{Review} 100 DAYS OF HAPPINESS by Fausto Brizzi

ISBN #: 978-0525427377

Page Count: 384

Copyright: August 11, 2015

Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books

Description:

(Taken from book flap)

Imperfect, unfaithful but lovable Lucio Battistini has been thrown out of the house by his wife and is sleeping in the stock room of his father-in-law’s bombolini bakery when he learns he has inoperable cancer. And so begins the last 100 days of Lucio’s life as he sets out to right his wrongs, win back his wife (the love of his life and afterlife), and become the kind of father he’d always imagined. From helping his hopelessly romantic widowed father-in-law find love, savoring the joys of lifelong friendship and brotherhood, to rediscovering - as if for the first time - the streets of his beloved Rome, Lucio spends the next three months becoming the man he’s always meant to be. Most of all, he enjoys every last moment on earth. In 100 wistful, touching, and often hilarious chapters - one for each of his remaining days - 100 Days of Happiness is a love letter to family, romance, and life itself - reminding us all of what matters most.

Charlene's Review:

Lucio Battistini is your average husband and father. He loves his wife, but he cheated, and she summarily throws him out. As he is pondering his next step, he is diagnosed with liver cancer. Given a very short 3 month prognosis, he sets out to make every day count. He starts a journal with his intentions, the first being " Get Paola to forgive me." The remainder of the novel chronicles his remaining days as he sets out to reclaim his wife’s love, and truly live for the first time in his life.

I think we have all seen movies or heard stories about the cancer diagnosis and how the patient tries to squeeze in every last item on there bucket list. This is what I was expecting when I opened the pages of 100 Days of Happiness. In theory, I suppose that is what this is, but in a more personal, heartwarming way. This novel is about relationships, and what love really looks like in its most selfless forms. It’s about the ties that we have made and the people we have known.

The simplicity in which Lucio lives out his last days is what struck me as most beautiful. What could have been a sad, depressing tale actually caused me to wake up to the everyday things we take for granted. Lucio’s father-in-law likened it to this: "When all is said and done, Lucio my lad, the true meaning of life is nothing more than taking a bite out of a hot doughnut."

Go ahead, take a bite.


*A physical copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.