Novellas in November is hosted by 746 books and Bookish Beck. Head over to their websites for more information.
My first novella in November is Seneca's On the Shortness of Life: Life is Long if You Know How to Use. This is a novella you have to read in small doses. Seneca gives us to many things to think of more in detail.
By chance, I discovered that one of the books I took with me for my weekend trip was a novella. A book I found last week at a street library. It is Happy People Read and Drink Coffee (Les gens heureux lisent et boivent du café) by Agnès Martin-Lugand. The books was printed in France in 2013. A lovely little novella about sorrow and how to overcome it.
Diane seems to have the perfect life. She is a wife, a mother, and the owner of Happy People Read and Drink Coffee, a cozy literary cafe in Paris. But when she suddenly loses her beloved husband and daughter in a tragic car accident, the world as she knows it instantly vanishes. Trapped and haunted by her memories, Diane retreats from friends and family, unable and unwilling to move forward.
But one year later, Diane shocks her loved ones and makes the surprising decision to move to a small town on the Irish coast, finally determined to heal and rebuild her life alone—until she meets Edward, the attractive yet taciturn Irish photographer who lives next door. At first abrasive and unwelcoming, Edward initially resents Diane’s intrusion into his life of solitude . . . until he can no longer keep her at arm’s length, and they fall into a surprising and tumultuous romance. But will it last when Diane leaves Ireland, and Edward, for the home she once ran away from in Paris? At once heartbreaking and uplifting, Diane’s story is deeply felt, reminding us that love remembered is love enduring. (From Goodreads)
It is a story of love, friendship and loss. How are we able to overcome a loss like Diane's? Time heals all wounds, as they say, but it is a long and windling road to get there. Agnès Martin-Lugand writes beautifully (if you can say that about such sad circumstances) about it. We understand fully how Diane is feeling. Her relations with her parents are estranged and her only friend is Felix who is trying to help her out of her apathy.
The healing process during Diane's visit in Ireland is sensitively described. You might think you know the ending by reading the summary, but it is more complicated than that. On her healing journey Diane makes new friends, gets to know country side life versus the life she has led in Paris. Country folks behaviour in comparison to city behaviour. Diane learns a lot about life during her stay in Ireland.
I really liked this novella, although its sad theme. Very suitable to read during halloween, when we remember the loved ones no longer with us. I could easily take to the Irish countryside and the sea for healing purposes as presented by Martin-Lugand. I am a pisces and love water. Water has such a healing quality. Just to sit on a beach looking out over the sea, and listening to the waves, is soothing.
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