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    The Temptation to Be Happy
    The Temptation to Be Happy
    The Temptation to Be Happy
    Audiobook7 hours

    The Temptation to Be Happy

    Written by Lorenzo Marone

    Narrated by Arthur Morey

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Cesare is a seventy-seven-year-old widower and cynical troublemaker. He has lived his whole life by his own rules and has no intention of changing now. Aside from an intermittent fling with a nurse called Rossana, he spends his days avoiding the old cat lady next door and screening calls from his children.

    But when the enigmatic Emma moves in next door with her strange and sinister husband, Cesare suspects there is more to their relationship than meets the eye. He enlists the other residents to help him investigate and soon discovers a new and unexpected sense of purpose that leads him to risk everything for a future he had never thought possible.

    Laced with humour and pathos in equal measure, this is a delightful book to savour, for young and old alike.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    TranslatorShaun Whiteside
    Release dateDec 26, 2017
    ISBN9781543629088
    Author

    Lorenzo Marone

    Lorenzo Marone was born in 1974. He originally trained as a lawyer before changing career to follow his passion for writing. He lives in Naples with his wife and son.

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    Reviews for The Temptation to Be Happy

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    • 5/5
      Cesare Annunziata is a cantankerous old man with a wicked tongue and dark sense of humor. He spats with just about anyone he comes in contact with, often telling people he is a retired detective, or chief of police or even a retired banker. And then one day a young couple moves in to his building and he notices the young woman, Emma is being abused by her husband. This sets him and a couple of other elderly neighbors to try to do something about it and help her. In the course of their attempts to help, Cesare examines his life and how he came to be where he is. He is not the most introspective person, but he does take time to reflect and forgive himself and others on how his life turned out. A really touching and darkly humorous story. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Dark comedic but ultimately heartwarming novel of a septuagenarian rediscovering happiness and love. It is about gaining wisdom while aging. It is about appreciation of those who care about you and caring about those who need you. The protagonist is sarcastic and grumpy but as the novel moves along you see he is really honest and genuine.
    • 5/5
      First, thank you to LibraryThing for a paperback copy of this delightful book for my enjoyment and review. The story follows the main character Cesare, a 77 year old widower in a “coming of age” book for geriatrics. Being in the 70's myself, I truly found the story not only very humorous, but quite enjoyable as he hit the nail on the head about our issues as we move along the latter half of our lives. His relationships with his nurse friend, Rosanna, his daughter and son, and his neighbors in the apartment building where he lived alone – were all very well-written, and kept you turning the page to follow his pursuits. Translated from Italian, the author did an excellent job.
    • 4/5
      Everyone deserves a chance to be happy but how many still believe they do? In his 70's Cesare is simply staying alive with minimal interests or impact. He easily resists the overtures of a zealous neighbor known as the Cat Lady, he attempts to flirt a bit with the visiting nurse, these efforts seem without differentiation though as the sameness of his days pass one into the other. Life does have use for us, he discovers, as a neighbor, Emma may be hiding an abusive home life. Cesare, is invigorated by the ques to determine what is occurring and what is hidden. he engages others on this mission and discovers the complexity and value in participating in one's own life and happiness.
    • 4/5
      I thought this was a nice story of an older Italian man. There have been a lot of similar books available recently, and this one focused a lot on his relationships with his family and friends, as well as the loves of his life. It was more philosophical than some of the others. I particularly liked his reflections at the end of the book. I found the contemporary part of the story more of interest than his history. There were some big cultural differences which surprised me. I found myself wanting to know more about how his relationships evolved when the book ended. I think this book would be a good choice for book discussion groups.
    • 4/5
      A disgruntled septuagenarian reflects on his life of disappointments and despair. Cesare Annunziata regrets his past choices and actions especially as a husband and father. Beneath his gruff exterior is a lost and lonely soul seeking redemption and reconciliation. He befriends a young woman who is in an abusive marriage. His attempts to help her leads to his own salvation. As tragedy unfolds, Cesare realizes that though he had many regrets, his myriad blessings were bountiful. A sad story with a powerful message.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book very much. While I would have liked to give the book a 5 star, I felt that the translation of this book was over done. There were several instances where I had to re-read in order to understand what the author(translator) was trying to say. I love the character of Cezare Annunziata, his honesty and in some cases his complete lack of caring made you want to make things right for him. Cezare reminded me very much of my Italian grandfather who was very much a curmudgeon like Cezare. The various characters, such as Eleonora and Marino added an extra layer to the lives of the elderly. While the story takes place in Naples it could be playing out anywhere in the world.
    • 5/5
      Cesare Annunziata is a very cynical man. His is a rather lonely life. He’s a 77-year-old widower who doesn’t have much of a relationship with either his son or his daughter. His long-time friend, Marino, lives downstairs in Cesare’s building but Marino hasn’t been out of his apartment in years. Cesare occasionally does see a nurse, Rossana, but he’s not sure exactly how he feels about her. There’s also the cat lady in the building who Cesare tries to avoid at all costs.And then beautiful, young Emma moves into the building with her husband and life will never be the same for Cesare. He’s always had an eye for the ladies so he’s completely intrigued by the elusive Emma. But then he and the cat lady start hearing awful sounds coming from Emma’s apartment and she starts showing signs of abuse. Should Cesare become involved or keep his nose out of it?What is a perfect delight this little book is! It’s written in a light manner but has deep philosophical undertones. I laughed out loud as I read, that is whenever I wasn’t crying. I continually nodded my head in agreement at the things that Cesare said and thought. This is really quite a touching story and I absolutely loved grumpy old Cesare and all of the residents in the building. I was shocked to learn that the author is only 42 as he nailed this elderly man to a tee. The author is Italian and I believe this is the only book of his that has been translated to English. I do hope to see more of his work available.Highly recommended.This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.
    • 3/5
      a very decent book. Although I didn'[t much like the story line, I found the last chapters to make the read worthwhile. These quotes stood out for me:Old age helps you accept some uncomfortable truths. "there's a big difference between the love for a woman you will never be able to have and the love for the one you have. The first will shine for all eternity; the second will tend to go out as the sun will in a few billion years." "when my passion for my wife began to diminish, I felt rage and disappointment. Rage towards myself, because I couldn't guard love; disappointment because the woman who no longer stirred my emotions was in my bed every night". He also listed a bunch of I likes....good.
    • 5/5
      Full disclosure: I received this book from the Early Reviewers Giveaway on Librarything.com. I opened this little book to read a page or two and didn't stop. I loved the writing and the main character Cesare who is like a hard candy with a soft center. Cesare is 77, a widower and cynical. His life is changed by his neighbor Emma who is a victim of domestic violence. I highly recommend this book.