In economics ‘Hedonic Treadmill’ explains that people believe who  believe  in recipes for happiness are doomed to failure. They’re on a ‘treadmill’ with entirely illusionary possibilities for happiness. Continuous pleasure-seeking feeds dissatisfaction. At its most extreme it is corrosive creating permanent  dissatisfaction. This helps to explain addictive behaviour where hope turbocharges short bursts of bliss followed by despair.

I didn’t buy this book for insights into economics. I bought it because of its quirky title, which is shallow but true.

Dave Brookman, the protagonist, has a lovely suburban life. Loving wife, two children and a satisfying job in advertising. Everything is great until new neighbours arrive. His new neighbour is also called Dave Brookman with a wife, two children, works in advertising and the same age. A mirror image.

But

The new Dave Brookman has a bigger car, a larger garden and he owns  his advertising company. The old Dave Brookman implodes with rage. He compares every aspect of his life deciding he’s a failure. The new Dave is 46% better than he is. This is the plot.

Utterly mad, preposterous, implausible and compelling.

Give it try.