Hector and the Search for Happiness

( 18 )

Overview

A charming fable about modern life that has touched the hearts of more than two million readers worldwide.

Following on the success of The Elegance of the Hedgehog, and already a worldwide sensation, Hector and the Search for Happiness finally comes to America, where readers will delight in its uplifting humor. As Hector travels from Paris to China to the United States, he keeps a list of observations about the people he meets, hoping to find the secret to happiness. Combining ...

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Hector and the Search for Happiness

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More About This Book

Overview

A charming fable about modern life that has touched the hearts of more than two million readers worldwide.

Following on the success of The Elegance of the Hedgehog, and already a worldwide sensation, Hector and the Search for Happiness finally comes to America, where readers will delight in its uplifting humor. As Hector travels from Paris to China to the United States, he keeps a list of observations about the people he meets, hoping to find the secret to happiness. Combining the winsome appeal of The Little Prince with the inspiring philosophy of The Alchemist, Hector's journey around the world and into the human soul is entertaining, empowering, and smile inducing-as winning in its optimism as it is powerful in its insight and reassuring in its simplicity.

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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
This trite debut follows a psychiatrist named Hector as he attempts to understand "what made people happy." At a crossroads professionally and personally, Hector resolves to take a trip, first landing in China, where he reconnects with an old friend and encounters Ying Li, with whom he spends a night. He also meets an old monk who offers a bit of happiness-related wisdom. Having suffered disappointment in his relations with Ying Li, Hector next heads to Africa, where he makes the acquaintance of a drug lord with a depressed wife, is kidnapped, and learns that "it's harder to be happy in a country run by bad people." Next up is the "big country where there were more psychiatrists than anywhere else in the world" and a meeting with a professor of "Happiness Studies." Lelord, a psychiatrist, writes in the simple prose you'd find in a children's book, and this stylistic choice quickly becomes irredeemably grating. Though the book is an international bestseller, it is far less a novel than a maudlin self-help guide that substitutes pat aphorisms for development. (Sept.)
Library Journal
Lelord's internationally best-selling debut novel was first published in France in 2002. It is a parable centering on Hector, a young Parisian psychiatrist who, disheartened by his patients' misery, sets out in search of the secret to happiness, traveling to China, Africa, and, eventually, the United States, i.e., "the country that has more psychiatrists than any other." He returns to Paris wiser and, indeed, happier. The fable is presented in a deliberately simple style recalling Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince. Narrator James Clamp's precise British diction is perfect for the occasionally pedantic text, whose detailed scenes are revealed with often delicious irony and humor. Highly recommended. [A film adaptation of the Penguin pb, which was described as being "charming, clever, humorous, and insightful" (LJ 9/15/10), is currently in development; Lelord's next Hector book has already been signed by Viking.—Ed.]—Nann Blaine Hilyard, Zion-Benton P.L., IL
Library Journal
In this first novel, which achieved best-seller status overseas, a psychiatrist named Hector takes a trip around the world to find out what makes people happy and to define what happiness is. From China to Africa, he talks to many people, and every time he learns something instructive about happiness, he writes it down in a notebook. Then he verifies his list with a Professor of Happiness and discovers that he has indeed figured it out—mostly. Lelord, a French-born psychiatrist and author of several self-help books, has written this story as if speaking to a child—he's presenting a simplified version of Hector's (and his) adventure. The book, part of a series, reads something like Crockett Johnson's Harold and the Purple Crayon, but the overall effect is charming, clever, humorous, and insightful. VERDICT Adults and teens will both enjoy this rulebook for happiness; recommended.—Joanna M. Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Lib.
Marie Claire
“Intelligently naïve.”
—Marie Claire
BookPage
“Utterly charming . . . Hector and the Search for Happiness turns psychological research into a fast-paced, enchanting story. Lelord himself is a psychiatrist, and his interest in the human mind is infectious. . . . Fans of Eat, Pray, Love and The Elegance of the Hedgehog won’t want to miss this gem of a book.”
—BookPage
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780143118398
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
  • Publication date: 8/31/2010
  • Pages: 192
  • Sales rank: 132,455
  • Product dimensions: 4.90 (w) x 7.00 (h) x 0.60 (d)

Meet the Author

François Lelord studied medicine and psychology. After getting his doctoral degree in 1985, he was a post-doctorate researcher at UCLA. He then worked as an attending physician in Paris for two years. Since 2004, he has been working as a psychiatrist in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Hector and the Search for Happiness is his first novel.

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 18 )
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Sort by: Showing all of 18 Customer Reviews

  • Posted November 8, 2012

    Fantastic! I absolutely loved this book! Hector is a psychiatri

    Fantastic!

    I absolutely loved this book! Hector is a psychiatrist and constantly hears that his patients are unhappy. He decides one day to find the secret to happiness. Hector sets out on a journey that takes him around the world in search of happiness. He keeps a notebook with what amounts to bullet points of what makes people happy in hopes that he will find a solution to happiness. A very inspirational read.

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  • Posted August 4, 2012

    inspirational without being obnoxious. everyone should read this

    inspirational without being obnoxious. everyone should read this if they're going through a hard time or just want another perspective about life.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted May 23, 2011

    Good.

    A nice read that's simple and light. Looking forward to Lelord's next Hector adventure, titled Hector and the Secrets of Love.

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