Sorry I didn’t get this post written yesterday; sadly I am still a little under the weather which means there is every likelihood this post will be a garbled mess…
Book 8 – Hector and the Search for Happiness, by Francois Lelord. This story follows Hector, a psychiatrist who wants to understand why some of his clients seem unhappy, whatever he says or does. He decides to go on a journey around the world trying to find the secret of happiness. His journey is eventful, taking him from China to Africa (the exact nation not named) to ‘the country of More’ (USA); through kidnap, threat, love, sex, unexpected journeys and friendship. He meets monks, bankers, prostitutes, doctors and drug smugglers. He writes a list of lessons he learns along the way, and we finally see the outcome of his journey when he returns home to the problems and dissatisfaction he left behind.
This book was recommended as an upbeat and quite joyful piece of writing, which I needed after last week. It was originally written in French and I wonder if the style is particular to the French writing culture because it was quite unusual. It is written in short sentences, directly to the reader, with coy phrases such as ‘doing what people in love do’ when talking about sex, which made me smile. In effect, it seemed like a book a child could read without too much difficulty, but one that dealt in adult themes.
I enjoyed it – it is easy to read in short bursts which suited me, but was enjoyable enough to want to read on each time I picked it up. The style was unusual for an adult fiction book but that made an interesting change, and I needed something a little lighter than the last one so that was a point in its favour too.
Lelord is a psychiatrist himself so Hector’s 23 lessons about happiness may have some research basis but either way, they flowed naturally from the experiences shown.
All in all, I’d recommend it if for no other reason than to read something written in a more quirky style than most adult fiction!
Happy reading,
EJ
🙂
Becoming a writer 
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