'Happy Are the Happy' spins a lively cluster of stories around a Parisian couple and their social network
At a spare 160 pages, Yasmina Reza鈥檚 latest novel can easily be read in a single sitting. Presented as 21 interlinked short stories whose titles bear the names of 18 characters (three get second acts), keeping the characters fresh will be to the reader's advantage. Reza, an internationally renowned playwright best known for "Art" and "God of Carnage" 鈥� both Tony Award winners, both dissections of societal expectations 鈥� clearly draws on her dramatic, even cinematic (she鈥檚 also a screenwriter) expertise: ironically, to see Happy Are the Happy would be easier on the audience, but to read carefully, intentionally, is the more rewarding experience.
Through connections and deceptions that are revealed from story to story, Reza鈥檚 21 vignettes combined represent a microcosm of Parisian society. She makes a structural nod toward Arthur Schnitzler鈥檚 century-plus-old play, "La Ronde,"听in which the scenes dovetail one into the other with overlapping characters. Although Reza channels Jorge Luis Borges for her title 鈥� which serves as the novel鈥檚 epigraph: 鈥�Happy are those who are beloved and those who love/ And those who can do without love./ Happy are the Happy鈥� 鈥� happiness, alas, for her characters proves elusive.
At the center of Reza鈥檚 mixed company is a married couple, journalist Robert Toscano and his lawyer wife Odile, who begin and end this roundabout tragicomedy of (not-enough) manners. The sparring pair fight over cheese in the opening chapter and travel logistics in the penultimate. In between, they raise children, care for aging parents, dissect conversations with friends and acquaintances 鈥� and when opportunities arise, enjoy their lovers.
Bedhopping seems to be quite the recurring habit among the extended Toscano circle. Odile鈥檚 mother has spent decades in betrayed misery 鈥� most recently, she鈥檚 taken to begging her husband not to insist on cremation so at least in death she might be the only one to share his final resting place.
Odile鈥檚 friend has the miserable revelation that her married lover 鈥� who also happens to be Robert鈥檚 best friend 鈥� will never leave his wife and children.
A famous actress chooses a certain bar as the venue for a media interview so she might spy on her cheating lover. The philanderer treats his women badly, but he鈥檚 especially solicitous of his elderly friend who is also close to Odile鈥檚 father.
Between the Toscanos, the characters are many, including a young man who believes he鈥檚 Celine Dion, a beloved doctor who pays to be abused by prostitutes, a lonely woman who asks her dead father for advice about her lovers, a psychiatrist/psychoanalyst with a sadistic past, and still others. Somehow, within three degrees of separation, they all lead back to Robert and Odile.
Reza, ever the sharp observer of human interaction, is surely aware that to retain the intimate details of the Toscanos鈥� interconnected orbit requires diligence. As if in self-deprecating, humorous recognition, Reza presents Odile in her titular introductory chapter repeatedly trying to read her book, distracted by another late-night tiff with Robert. As Odile peruses the same passage for the seventh time, she asks herself, 鈥淣ow who exactly is Gaylor?鈥� and continues to flip back pages 鈥渢o figure out who Gaylor is.鈥� A few pages later, Odile tries again to follow the story, but this time she鈥檚 caught wondering, 鈥淲ho鈥檚 Raoul Toni?,鈥� even as her eyes begin closing.
Reza鈥檚 readers, too, might begin 鈥淩茅mi Grobe鈥� which appears half-way through the novel, and require a few flip backs to remember that he gets disparaged in 鈥淥dile Toscano,鈥� claimed as best friend in 鈥淟oula Moreno,鈥� and is then someone else in his own chapter. Is such diligence necessary to be happy with 鈥淗appy鈥�? Surely you could just lightly enjoy the stories 鈥� between affairs, aging, gambling, making pasta, confessing, and more, you鈥檒l find plenty for a memorable read. But of course, there鈥檚 so much more if you take your time.
Here鈥檚 the ultimate test of attention: after the final page, go back to the 21 named chapters in the 鈥淭able of Contents,鈥� and insert the name(s) that connect one chapter to the next. The most you鈥檒l need is three: to relate 鈥淥dile Toscano鈥� in the third chapter to 鈥淰incent Zawada鈥� in the fourth, for example, requires connection to Robert, then Virginie. To bridge to the fifth chapter, 鈥淧ascaline Hutner,鈥� requires the insertion of Jean then Robert. The puzzle awaits.鈥� 听
Will such deliberation be worth the effort? Absolutely. Because such meticulous attention will reward readers with the power to be an omniscient voyeur. And in Reza鈥檚 Parisian playground, that鈥檚 surely an offer too entertaining, even enlightening, to refuse.
Terry Hong writes a book review blog for the .
