Life should be like this.
Written: Jun 21 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: easy read with personable and unique characters
Cons: almost too stable and free of conflict
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| prettyrain's Full Review: Laurie Colwin - Happy All the Time: A Novel |
I have read this book so many times I could probably rewrite the entire thing here, word for word. But I won't, because it still wouldn't be as good as Laurie Colwin's stuff.
This is one of my all-time favorite 'comfort books.' Does anyone else have those? I read them when I need an easy, familiar and safe read. A book full of people I know and like and a story that I want to be a part of again. I guess that's how some people use re-runs of "The Brady Bunch," or "Happy Days." But.. the book is good!
The story's main characters are Misty, Vincent, Guido and Holly. Vincent and Guido are cousins and best friends who live in New York city; Holly and Misty are their wives (though not at first). The book follows them through their daily lives filled with good food, art, champagne, beeswax candles, and having a baby. Other characters show up and become part of the circle as well, but we don't really get into their heads in the same way.
Misty is a misanthropic linguist, very intelligent and calls herself the "scourge of God." She ends up with Vincent, the goofy, boyish engineer who wants to revolutionize recycling. Holly is a bit stand-offish, has perfect hair, collects mis-matched China (yes, I went out to St. Vincent de Paul and got my own mixed tea set), and knows how to make life _good_. Guido is the most sane of the bunch, and gets frustrated when people don't act predictably. He runs a foundation (grants for artists!) and a magazine... he goes through some hilarious assistants and actually tries to get work done.
I identified with bits of all the characters and it's just one of those books I wanted to literally (heh) get _into_. When the four are sitting around a table, or on a fishing boat, or drinking coffee, Colwin just makes it so real that you are there. You'll think of things to say and you'll share in-jokes with them and feel that they are your friends too.
No -- they aren't perfect. Holly puts Guido through his own personal hell twice by going away to be by herself, Misty can't face her feelings for Vincent and is mean to him as a result, Vincent does seem to think that marrying a grown-up will make him one too, and Guido can get on your nerves because he wants everything so stable and predictable.
The book isn't deep, by any means, but it's well-written, realistic and seems... almost timeless. It's set, I think, in the 1970s but it doesn't seem to matter.
Still, like I said, thanks to their likable personalities, brains and tastes, and Colwin's excellent descriptions (I can see Holly's hair and taste Misty's coffee, honest) the book is a great read.
It is entirely coincidental, by the way, that Misty's real name is Amelia and that's what I named my daughter.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
prettyrain
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Location: Toronto, Ontario
Reviews written: 31
Trusted by: 27 members
About Me:
Book-loving, coffee-drinking writer, zine editor, mom and slacker loving the serendipitous life.
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