PIECES OF HAPPINESS by Anne Ostby is exactly
as promised: “a novel of friendship, hope and chocolate.” It is the story of
Kat and four dear friends who, in their 60’s, rediscover each other once the original
ringleader and recently widowed Kat invites her high school friends from Norway
to come and live with her in Fiji. Seemingly unfulfilled, unanchored and
unhappy, they come: Ingrid, straight-laced bookkeeper with an ultra-ego called
Wildrid; Lisbeth, still beautiful, but estranged from her husband and children;
Sina, a single mother who has struggled to support her greedy son, Armand; and Maya,
who shows early signs of dementia.
Together, these five “sisters” strive to care for each other
again. Ostby focuses mostly on
developing the characters and their inter-relationships. Although she provides some details, I would have liked to have learned even more about the chocolate business called PIECES OF
HAPPINESS that they decide to start together. Ostby also does a wonderful job of sharing the
culture, language, and rituals of the native villagers. There were several sad and many happy moments
in this book, but overall the feeling was indeed hopeful and peaceful. A perfect chance to reflect on life’s purpose:
“Kat pulls her gaze back from the beach, ‘You can only see one step at a time,’
she says. ‘Never the whole journey....’”
Reflecting on life is an important aspect of the extremely powerful
memoir which is titled IT’S NOT YET
DARK and written by Simon Fitzmaurice. An award-winning film maker and mountain
climber, Fitzmaurice was in his 30’s when he began to notice difficulty moving
his foot. The subsequent diagnosis of
ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, was a shock for
him and his wife Ruth, pregnant with their third child. He tells how they decided to live to the
fullest, spending several months as a family in Australia, moving house in
Ireland, fighting for his right to a ventilator and even considering another
pregnancy. One can read the 176 page memoir fairly quickly, but there is much to contemplate. Fitzmaurice’s writing is a stimulating contrast between matter-of
fact observation and emotional reflection:
“Our meaning, what we value, is the most private part of us.
It may just define us. It shapes everything
we do, everything we say, everything we feel, everything we dream. It’s hidden, from others, from ourselves. … So
often, it is only revealed to us after the fact, in the long movie reel of
memory. And when we see it, our heart stops, aching with recognition.”
Also titled IT’S NOT YET DARK, the
documentary about Fitzmaurice is narrated by Colin Farrell. A trailer appears below:
See also
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi http://treviansbookit.blogspot.com/2016/02/when-breath-becomes-air-by-paul.html
Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique
Bauby
Stir by Jessica Fechtor http://treviansbookit.blogspot.com/2015/06/stir-by-jessica-fechtor.html
