Summary: Diane is the owner of Happy People Read and Drink Coffee, a literary café in Paris. When her husband and daughter die in a car accident, her life is overturned and the world as she knows it instantly disappears. Trapped by her memories, she moves to a small town on the Irish coast. There she falls into a surprising and tumultuous romance with Edward, a taciturn photographer who lives next door.
The international bestselling novel about Diane, a French woman who moves to the Irish coast after a terrible tragedy and begins a tumultuous but ultimately healing relationship with a brooding Irish photographer.
Originally published in France by Editions Michel Lafon in 2013 as Les gens heureux lisent et boivent du café.
Diane is the owner of Happy People Read and Drink Coffee, a literary café in Paris. When her husband and daughter die in a car accident, her life is overturned and the world as she knows it instantly disappears. Trapped by her memories, she moves to a small town on the Irish coast. There she falls into a surprising and tumultuous romance with Edward, a taciturn photographer who lives next door.
It's been a year since Diane's husband and small daughter died tragically, and she hasn't left her Paris apartment. Her friend Felix has been running their bookstore café, Happy People Read and Drink Coffee, into the ground. Her parents and in-laws think she simply needs to move on. That doesn't seem possible, but one day she decides to move to Ireland, choosing the spot by placing her finger on a map. There, the volatile weather, the tiny village, and a hostile neighbor all contribute to her cigarette- and wine-fueled return to life. She makes bad decisions, makes better decisions, and navigates her revised existence mostly on her own. The movie rights to this translated novel have already been sold, and a sequel is imminent. For readers of women's journeys and tales of hope, this slim volume engages thoughts and feelings without whitewashing grief.--Moroni, Alene Copyright 2016 Booklist
Kirkus Book Review
After losing her husband and child in a car accident, the owner of a Parisian literary cafe moves to the Irish coast and falls in love with her neighbor in this uplifting travel fantasy. Diane's cottage in Mulranny is an idyllic backdrop for a romance to unfold over long walks on dramatic seaside cliffs or pints of Guinness in a cozy pub where the cheerful villagers all know each other by name. Noticeably missing from the picture is her love interest, Edward, who lives next door but who only appears every so often to yell at Diane to turn down her "damned music" or to ask her to watch his dog, Postman Pat, while he leaves town for several weeks. But their reticence is part of the story's authenticity as well as its charm. Diane seems to get a cathartic release from turning her music back up and shouting in his face. They form a tentative friendship as Diane pulls herself together in other areas of her lifeafter her parents comment on her lack of independence, for example, Diane learns how to check her darkened cottage for a blown fuse. But Edward reveals his tender side when an old girlfriend appears on his doorstep. There's a heart-rendingly awkward pause while they both decide how to proceed, knowing that both of their hearts might still belong to someone else and that Diane will eventually return to Parisa cliffhanger ending for Edward that will be explored in the sequel. But like its heroine, the first book in the series doesn't attempt to do too much, too soon. Martin-Lugand's sparse but emotionally forceful style, aided by Smith's translation from the original French, catches the sweeter moments between two people embittered by loss. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.