I was tempted by this book because I thought it was going to be another heartwarming tale along the lines of The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen or My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises, but in fact it was a little harder and more cynical than I was expecting. It’s the tale of Cesare Annunziata, a grumpy old man in Naples, who has lost his wife, alienated his children and failed to make the most of his life. When a young couple move into the flat next door, Cesare plans to remain just as detached and crabby as ever. But fate has other plans, and this miserable old sod finds that, quite against his will, he’s beginning to feel an emotional investment in his new neighbour Emma.


As Cesare warms to his young neighbour, he begins to reassess his relationships with his own children: his brittle, unhappy daughter Sveva, who looks set to repeat so many of Cesare’s mistakes, and his son Dante, who is the most emotionally successful member of the family, but who has never dared come out to his crotchety father. Forty years of distant parenting can’t be overcome in a trice, but Cesare increasingly begins to realise the importance of having others there – and not just family, but lovers and friends too.

This all sounds a tiny bit saccharine, doesn’t it? Well, it isn’t. Cesare is definitely not the stereotypical cantankerous but cuddly old grandfather. He’s a hard man, selfish and self-centred, intolerant of weakness, impatient and, in many ways, unpleasant. He’s lustful and arrogant and a touch mischievous (though I don’t see this last as a negative trait). But perhaps this complex personality makes him more believable than the peevish old fellows with hearts of gold that I’ve read about before; even if I felt fonder of them. Cesare is a self-professed philanderer, who thrives on the thrill of the chase and who quickly tired of his late wife, before embarking on a series of quick-fix flings. Even now, in his late seventies, he regularly visits his former nurse Rossana, with whom he has a discreet financial arrangement. But, as Cesare opens his eyes to events in his own family, he realises that history is in danger of repeating itself, and perhaps he has the ability to – finally – make things better.

Marone’s novel is as prickly and inscrutable as Naples, where it’s set; but, although the city is often namechecked, it doesn’t feel quite as present as it does, for example, in Elena Ferrante’s novels, which simply couldn’t be set anywhere else. For all that, it does feel distinctly Italian, with its thin-walled apartments, gossips, old friendships, womanising paterfamilias, and concern to fare una bella figura. With its tragic substratum, which gives the novel a bitter sting in the tail, it isn’t quite as cosy as one might expect, but perhaps that makes it more bitterly believable.

This is a strong addition to the geriatric-lit subgenre, and a welcome reminder that men don’t switch at a certain age to be lovable old fellows who think of nothing but slippers and reading bedtime stories to children. On the contrary, inside every seventy-year-old, there’s almost certainly an eighteen-year-old wondering what the hell has gone wrong with the mirror.

For the review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2017/12/23/the-temptation-to-be-happy-lorenzo-marone/

4★
“Luckily old age has come to my aid: I have worked out that for the sake of my health it’s better not to listen to family problems. After all, you never solve them.”

Cesare Annunziata is a grouchy old widower who likes to think he’s at odds with pretty much everyone. He’s determined to be miserable.

I don’t hate people, it’s just that I’m too caught up with myself to attend to anyone else. Even Caterina always said the same thing: ‘You’re not bad, you’re just an egoist.’ I’ve never agreed with that. An egoist is someone who pursues his own well-being at all costs, whereas I’ve never attained well-being. I’ve even failed as an egoist.”

Determined. His daughter actually dotes on him, but he finds her difficult to deal with.

“She’s a brusque character, all sharp edges and tetchiness. I would never deign to look at a woman like that; I like broad curves, the kind to be approached in a low gear. Sharp bends weary me – they force you to shift up a gear or two. My daughter is like an alpine pass, a sequence of switchback turns.”

His son, Dante, is obviously gay but has never told Cesare, who just wishes Dante would say something and get it over and done with. Cesare doesn’t care.

Where Cesare differs from someone like A Man Called Ove, or other lovable curmudgeons, is that he still loves the ladies! His appetite for admiring and commenting on them hasn’t dimmed in the slightest, and he maintains an active relationship with a prostitute, Rosanna, who’s become something of a friend.

“Rossana makes you think you’re a better man. Maybe she’s pretending, but even if she is, dear Christ, she’s a great actress.”

Some of his observations are a little uncomfortable, but having known many politically incorrect older men in my time, I know he’s not alone making them.

“At first I didn’t notice her; as a boy you try to flirt with older women, to feel important. And at the end of the day that isn’t so much of a mistake, because in fact you have your whole life to flirt with the younger ones.”

This began slowly for me, and I’ve shared a lot of quotes to indicate the tone and style of the translation. It grew on me after a while as did Cesare. I enjoyed the natural way he came to understand a bit more about himself and his family and to accept, even if grudgingly, what life still has to offer an old bloke.

The cat lady, his old mate, the art community his son is part of, his daughter’s possible affair – these are all things he’d kind of like to avoid (and enjoy his wine instead), but he can’t seem to help being dragged into their problems. He is a bit of a dirty old man, but he does have some redeeming qualities.

One final quote:

“I drain a glass of wine in one gulp. I think life must be a woman: when it needs to point out a mistake you’ve made, it doesn’t beat around the bush.”

I enjoyed it very much. Thanks to NetGalley and Oneworld Publications for the review copy from which I’ve quoted (so quotes may have changed).

There’s been a bit of a trend lately for grumpy old men books (A Man Called Ove, Athur Truluv, Harold Fry) in which a misanthropic elderly man is drawn back into a more fulfilling life, but this one, although a riff on an old topic, still manages to bring something new to the subject and I found it a really engaging and compelling narrative. Cesare is 77 and living alone after the death of his wife. His relationships with his son and daughter are fraught and difficult. He has a companion whom he sees occasionally and a friend in the same building but keeps his distance. One day a young couple move next door and Cesare is ineluctably drawn into the young woman's life. It’s a darker book than many similar ones, with some hard-hitting themes, although there’s plenty of humour too. Well-written, well-paced, and beautifully written, I found this book a real delight and very much enjoyed it.

It seems that ever since a certain 100-year old man decided to climb out of the window and disappear, there has been a fad for novels featuring unconventional senior citizens on unexpected adventures. Pretty soon we’ll have a dedicated bookshelf (possibly marked “geriatfic” – you’ve heard it here first...)

To be honest, I would not mind it at all if all such novels were as likeable as Lorenzo Marrone’s “The Temptation to be Happy” (La Tentazione di Essere Felici). Its narrator is a seventy-seven year old widower from Naples, Cesare Annunziata. By his own admission, he is a rogue who, whilst his wife was alive, was serially unfaithful to her. His character can be cantankerous and abrasive, even to his own children. His daughter Sveva, a lawyer with a young son, is supposedly close to him, but they argue whenever they meet. His son Dante is gay, but does not have the courage to admit it to his father. Cesare’s only real friends are his ex-colleague Marino, and Eleonora “the catlady”, who is “even older than him”, both of whom live in his same block. And, possibly, Rossana, a mature nurse and part-time prostitute in her fifties with whom Cesare starts to develop a relationship going beyond the occasional awkward, value-for-money tumble.

But things are soon to change with the arrival of a young couple in the flat next door. His new neighbour Emma, Cesare soon learns, is a victim of marital abuse, and pretty soon Cesare, Marino and Eleonora team up to try to help her. Along the way, Cesare reminisces about his life (particularly his amorous adventures), making some unexpected discoveries in the process.

The Temptation to be Happy reminded me of a certain type of Italian movie which I particularly enjoy – comedies like Virzi’s “Like Crazy” or the films of Paolo Genovese. Such movies are entertaining, feature quirky characters, hilarious situations and witty dialogue, but also have an underlying earnestness, more often than not tackling uncomfortable social issues. This novel is very similar. It is very readable and funny, thanks in part to an idiomatic translation by Shaun Whiteside but, where necessary, it pulls no punches and can be surprisingly bleak. It is a balance which is difficult to pull off, but Marrone manages it nicely.

And by the way, there is a film adaptation of the novel called “La Tenerezza”, although apparently director Gianni Amelio tinkers around with the plot and setting. It even won the 2017 "Nastro d'Argento" for best movie. So, that’s one to shift from my “to-read” to my “to-watch” list!

<i>The Temptation to Be Happy</i> should be called In Search of Happiness.

Seventy-seven year old, Cesare, is a widower, who lives by himself in an apartment filled with memories. He's quite the character, as he's outspoken and set in his ways. He's always been selfish, and he's well aware of it. He's also unable to tell his two kids, Sveva and Dante, that he loves them just the way they are, because he's old school and doesn't do touchy-feely.

Cesare had always had wondering eyes. He always longed for whom he couldn't have, although his wife was a perfectly good woman. As it's the case for all human beings (unless one is a sociopath), the old man has lots of regrets: for doing a job he hated, for staying in a marriage after he'd stopped loving his wife, for not having gone after what, better said who he wanted.

The novel is filled with witty observations and self-deprecation. It's somewhat short on plot, but that shouldn't put you off. I like a book with an unlikeable character. Cesare is not completely unlikeable but he's no angel either. He's determined to make the most of what's left of his life. And in order to enjoy life, one has to appreciate the small pleasures.

There seem to be a plethora of grumpy old men novels out there. This one is well worth your time.

Cesare is a 77 year-old widower with a son and a daughter whom he has little contact with and little outward affection is shown between him and either his son or daughter. Those who are his neighbors and friends would likely have good things to say about him or nothing at all. He keeps pretty much to himself, and he has grown to appreciate the silence that surrounds him most of the time. He does have a female companion of sorts, Rossana, she was his nurse many years ago, now she tends to more than just his health issues these days. Still, he hates to classify his relationship with her in any way. He doesn’t want to hear the judgment in his children’s voices. He has a male friend, Marino, who lives in the same building, which he never leaves. And then there is the cat lady, and her cats, whose aroma arrives before her physical presence.

And then Emma moves in next door to Cesare. She’s young, sweet and married to a man who seems a bit of a bully. She’s a bit reticent to make acquaintances with her new neighbors, but at the same time, she knows she needs to find a way out of her darkness, and maybe then she can truly begin to live again.

”I would like to come to your aid, to help you to save yourself, Emma. Really I would. But I fear I’m not up to it. One life wasn’t enough for me to learn how to hold out a hand without trembling.”

And so Cesare becomes her sounding board, her confidant, and eventually this begins to fill a void in him he didn’t really know was missing. Of course, all the neighbors weigh in on what they think is going on behind closed doors. He now feels that he once again has a purpose.

This will draw the inevitable comparisons to “A Man Called Ove”, or ”The Story of Arthur Trulove”, Cesare and friends are best described as a combination of the two and perhaps with a healthy dash of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry“. All grumpy old men are not created equally, but there is a certain unique charm about Ove, Arthur and Harold Fry, and there is a certain unique charm about Cesare. This story has its own way of making its way into your heart, it’s really quite touching, and yet also heartbreaking, with very memorable characters- especially Cesare - but each touched my heart in their own way.

Originally published in Italian in 2015, this has been translated into english, and I have to say that the translator, Shaun Whiteside, did a wonderful job.


Pub Date: 05 Oct 2017


Many thanks for the ARC provided by Oneworld Publications

For some reason when I started this book I expected it to be fairly light reading, about a man coming near to the end of his life, and his reflections but tame reading it is not, with depictions of domestic violence and heartbreak. I enjoyed the descriptions of Naples and the well drawn characters and the last chapter is a vibrant, tear jerking hymn to life and love that left me with tears tracking down my cheeks. Beautiful writing and I certainly felt emotionally invested in this flawed, selfish but ultimately caring older man.