For my first book of 2024, I picked a memoir from my want-to-read list. It’s called The Country of the Blind and I soon reached a point in the book where my interest and pace was dwindling. To restore the balance in my reading life, I was on the lookout for a book that was unlike The Country of the Blind. That meant fiction, romance, and unseriousness aka chick lit. All of which Henry’s books epitomize. I’ve observed as her books did the rounds of the bookish interwebs, reached virality with every passing year starting in 2020 which is when booktok exploded. I settled on Happy Place which is her latest book, published in April 2023. It explores themes of found family, friendship, young love, career fulfilment, and parental expectations. It ended up being less of the romantic comedy I was expecting from Henry and more mature melancholia. That said, I am dying to read Book Lovers next!
Happy Place elevates the fake dating trope to a higher level of fun and complexity. Essentially, the lead couple- Harriet and Wyn- broke up six months ago but they haven’t told a single soul. Now they’re on the annual week long getaway with their closest friends around whom they must pretend they are still in love. Except, even after six months Harriet and Wyn aren’t really over each other, they haven’t moved on but they aren’t letting each other know that. And, Henry keeps things interesting. This is the last time the group of friends will spend at the cottage in Maine, because the cottage is about to be sold. So the stakes to make this final time at the cottage perfect are high.
With the above premise, this book tells the story of how that week in Maine unfolds. There are flashbacks to times throughout the past decade that present the begining and cementing of these friendships and relationships they found in University. Henry does justice to the dynamic between all the individual friends in this circle, she ensures each individual’s character is sufficiently developed so they can contribute to the story. The lead couple are described in ways that makes them realistic. I enjoyed Harriet, she is a surgical resident who knew she will be a doctor since she was in high school and that desire to be a doctor has governed her every decision. She of course falls in love with Wyn- which itself is a sweet little story. I found Wyn’s character to be a bit problematic with his constant self-depracating tendencies which were more pronounced because of how frequently his low self-esteem manifested itself. Without spoiling anything, Harriet’s character arc was interesting. Toward the end of the book, Harriet makes a decision that on the surface seems just bad. But, the thought process of reaching that decision is based on a deep sense of trust and belief she has in her self and her abilities. Her acceptance of the future being difficult and her self-assuredness to deal with whatever may come is what I appreciate.
Here are some of my highlights.
- “The feeling of being so grateful to have something worth missing.”
- “Like even when something beautiful breaks, the making of it still matters.”
- “Want is a kind of theif. It’s a door in your heart, and once you know it’s there, you’ll spend your life longing for whatever’s behind it.”
- “He laughs against my cheek. I wish I could swallow the sound, that it would put down roots in my stomach and grow through me like a seed.”