What if feigning death made us happier? This is the theme on which David Foenkinos built his novel, Happy lifepublished last winter. By confronting the intransigence of our era with this irrepressible need to free ourselves from it, the author shakes up the destiny of his characters while offering another path to happiness and beauty.
In Happy lifethe notion of rebirth is omnipresent thanks to this South Korean therapeutic experience around death. You yourself have benefited from a second chance, haven’t you? Did your experience inspire this book?
Yes, absolutely. I was necessarily touched by this subject, and this incredible therapy, because I had a death experience at the age of 16. An experience that changed my life, and unlocked, in a certain way, my sensitivity. I know to what extent the experience of the extreme, from a serious illness to the mourning of a loved one, can propel you into a radically different way of seeing life.
Curiosities: How did you discover this therapy? Would you do it if it were exported?
I came across a report. And I had already heard about it during a trip to Seoul. The images were very impressive. In South Korea, a country with a high rate of depression, it has become a real phenomenon. Yes, I would do the ritual with pleasure. I advise everyone to get into a coffin!
It is also a question, in the background, of this success that we display, of these ambitions that are certainly legitimate, but which sometimes only fill a void. Did you want to highlight this social pressure, like your two characters who, each in their own way, suffer from it?
Yes, you are right. It is a book about the search for happiness and fulfillment. It is a book that talks about changing one’s life to achieve this happiness. Many people go through their destinies without asking themselves what is essential to them. I like the idea that my characters are going to radically change their lives and leave behind a form of modern superficiality.
The passage where Eric and Amélie live an evening in complete freedom, a little outside of time, is one of my favorites in the novel. It’s a rare moment of grace, isn’t it? Letting down barriers is increasingly difficult, isn’t it?
It’s because you’re romantic! It’s a bit of a passage Lost in translation. Two colleagues together, on the other side of the world, can be conducive to a kind of intimate wandering. If my book is about happiness, it is also a love story over thirty years. My reference was the film When Harry Met Sally.
Eric’s sense of guilt proves to be a hindrance to him. He feels guilty about his father’s death, suffers his mother’s moods while knowing he’s been a poor father to his son since the divorce. It’s when he frees himself from his burdens that he becomes more interesting, less beige. Does a successful second life necessarily come with a well-orchestrated “death”?
Everyone has their own issues, and that’s what keeps us from reaching the lightness of happiness. For Eric, it’s an immense guilt that suffocates him. We understand later in the book why. Changing also means changing the way you look at your past, and accepting yourself as you are. The experience of the ritual will allow him to make the right decisions, and to know how to act to soften a family situation that seems terrible.
The quest for beauty, happiness or an absolute permeates your work. We are of course thinking of Charlottehas Delicacyhas Towards beauty but also to the titles My Wife’s Erotic Potential Or The Henri Pick Mystery. Do you find happiness easy?
Beauty is at the heart of all my books. And simply here the beauty of living in a peaceful way. It is the work of a life to be happy. For my part, I am rather a depressive in a good mood. In any case, I try to be joyful as often as possible, even if melancholy is present.
You’re funny, too. Your writing often has a hint of sarcasm, a touch of irony, a self-importance that laughs. A way for you to lighten up more serious remarks?
Absolutely. I admire more than anything people who make me laugh. Humor is spoken of as the politeness of despair. I love this formula. There is in humor a way of getting around the seriousness of the remarks. I hoped that this novel would be as light and even entertaining, despite its subject.
David Foenkinos is invited to the Maison de la littérature, on Monday, October 21, at 5:30 p.m., as part of the Québec en toutes lettres festival. Although it is not mandatory, it is preferable to reserve your place here. To learn more about the festival’s programming, click here.
Photo: © Francesca Mantovani
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