The Sweetness of Life

When a friend spoke of a “stolen week’s holiday,” Héritier was inspired to write about the small, things that make up the daily sweetness of life. It’s a lovely concept for a journal, but it makes for odd reading. Most chapters are long, convoluted, run-on sentences, adding new lists to previous chapters’ lists. These are simply of memorable occurrences Héritier appreciates and savors. Strangely (given the title), not all of them are sweet.

Like any personal list, it’s idiosyncratic, though it might inspire you to start one of your own. I’ve plucked samples from the chapters in which they are embedded (the lists aren’t that consistent; items could be in any chapter): Wild laughter. Phone calls made for no reason. An intimate conversation with a Siamese cat. Sharing your plate in a restaurant. Seething inside at some cheerful people’s stupidity. Waiting two years for a phone line to be installed. (A truly startling item was “the death of a pope two months after his election.”)

Héritier has a poetic way with words, so this is a book you might dip into now and then for an interesting slant on life. As a steady read, it’s tough going.