Sunday Reading: Hector and the Search for Happiness

“Can we learn how to be happy?

Hector is a successful young psychiatrist. He is very good at treating patients in real need of his help. But many people he sees have no health problems: they’re just deeply dissatisfied with their lives. Hector can’t do much for them, and it’s beginning to depress him.

So when a patient tells him he looks in need of a holiday, Hector decides to set off round the world to find out what makes people everywhere happy (and sad), and whether there is such a thing as the secret of true happiness…”

Over two million readers across the world have engaged with this quirky story, in what is a truly delicious read. ‘Hector and the Search for Happiness’ by Francois Lelord is perceptive with observations that are so beautifully expressed, yet it is dry, it has an edge and it causes reflection within the reader.

I guess you could describe the narrative voice in ‘Hector and the Search for Happiness’ as simple, in that it is accessible and without frills. The findings themselves could even be described as ‘obvious’ to those who are wearing blinkers (because that’s the ‘point’, because that’s just it, it’s about the blinkers that prevent us from seeing and feeling and acknowledging that even the simplest of things can make us happy or sad).

And I loved Hector as a character. It’s right that he isn’t at all perfect, that he has character flaws and weaknesses (don’t we all?), but he also has an ability to connect with and to observe, as he travels the world in search of answers to what makes people happy (and begins to understand himself more as a result). I do believe that this story and journey could warm even the coldest of hearts.

The story is told through echoes of a modern-day fairytale voice, and that simply allows the perception to have more depth and to reach further within the reader. I loved the voice and I loved the observations of human behaviour and I especially loved that the story had a darker tinge.

‘Hector and the Search for Happiness’ is a genuine treasure, one that you ALL should read. I utterly and absolutely loved it. There is an edge, it’s not at all tacky and it’s very VERY good. It’s as simple as that.

You can (and you really should) buy ‘Hector and the Search for Happiness’ by Francois Lelord here.