The youngest · the narrator
Ike
He writes at death’s door so that no one has to walk alone in the dark.
Volumes 1-3, 5-7, 9, 10
A novel by Steve Tiambo
TheHouse of Happiness
A house in Yaoundé. A family. And everything that hides in the dark, until the light comes back.
Prologue
My name is Ike. I am thirty-four. The doctors gave me a week, perhaps two. Before I go, I am going to tell you everything.
A lived story between darkness and light
World I · Darkness
The nights the house stopped being a refuge
In Odza, cats howl under the window, a wall begins to breathe, an old friend comes back with one smile too many. LAMADUBO enters African supernatural life as it is lived: no folklore, no caricature, just fear in the pit of your stomach.
Volumes 2 · 3 · 4 — The Wall, The Animal, The Circle
Explore this world
World II · Faith
An invisible hand guides our steps
A mother who prays when everything shakes, rosary between her fingers, a bottle of holy water on the bedside table. Her unshakeable faith runs through the whole saga and keeps the family standing, from the first volume to the last. Here faith is not scenery: it is the only weapon left when reason is not enough.
“An invisible hand that guides our steps even when we believe we are alone.”
Volumes 1 · 4 · 8 · 10 — a mother’s faith, from The Holy Water to The Lady in White
Explore this world
World III · Growing
Breaking, then rebuilding
Grief, anger, the example of a father gone too soon. Ike learns to wear a mask, then to take it off. We do not choose our storms; we choose who we become by crossing them.
Volumes 6 · 9 — My Model, The Mask
Explore this world
World IV · Love
Love keeps the walls standing
Three children, two parents, cousins, uncles, loyal friends. When everything collapses, the arms that close around you are what keep the house from falling.
Volumes 5 · 7 · 10 — The Friendship, The Sacrifice, The Lady in White
Explore this world
World V · Dawn
Even in the deepest darkness, a light still shines
LAMADUBO reads like a supernatural thriller and closes like a testimony of hope. A book for anyone crossing their own storms.
Order the bookThree voices
One house, told by those who lived in it
The eldest
Jeannette
She carries the expectations, protects the younger ones and is the first to see the light go out.
Volume 4 · The Circle
The middle child
Régine
Quiet for a long time, she becomes the heart of the fight when illness strikes.
Volume 8 · The Meningioma
A saga in 10 volumes
Ten windows onto the same house
Each volume opens a new room. Together they form the complete novel.
The Holy Water
Holy Water, the first volume of The House of Happiness by Steve Tiambo, tells of the violent, unexplained fits that seize Jack, cousin of the…
Told by IkeThe Wall
The Wall, the second volume of The House of Happiness by Steve Tiambo, tells of the night when Ike, aged eleven or twelve, sees a dark figure emerge…
Told by Ike
The Animal
The Animal, the third volume of The House of Happiness by Steve Tiambo, recounts a January 1993 night in Odza, Yaoundé, when Ike watches his father,…
Told by IkeThe Circle
The Circle, the fourth volume of The House of Happiness by Steve Tiambo, is narrated by Jeannette, the eldest sibling. In the Odza house in Yaoundé,…
Told by JeannetteThe Friendship
Friendship, the fifth volume of The House of Happiness by Steve Tiambo, traces the story of Ike's parents from Bamiléké country to Essen and…
Told by IkeMy Model
"My Role Model", volume 6 of The House of Happiness by Steve Tiambo, is a portrait of the narrator Ike's father: a Cameroonian lawyer from a small…
Told by IkeThe Sacrifice
"The Sacrifice", volume 7 of The House of Happiness, tells of the day everything falls apart for Ike, a teenager in Yaoundé. His father locks himself…
Told by Ike
The Meningioma
"The Meningioma", volume 8 of The House of Happiness, is narrated by Régine, Ike's sister. She looks back on her parents' story, the SAT association…
Told by RégineThe Mask
"The Mask", volume 9 of The House of Happiness, follows Ike after he learns of his father's death. He describes the smiling shell he built to…
Told by Ike
The Lady in White
"The Lady in White", the tenth and final volume of The House of Happiness, follows Ike after his father's death, when his mother's illness forces a…
Told by IkeOne excerpt per volume, chosen for its atmosphere. Turn the pages.
Free excerpt · Prologue
The prologue
Ike, 34, has only days left. He decides to tell everything.
My name is Ike. I am thirty-four years old, and a few days ago my life turned upside down in a way I could never have imagined. The doctors delivered a verdict with no appeal: terminal cancer. By their reckoning I have a week left on this earth, perhaps two. Faced with such a sentence, most people would drown in terror, crushed by the shadow of the unknown that stretches beyond the last breath. Yet against all expectations, a strange serenity lives in me. It is not indifference to how serious my situation is, far from it. It is something else, something deeper and older. A peace born of acceptance, fed by the conviction that I have lived every moment with an intensity few souls ever know.
In this fleeting life I have explored every facet of human existence. I have plunged into the darkest depths of the soul and faced raw cruelty, the untameable darkness that sleeps in every being. I have witnessed horror and despair, that dull pain that drives people to lose themselves. But I have also known pure happiness, the burst of joy that comes from unconditional love, from true friendship, and from faith in something greater than ourselves. Through my trials and my triumphs I discovered that life is nothing but a tireless search for meaning, a pilgrimage toward a truth hidden behind the veil of our everyday reality.
Let those who read these lines remember: even in the deepest darkness a light still shines, a force beyond all understanding, an eternal love that wraps every soul. It is a truth I discovered late, but I share it with you so that you never have to walk alone in the dark.
The author
Steve Tiambo
Born in Yaoundé and now based in Lyon, Steve Tiambo has written in The House of Happiness a story on the border between reality and fiction. What happened, what was dreamed: it is up to each reader to ask, and to answer. He wrote this book so that you question your friendships, your faith and what you are going through. And so that, if you are crossing the night, you feel less alone. Message him on Instagram, @lamadubo: he reads and he answers.
Read the biographyI hope to touch my readers’ hearts and invite them to see beyond appearances.
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