Whatever Makes You Happy

by Lisa Grunwald

Book Overview

What does it take to be happy? How happy is happy enough? And what does "happy" mean, anyway? So asks Sally Farber-wife, mother, daughter, friend, working woman, and lover-in this wise and funny novel about a woman's search for happiness in some of the right, and a few of the wrong, places.

Summer in the city looms long for Sally Farber when she sends her two daughters off to camp for the first time. Suddenly freed of her usual patterns in...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812973216
• ISBN13: 9780812973211
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

This book makes you feel like it's an old friend talking to you...

This book is very real and compelling. It's like it's an old friend sitting with you telling you a poignant tale while you both sip tea. Anyone who has ever struggled with what it means for you to be personally happy, what happiness means to you, will enjoy this book. I've had some of the same thoughts and feelings that the fictional Sally Farber has, but this is the first book I've seen to detail these issues in such a tangible, creative way. You won't want to put the book down and the reading is effortless. You also will learn about recent scientific studies on happiness, as Sally researches her book on happiness, which is great but doesn't at all feel like you're reading anything close to a textbook. It's a book about an author struggling to write a book on happiness as she struggles with the issue in her own life. This book is a true gem.

The title makes you think this is a lightweight summer book...

but in actuality, this book is deceptively deep and insightful! Wrapped in a captivating story (which i won't reiterate as others before me have written good synopses of it) , with a truly interesting main character, are hidden gems, universal messages about the nature of happiness and the human search for "it". I have struggled with this for years, trying to find, keep, hold, manage, control my own happiness and it was so special to find these fictional characters were going through the same issues. The people in the book were so real to me! I not only had 2 days of enjoyment ( happiness!) reading the book, but I felt so reassured and comforted , this search is part of the human condition. Lisa Grunwald is an amazing writer who can not only tell a great story with such vivid characters, but she can convey our human desires for happiness ,often looked for in places that aren't healthy...till we learn... This is a wonderful book and I can not recommend it enough, one I want to buy for friends and family.

Defining Happiness

Sally Farber is researching a book she is commissioned to write on "Happiness" - a mother of two, a successful writer, and wife to a successful doctor - seemingly she "has it all," yet surprisingly she is the furthest from happiness herself. We sift through insurmountable research and definitions of happiness with her; retracing happiness in her childhood, searching all corners of society for a real definition, from the laughter institute to therapy, philosophical theories to infidelity. "What if happiness is pleasure?" Sally asks herself, and subsequently embarks on a lusty affair exploring the world of unadulterated, thoughtless pleasure and instant self gratification. Is contentment happiness or resignation wearing a funny hat? To see Sally's difficulty with the topic, her own insurmountable questions, growing inner confusion and subsequent struggle with it, is so very accurate a reflection of today's generation. As Grunwald eloquently notes, people today "still [think] they need something else." Poignant, well crafted, researched, thoughtful, insightful, clever: Grunwald shows us a definition of happiness that does not lie in acquiring the next thing, wanting what "she" has, seeking out the next sexual conquest, or finding answers with a therapist - happiness, real happiness, is "something between the sea and the tiger [that] sounds like a good idea." (213) Magnificent work, Grunwald.

Spectacularly funny and unforgettably poignant

This is a beautifully written, finely drawn book -- not to be missed! Grunwald's prose is luminous, and her storytelling sublime. The reader cannot help laughing out loud at the many hilarious moments, and Sally's complicated internal struggle to figure out what makes her happy holds your attention rapt until the very last page. This is a book that you cannot put down, because Grunwald creates such an intense feeling of intimacy with Sally that you cannot bear to stop reading until you find out her fate. Interspersing the narrative with Sally's own research for her book on the history of happiness is a stroke of genius on Grunwald's part, and these sections add levity and nuance to an already profound novel about the human condition. This is a great book by a great writer.

A Fantastic Summer Read

When I picked up "Whatever Makes You Happy" I was under the impression, from the cover and synopsis, that it was simply a juicy and fun read. But the amazing thing is that though it is enjoyable, it is also wise, poignant, and in its own way, unpredictable. I felt myself engaged with Sally's personal journey as well as the rest of her cast of characters. The plot in itself is simple, but the language and characters are something totally unique. I found myself very, very pleasantly surprised. Lisa Grunwald is able to combine a great read with a great work of literature, and that is astonishing. She inspires me and will inspire all her readers to discover whatever makes US happy.