Hector and the Search for Happiness
A charming fable about modern life that has touched the hearts of more than two million readers worldwide.\ Following on the success of The Elegance of the Hedgehog, and already a worldwide sensation, Hector and the Search for Happiness finally comes to America, where readers will delight in its uplifting humor. As Hector travels from Paris to China to the United States, he keeps a list of observations about the people he meets, hoping to find the secret to happiness. Combining the winsome...
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A charming parable about modern life that has touched the hearts of more than two million readers worldwide. Following on the success of The Elegance of the Hedgehog, and already a worldwide sensation, Hector and the Search for Happiness finally comes to America, where readers will delight in its uplifting humor. Hector is a young psychiatrist in Paris who does not understand why his patients in this most beautiful of cities are unhappy. So he decides to take a trip around the world—from Paris to China to Africa to the United States—and to keep a list of observations about the people he meets, hoping to find the secret to happiness. Combining the winsome appeal of The Little Prince with the inspiring philosophy of The Alchemist, Hector's journey around the world and into the human soul is entertaining, empowering, and smile inducing—as winning in its optimism as it is wise in its simplicity.Publishers WeeklyThis trite debut follows a psychiatrist named Hector as he attempts to understand "what made people happy." At a crossroads professionally and personally, Hector resolves to take a trip, first landing in China, where he reconnects with an old friend and encounters Ying Li, with whom he spends a night. He also meets an old monk who offers a bit of happiness-related wisdom. Having suffered disappointment in his relations with Ying Li, Hector next heads to Africa, where he makes the acquaintance of a drug lord with a depressed wife, is kidnapped, and learns that "it's harder to be happy in a country run by bad people." Next up is the "big country where there were more psychiatrists than anywhere else in the world" and a meeting with a professor of "Happiness Studies." Lelord, a psychiatrist, writes in the simple prose you'd find in a children's book, and this stylistic choice quickly becomes irredeemably grating. Though the book is an international bestseller, it is far less a novel than a maudlin self-help guide that substitutes pat aphorisms for development. (Sept.)
\ Publishers WeeklyThis trite debut follows a psychiatrist named Hector as he attempts to understand "what made people happy." At a crossroads professionally and personally, Hector resolves to take a trip, first landing in China, where he reconnects with an old friend and encounters Ying Li, with whom he spends a night. He also meets an old monk who offers a bit of happiness-related wisdom. Having suffered disappointment in his relations with Ying Li, Hector next heads to Africa, where he makes the acquaintance of a drug lord with a depressed wife, is kidnapped, and learns that "it's harder to be happy in a country run by bad people." Next up is the "big country where there were more psychiatrists than anywhere else in the world" and a meeting with a professor of "Happiness Studies." Lelord, a psychiatrist, writes in the simple prose you'd find in a children's book, and this stylistic choice quickly becomes irredeemably grating. Though the book is an international bestseller, it is far less a novel than a maudlin self-help guide that substitutes pat aphorisms for development. (Sept.)\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalLelord's internationally best-selling debut novel was first published in France in 2002. It is a parable centering on Hector, a young Parisian psychiatrist who, disheartened by his patients' misery, sets out in search of the secret to happiness, traveling to China, Africa, and, eventually, the United States, i.e., "the country that has more psychiatrists than any other." He returns to Paris wiser and, indeed, happier. The fable is presented in a deliberately simple style recalling Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince. Narrator James Clamp's precise British diction is perfect for the occasionally pedantic text, whose detailed scenes are revealed with often delicious irony and humor. Highly recommended. [A film adaptation of the Penguin pb, which was described as being "charming, clever, humorous, and insightful" (LJ 9/15/10), is currently in development; Lelord's next Hector book has already been signed by Viking.—Ed.]—Nann Blaine Hilyard, Zion-Benton P.L., IL\ \ \ Library JournalIn this first novel, which achieved best-seller status overseas, a psychiatrist named Hector takes a trip around the world to find out what makes people happy and to define what happiness is. From China to Africa, he talks to many people, and every time he learns something instructive about happiness, he writes it down in a notebook. Then he verifies his list with a Professor of Happiness and discovers that he has indeed figured it out—mostly. Lelord, a French-born psychiatrist and author of several self-help books, has written this story as if speaking to a child—he's presenting a simplified version of Hector's (and his) adventure. The book, part of a series, reads something like Crockett Johnson's Harold and the Purple Crayon, but the overall effect is charming, clever, humorous, and insightful. VERDICT Adults and teens will both enjoy this rulebook for happiness; recommended.—Joanna M. Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Lib.\ \ \ \ \ Marie Claire“Intelligently naïve.”\ —Marie Claire\ \ \ \ \ BookPage“Utterly charming . . . Hector and the Search for Happiness turns psychological research into a fast-paced, enchanting story. Lelord himself is a psychiatrist, and his interest in the human mind is infectious. . . . Fans of Eat, Pray, Love and The Elegance of the Hedgehog won’t want to miss this gem of a book.” \ —BookPage\ \
