Tuesday, 20 November 2012

• Book Review: Hector and the search for Happiness

  

   

  This is a quick read, and I read it swiftly because I had another audience in mind, but it’s not a children’s book.
  

  I began reading it wearing my ‘parent’ hat, and bumped into a sex scene, or rather a mild reference to sex.

  I read some more with a coach’s baseball hat and found the simple language and straight-foward style drew me in.

  I continued reading with my ‘writer’ hat, and became irritated by the repetition of the word ‘very.’

  I slowed down, took off all my hats and sat on them, along with my prejudices.

  I finished the book and checked on-line to see if universal praise and adoration dogged the writer.  I found a mixed bag of opinions.

  It’s true about the naive narrative, but it’s easy for a reader to suspend reality for a short while–always a useful skill– like when you were read to as a child.

  I enjoy being teased, and the writer draws us in to his world where we drift and daydream in safety.

  For the anal amongst us, we can type out the one-liner lessons and try to apply them to real life, while others allow themselves to absorb the ethos instead.

  If you’re a fan of Colin Cotterill or Alexander McCall Smith, then Lelord may provide an equally enjoyable distraction.

  
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