are simply recreational pursuits that do not build great people, great institutions, and great societies. So there is work yet to do.
Invest Your Time and Effort
This book makes a significant contribution to both the disruptive innovation body of knowledge and the evolving body of practice on innovating disruptively. It is well worth reading, pondering, and acting upon.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2011
★★★★★ 5
Inspiring and well-written
This is a very interesting book written by some Harvard profs. They did a large national survey of innovative businesses and their leaders. The book posits that innovative people follow five skills: associating, questioning, observing, networking, and experimenting. These skills can be found at the individual or organizational level. The idea is that most people have these skills in their DNA and can bring them out with some practice. There are a lot of interesting and inspiring examples like Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos. Although this book seems like a self-help type book with a lot of hype, it has an academic underpinning. Any organization that is interested in promoting innovation could benefit from encouraging these 5 skills. If you are interested in innovation or creativity in business or any organization that produces something, you will like this book. The books is a little distracting to read because it has sidebars all through it giving interesting examples that break up reading concentration. Aside from that, it is a well-written book that is easy and enjoyable to read. I enjoyed the book greatly and found it to be inspiring.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2015
★★★★★ 4
Great read and research. But what about daily application for regular people?
The research piece behind this book might be the next thing I read, as I'm intrigued by the academic rigor applied.
The reveal and living examples of the five skills - questioning, networking, experimenting, observing and associating - are tangible and approachable given their articulation through well-known and highly visible entrepreneurs running innovative companies. There's much to be gleaned by looking at the way these people behave and, even through simple emulation, enhancing one's own skills.
My only real disappointment with the book is its limited approach to practical, daily application for those not yet at the top of the tree. It's rather a different kettle of fish for the innovation-minded, but stuck in bureaucracy, worker who wants to make things better, is still motivated, and hasn't been crushed by the machine. How does that person actively innovate? And, in some cases, get away with it? This book (or an accompanying volume) focussing on daily, in-work, innovation would be useful.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2013
★★★★★ 5
A Favorite Book on Innovation
Format: Hardcover
Very well written and enough stories to help the true content stick. This is a favorite book of mine and has lead to interesting conversations to boot.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2025
★★★★★ 5
An exceptional five stars out of five
Few qualities separate inordinately successful entrepreneurs from the rest of the pack than the ability to innovate. Many have debated whether individuals are born with this quality or whether it can be nurtured. In The Innovator's DNA, Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen and Clayton Christensen explain that while genetics play a role, innovation is most certainly a skill that can be learned.
In particular, the authors introduce and expound upon five "discovery skills" found in the leaders of some of the most innovative companies in the world: (1) associating, (2) questioning, (3) observing, (4) networking and (5) experimenting. Each discovery skill is accompanied by real-world examples and pragmatic exercises that make the book unusually valuable in an age where copious books on change, leadership and innovation overwhelm the already-overwhelmed executive.
I give The Innovator's DNA an exceptional five stars out of five. The authors present a very readable book and provide concrete exercises for developing innovative skills. Using the principles provided in the book, I created a folder on my computer that I call my "Innovation Room." I use this to track progress as I work through various exercises and as I take time to ponder about how to apply innovative solutions to extant problems in Utah. This book was and will continue to be useful to me, and is recommended as a must-read for those interested in adding rare innovative attributes to their arsenal of problem-solving and decision-making skills.
*NOTE: The preceding text is taken verbatim from my short book review printed in the June 2012 edition of Utah Business.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2013