The Half-Life of Happiness

Can happiness last for more than just a moment?

Paris in 2019. There is actually nothing standing in the way of Mylène’s happiness. But then a shocking revelation turns her whole world upside down. Mylène asks herself: is happiness even possible if you don’t know who you are?

The German Democratic Republic, near the border, in 1987. Johanna, who is a hermit, discovers a 17-year-old girl in the forest and hides her from the troops along the border. This results in an unexpected confrontation with a past she thought she had long overcome. Happy memories from bygone days begin to resurface as well. But is a person eventually allowed to experience happiness again, even if their own guilt is overwhelming?

Los Angeles in 2003. Holly’s colleague Jay is killed in an accident -- and only because she spontaneously stepped into the breach for Holly. Plagued by a sense of guilt, Holly uses a pretext in an attempt to return some happiness to Jay’s boyfriend and son. But doesn’t she herself also deserve to be happy again?

Poignantly and artfully interweaving the stories of three strong women, Louise Pelt uses powerful, straightforward language to tell of their indomitable longing for happiness

An intelligent novel about the big question of what happiness actually means