Friday 14 June 2019

Review | Somewhere Close to Happy by Lia Louis

Published by Trapeze on June 13, 2019


Somewhere Close to Happy gave me all the emotions! I'd heard great things about Lia Louis's debut novel and it did not disappoint. This book made me laugh and cry, cheer and despair and root for Lizzie and Roman all the way.

When we meet Lizzie, she is sad and confused. She has just received a letter dated December 4, 2005, from Roman, her old best friend, written twelve years ago on the day he disappeared from her life with no explanation. Straight away I was intrigued by the story of Lizzie and Roman and couldn't wait to discover more.

Lia Louis structures this novel beautifully, with chapters dated from 2005 to present day, and old messages between Lizzie and Roman in between chapters to really show their friendship and help the reader understand why this letter from Roman becomes so important to Lizzie. The way the author feeds us the backstory of Lizzie and Roman made it easy to see how they had made an impression on each other's lives and therefore made it easy to care for their characters and follow their story with ease, with a sense of hope for a happy ending for the two of them.

This is a truly tender book that has all the makings of heart-warming women's fiction but also draws upon feelings of grief, of pure, raw emotion and of mental health and anxiety, something which I wholeheartedly believe should be written about more in fiction. The author writes honestly and sensitively about mental health and this was, in a way, heartening to see as mental health issues affect so many men and women yet there can still be a stigma about it and talking about it. In Somewhere Close to Happy, as the chapters move back and forth between teenage Lizzie and adult Lizzie, she is open and honest about her struggles and about Roman's struggles and their friendship is moving and empowering.

Although Somewhere Close to Happy is a book about Lizzie and Roman and their compelling story, my favourite character in this book was probably Lizzie's best friend, Priscilla. Though she had her own troubles, she was such a joyous character and a great friend - loyal, kind, caring and supportive. She made me laugh throughout and I loved her friendship with Lizzie. All the characters in this book were interesting and memorable and because of this, whilst the author does justice to the story of Lizzie and Roman, she has also ensured that they aren't the only characters I'm thinking of now the book is sadly finished.

I could truly rave about Somewhere Close to Happy all day. It's such a thought-provoking, brilliant debut novel. I seriously cannot wait to read more from Lia Louis.

Review copy provided by the publisher - this was my honest review.




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