Hector and the search for Happiness

I don't think I've ever read a book where one minute I am quite enjoying it and the next loathing it, but Hector and the search for Happiness caused such extremes during its short read.
Hector is an American psychiatrist, who becomes disillusioned at his practice, where he mainly sees prosperous, middle-class citizens who complain and are never happy. He decides to seek out the true meaning of happiness by going on a trip around the world to see how different cultures view contentment.


 Its written by Francois Lelord, also a psychiatrist, who's aim is to put forward the means to true happiness in a format other than a psychology textbook. He does this through the various tales and adventures that Hector has and Hector gradually compiles a list eg. Lesson 1: Making comparisons can spoil your happiness.



Sometimes the fables can seem a bit trite or forced situations to illustrate the author's point, but what makes this even more frustrating and indeed patronising is the tone that the author takes in telling the fables. It is written in a simplistic way as if you were explaining things to a child eg. "When he was a child, people from another country had occupied Hector's country and had decided to put to death all the people with surnames they didn't like. In order to do this they put them on trains and took them very far away, to places where nobody could see them doing this terrible thing."



Other disgruntled readers have pointed out the misogynistic approach that Hector takes to women. At home he has a relationship with Clara, but on his journey he beds not one but two other women for his happiness without any guilt. He crosses out a lesson he writes that Happiness could be the freedom to love more than one woman at the same time, and does come to realise through observing the relationships of others that what makes one person happy can make another sad.




The Movie

I must admit that I approached the cinema with some trepidation and not very high expectations, considering the book and some glimpses at film reviews. I was pleasantly surprised, however, and apart from a misjudged opening dream sequence, the film was an enjoyable, thought-provoking, feel-good experience. This is mainly because it is able to ditch the patronising tone of the writing and stick to the narrative.

It spends a good while establishing the daily lives and characters of Hector and Clara, making the focus of the story about their relationship and building Hector's realisation that Clara is his happiness all along. Clara gives Hector the time and space to discover himself and even gives him tacit permission to have sex with other women, if that's what it takes. In the end, Hector is shown as remaining faithful despite temptation.

 The change in tone when Hector is kidnapped in Africa is well handled and a real sense of danger to Hector's life is developed, which the reader never gets from the book. The elation that he feels of being alive after being released accentuates the lesson that sometimes you need the yang of unhappiness to realise the yin of happiness.
Some of the lessons of happiness are different but are still relevant and relate to his experiences. An additional situation and lessons are developed through Hector having an old flame (Toni Collette). She has moved on but Hector still uses her as a regret from the past that unsettles his commitment to Clara.

I think its probably easy to be cynical and negative about this film, but as a wise old Tibetan monk says "We have an obligation to be happy... " and two hours spent watching this film will help achieve that.