Author: Agnès Martin-Lugand
ISBN: 978-1-76029-154-9
RRP: $27.99
Happy People Read and Drink Coffee… anyone that knows me knows that this book had me at the title.
When I was offered the book as a book club title I agreed without even checking out the blurb. Reading and coffee both in the title, sold. Start the blurb to discover there’s a literary cafe, double sold. That would be my ultimate dream. I would LOVE to open a literary cafe, if only I had the capital.
This book is a French phenomenon being made into a major Hollywood film, and I had never heard of it. It was a little funny though, I was thinking about it today and I’m taking part in the Australian Women Writer’s Challenge and trying to read 50 books by Australian women… my last three books have been by an American (about Australia), English and French.
Anyway, I digress. Happy People Read & Drink Coffee, a title that spoke to my soul. I picked it up this morning knowing that there was something else I should read first, but it wasn’t here yet so I was going to start it anyway… and the other one turned up. So I thought about it a little and in the end I was just grabbed by this one and finished it.
Diane’s wonderful life is left if tatters after the tragic accident that leaves her alone, mourning the loss of her husband and young daughter. Over a year later she is still struggling; she hasn’t been back to work, she hasn’t been to the cemetery, she hasn’t packed anything up and her best friend Felix is starting to get really concerned.
With such a heartbreaking beginning I wasn’t sure what to expect. Diane’s heartbreak was palpable and I couldn’t help but feel for her. I couldn’t imagine such a loss but I could understand the way in which she grieved. Time passed and those close to her wanted to see her start to live again, and that’s understandable too, but she needed the time to decide she was ready.
Flamboyant best friend Felix decides it’s time to get back into the world and wants to take Diane on a holiday, and he’s determined. The fear of the holiday Felix will plan is enough to make Diane take drastic measures, she decides to take control and find somewhere for herself to go. A tiny beachside town in Ireland is the destination and everyone is against the idea.
Diane says she’s leaving to try and start looking to the future, to start living again, but she’s really only saying what she thinks everyone needs to hear. Her plan is to find somewhere quiet and far away to hide with her memories and her grief.
Her desire to get away to somewhere quiet and isolated is thwarted when the small Irish town is very friendly and close knit making it a little difficult for her to keep to herself. The only person who isn’t friendly is her neighbour, and they are at constant loggerheads.
Happy People Read & Drink Coffee is Diane’s slow emergence from her cocoon of grief. Her return from the abyss and first steps back into her life.
One thing that really jumped out at me and had me wondering how long ago the book was originally published was the smoking. I was a smoker for a very long time so I certainly have nothing against it but the current trend is to try and get everyone away from smoking so the amount of smoking in this book surprised me, it could be a cultural thing too I guess but it certainly struck me. Lots of smoking inside and constant smoking, and not only from Diane which could have been understood in her frame of mind. It struck me as something more 80s than current. Not to forget the drunken driving home from the pub.
Diane starts to come back to the world and I started to wonder where the story was going to go, was this going to become a romance or a rebound or a drought breaker but it was none of these things. It was a poignant return to life, a reminder that the world is still out there and no matter how hard you tried your days aren’t up; a tale of strength and resilience.
Happy People Read and Drink Coffee is the story or a sheltered young woman thrown under the wheels of the bus of life and slowly edging her way back from the brink to walk again. A young woman who had to learn to stand on her own, which she had never had to do before, and now she had to do it as she put together the pieces of her shattered heart and her crushed life.
I think this is going to make a beautiful movie and I would actually be interested in checking it out, and I don’t watch a lot of movies.
The characters are interesting and well developed, and all are facing their demons.
I really quite enjoyed this one and it certainly went quicker than I anticipated. It is translated from French and the translation is pretty seamless. The story still has a beautiful flow, it’s not stilted and it will appeal to many but it is one to read with caution depending on how closely you have felt this kind of loss.
Happy People Read & Drink Coffee is available now through Allen & Unwin, Booktopia, Angus & Robertson Bookworld and where all good books are sold.
Thanks to Allen & Unwin 25 of our Beauty and Lace Club Members will be reading Happy People Read & Drink Coffee so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
Thank you for the chance to read this lovely book.
When I received it, I was a bit surprised at how short it was ( the last one I read was twice the thickness) and I finished it in record time, mostly because once into it, I couldnt put it down. Great for a weekend away.
For a short book, it certainly packed a lot of punch and was straight to the point, no need to be overly descriptive and would make a wonderful movie.I must say the ending was not what I expected, Id be happy if it was part of a series because I wanted to know about the next chapter in Dianes life.
It was my pleasure to read this book.
Happy People Read & Drink Coffee is a quaint and tender book that is a translated novel from French author Agnes Martin –Lugand. The eye-catching title of the book, made the opportunity to read and review this book absolutely hard to resist. The title of the book refers to the main protagonist Diane’s business, a literary café named “Happy People Read & Drink Coffee”. Diane’s business gave me strong feelings of envy as it is based in the heart of Paris, a city I adore after I made a whirlwind visit there last year. The combination of this stunning locale and books, seemed like a booklover’s dream.
The short length of this novel made reading Happy People Read & Drink Coffee an intense reading experience. I actually whizzed through the book in a sitting, which I am rarely given to opportunity to do due to time constraints these days. Immediately, I was drawn into this book, I felt the pull of the emotional storyline which features Diane, a bookstore owner, wife and mother to a young daughter, lose everything that she holds dear to her in a tragic accident. Barely existing for a year after the accident, save for her best friend Felix, Diane takes a chance and embarks on a sea change that takes her from Paris to a small town in Ireland. To escaper her grief, Diane decides this is a journey she must complete by herself, away from her family, friends and business. In this fairly isolated part of Ireland, Diane finds strength in the beauty of her new home and the care of her neighbours. Diane begins to question whether she can truly move on and find happiness again in the face of much grief.
There is much to learn from Happy People Read and Drink Coffee. It is one of those books that I found to be positive and life affirming, despite the sad subject matter. It successfully tackles themes of love, grief, second chances, new beginnings and ever so subtly reminds not to take own lives for granted. There was much to enjoy about this book, from the lovely contrast in the settings of Paris and Ireland, to the realistically drawn characters and the succinct style of Agnes Martin-Lugand’s prose that carries the reader away. It seemed a shame when this book came to an end as I felt like I needed and wanted more. Thankfully, I discovered both a movie and sequel are in the works.
Thank you to Beauty and Lace/Allen & Unwin for the opportunity to review this book.
What a gorgeous weekend read! Thank you Beauty & Lace and Allen & Unwin for the opportunity to read this beautiful novel.
I was immediately drawn from the first page. It was such an emotional read with a lot of ups and downs and a novel that I simply could not put down.
It was a tale of loss, resilience and new beginnings and although these are themes I cannot personally relate to, I was drawn to the story so much that I felt like I was in it!
A beautifully written novel that was very easy to read and flowed so effortlessly.
I don’t want to give any of this novel away, but I will say that it is not predictable which made me smile even more when I finished reading it.
I highly recommend reading this novel. It not only is a short read, but it packs a punch so get ready to jump on an emotional rollercoaster!
Upon seeing the title of this book I have to say it Called my name. Two of my favourite things in life put together in one book how could one go wrong.
So upon receiving this book I made a coffee , fluffed my blanket on my chair , placed my slippers on and read away to find myself turning the last page after one sitting.
Happy People Read and Drink coffee is a short story. A story of grief and tragedy of one woman, who looses all she loves in a single moment. Her happy life is torn into oblivion , her life is shattered and she finds life uncontrollably empty. Emotionally empty and going in no direction.
Diane is the owner of a popular literacy cafe In Paris ( this sounds devine ) but after a year or so of grieving, and at her best friends persistance she decides to go an an adventure of discovery to try and heal her broken heart.
She moves to a small village in Ireland – Ireland being a dream that her late husband had, in hopes of bring herself back to life. Here she meets a standoffish Irish photographer who does nothing but get her feathers in a ruffle. ( I have to say he was my least favourite character through the first half of the book lol )
Diane still trapped and haunted by her past, stays as a recluse in the small town. But it being as friendly as it is, she finds new friends, an obnixious , rude new neighbour and a very lovable four legged friend.
Happy People Read and Drink Coffee is a story of one womans survival . Overcoming her own demons, learning to move on , love again, over come grief , remembering love, and finding herself.
This book had my emotions all over the place, you better have a box of tissues near by cause you will need them. ( If your a soppy reader like me and this book certainly pulled at my heart strings. ) The first chapter had me watery eyed. And as a mother I can only imagine the heartbreak and way Diane must have been feeling. It certainly emotionally touched my heart and soul.
I enjoyed most of the characters delivered in this read. Edward however had my tail feathers in a ruffle. I didn’t enjoy his rudeness at first, his uncalled unfriendliness and even after half way I eventually did warm up to him and had to say the ending I was hoping for didnt eventuate lol.
Felix was a lovable character , I enjoyed him especially. His character gave light among the pages. He brought a lighter side to the sad feel of the story. Made me giggle and smile and also was happy for Diane to have such a loving and doting friend in her time of need.
One thing I did find while reading was the amount of smoking within the story , I didn’t feel this was useful in anyway. Lots of smoking and mentioning of it – it kinda stuck out like a sore thumb. It didn’t affect my overall like of the story. This kinda took me back to the earlier years where everyone smoked everywhere. The story being set in the 80 -90’s more so.
The plot was well outlined, defined and easily read. The writing crisp and well put forward. All dialogue was easily followed . As much as I enjoyed the book, Id hope that when making the movie a little more is added in. 😀 Possibly after Diane revamps her Bookstore and maybe Edward redeeming himself some more .
Overall, I really enjoyed Happy People Read and Drink Coffee. I didn’t get the Hea ** love ** I was hoping for lol but did get a sense of moving on, new lease on life for Diane – the fact that she found herself again even after such a devastating loss was uplifting .
A broken heart is one of those experiences that we all experience at one stage in life. We either keep it inside , share, or find a way to heal , yet you can only ever experience it alone.
It takes time To Find who you are without the ones you love in life. We see Diane’s turmoil, her growth, slow recovery and her life being uplifted. A heartbreaking story , that will certainly pull at your heartstrings, have you teary eyed but have you reading till the very last word.
Thank you to Beauty and Lace book club and Allen and Unwin for the Review copy.
Well, strap your seat belts on and get ready for a ride on an emotional roller coaster! I was going to start by saying I couldn’t put ‘Happy people read and drink coffee’ down, but actually I did. It didn’t take me long to read, just a day, but I had to keep putting it down to wipe away my tears! Make sure you wear waterproof mascara when reading this book and even when you think you’re through the worst, still wear waterproof mascara! What a fantastic book to read on a cold, miserable day like it was when I read it.
Agnes Martin-Lugand has a way of writing that made me feel as if I was living Diane’s loss right to my very bones. I so felt for her. I cried tears of sadness and tears of happiness. I desperately want a sequel to find out what happened next. The ending was left in a place when we can probably fairly easily predict the future, but I want to know for sure.
I can’t wait for the movie to come out! Thank you Beuty and Lace for another great review >:o)
What a delightfully written novel.
I found the beginning really sad and heartbreaking with the loss of Diane’s husband and daughter and really wondered how she would ever recover from it.
As the reader we are taken on her journey to find some sense of normalcy, with a huge struggle on her behalf. She takes herself completely out of her comfort zone and moves to Ireland and she finds herself among a lovely community except for her neighbour.
I found this book to be so easy to read and a nice quick one.
I really cant wait to see this on the big screen and to read any more books put out by this author.
Thanks B&L.
This is a beautifully written novel.
Translated from the French version of the book “Happy People Read and Drink Coffee” flows beautifully and was a pleasure to read.
My emotions went from sadness and heartbreak for the main character of this novel Dianne to feeling as though I was being taken along with her on the journey she takes through the next parts of her life, learning to move on and to start over again.
She moves to Ireland after a huge event in her life and we experience her new beginnings .
This book is being made into a major movie and I certainly am glad that I have read it and will look forward to seeing it after enjoying this novel so much.
A perfect weekend read and one where you will experience a full range of emotions all wrapped up in the one novel.
Thanks Beauty and Lace and Allen and Unwin for allowing me to read and review “Happy People Read and Drink Coffee” .
Happy People Read and Drink Coffee is a charming novel with the main character Diane a strong willed, stubborn person who suffers a traumatic loss of the two people she loves the most. With a friend trying to convince her to move on with her life, she decides to move to the Irish coast. Here she meets her match. A head strong, angry man who has charisma but doesn’t want her in his life and initially moves mountains to make her keep out of his way. Surround by some lovely sifter characters the are destined to keep meeting resulting in a change for them both. Love wins sometimes and not other times. Which way will this story go? Fantastic light read and enjoyable story.
When it comes to grief, heartbreaking grief I often think things like ‘How would you cope, How would you get over something like that, How would you go on…’ This book answered those questions. This book broke my heart. I felt like I was on an emotional rollercoaster.
I love how the raw emotions were written perfectly. I couldn’t put this book down and it was read in 2 nights – I could’ve pulled an all nighter easily except I have kids to look after.
The second night of reading wasn’t as heartbreaking as the first as Diane slowly gets better…very slowly. I found myself willing her to keep going.
The smoking throughout the book will get to some people, for me honestly I loved it! Grief and smoking for me go hand in hand and it makes sense, to me. I’m an ex smoker so I just get it.
I like the ending it was enough for me. It was where I could imagine Diane being emotionally and physically. I finished content.
Loved this book. Found it easy to read and the text was bigger than most books which made it a bit easier.
Was intrigued by the 2 main characters and enjoyed reading how their character enveloped. This book is one for light reading but is a beautifully written book with a satisfying
ending