Life's story told with feeling
Tulip Chowdhury is touched by a tale of love
The Pursuit of Happiness reminds the reader of an acknowledged truth that as human beings we are always pursuing happiness in life. Betsy, the sixteen year old young woman, is doing just that, pursuing happiness after the death of her mother. Betsy Irving, her teenager brother and her father are left in a house that seems to echo with the memories of her mother with each and every breath. The troubles and grief the family goes through is touching enough to hold the reader glued as if he or she is a part of the Irving family. Most of all the doubts, the confusions of the motherless young girl do not fail to touch parental hearts. It is a touching story of love and loss taking part in Morrisville, New Jersey. The first person narrative of the protagonist Betsy touches the heart of the reader. The language is lucid and makes reading sheer pleasure. Expressions like, "…one summer was like a thousand summers…" or "…everything feels wrong like I am dragged to adulthood kicking and screaming…" are indeed thought provoking. Betsy narrates the story as each day comes, unfolding truths of her life in grief. The book opens with Betsy facing a morbid world soon after her mother is dead just in the beginning of the summer holidays. Betsy finds if difficult to face people. Friends and relatives seem to hold her at bay. She writes in her diary, "…with a special attitude of showering their sympathy". It is always "..your mother this…" or "…your mother that.." She wants to feel like a normal person, she wants to get along with life and yet people at every step remind her of her grief. Betsy is supposed to be another of the confused teenager like her other friends. And yet she finds her plate full of the hard realities of life after her mother dies of cancer. She finds herself guiding her twelve year old brother through his horde of boyhood troubles. Her father takes the easy way out for food and they become regular fans of Taco Bell, McDonald and Wendy. At one point Betsy realizes this fast food adventure has to end and cooks the first dinner after her mother is gone. Her father and brother honour her with laying out the table lighting candles for their home cooked meal. Betsy tries to balance her summer job, family and her social life. She finds that life after all is a hard nut to crack. To Betsy one summer is like a thousand summers as her boyfriend Brandson dumps her for another girl. And then her dearest friend Mary misunderstands her and becomes aloof from Betsy. Her summer job at the colonial village is a real challenge to her, for the biggest freak at her school Liza also works there. At home to escape from her miseries Betsy starts silhouette art in the basement of their house. She finds herself taken to drinking too many beers. Her father's lack of interest in his work is alarming. If he is put out of work how in the world would they get by? Just when her life seems to become a havoc, James, a lanky surfer who works for the neighborhood, starts carving Betsy things out of wood. Being with him is the only thing that makes her feel normal. Life seems to be black or white except the hours she shares with James; those hours are like million shades of gray. Betsy finds herself deeply in love with James but he has a girlfriend and that makes her dreams hazy. And James, though his heart seems to be calling out to her keeps himself at bay. Things seem too complicated for Betsy. However she finds that there is after all a light at the end of the darkest tunnel. Liza turns out not to be such a big freak after all and her father settles down to his teaching job and starts writing his first novel. Betsy finds that the sun rise with some good promises after all. James reaches out for her but not before going through difficult soul searching questions. Betsy she has to drag through the dark hours of the nights before she sees the sunlit hours. There are five stages of grief namely agitation, intoxication, experimentation, resignation and reinvigoration. The Pursuit of Happiness is a book that holds the summary of these in a heart throbbing tale of human tears and grief. This is a story of everyday sad and happy touches that can touch any one. Thus the reader has a feeling as if one is witnessing a real life story in which the people are palpably real. It is tale that holds out human emotions with profound touches. It is a life story told with great mastery of words and has life axioms woven into its lines.
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