Table of Contents
Introduction: Happiness is … pretending to be French 1
1 Don't judge yourself for being young and foolish: Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan (Or: Interfering in your father's love life can have dire consequences) 26
2 When memories visit you, soak them up: À La Recherche du Temps Perdu by Marcel Proust (Or: Find excuses to eat your favorite cake) 41
3 Sometimes you've just got to make the most of what you've got: Gigi by Colette (Or: Don't let someone publish your work under the name Willy) 61
4 No one can be truly happy while others suffer: Les Misérables by Victor Hugo (Or: There are times when you need to write in your underpants) 76
5 Self-deceit is the surest path to misery: Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Choderlos de Laclos (Or: Do not use your naked lover as a writing desk) 94
6 Do not judge your own happiness-just let it be: L'Amant by Marguerite Duras (Or: Avoid excessive alcohol consumption) 112
7 True happiness may involve quite a lot of hypocrisy: Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (Or: Beware people who dump you by leaving a note in a basket of apricots) 128
8 Our greatest weaknesses conceal our greatest strengths: Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand (Or: Be proud of your huge nose) 146
9 It's all very well to be ambitious as long as you are willing to pay the price: Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant (Or: The bigger the moustache, the greater the fall) 161
10 Social climbing rarely pays off, but you'll probably want to do it anyway: Le Rouge et Le Noir by Stendhal (Or: Don't flirt with the woman who pays you to teach her children Latin) 180
11 If you're going to behave badly, then do it in style: La Cousine Bette by Honoré de Balzac (Or: Use your disappointing looks to fuel a campaign of revenge against your more attractive cousin) 195
12 Freedom matters more than anything: L'Étranger by Albert Camus (Or: Don't take a gun to the beach) 212
Conclusion: Happiness is not feeling that you have to pretend to be French 227
Acknowledgments 241
A Note on Other Writers 243
Recommended Reading 245