HAPPY PULITZER READINGS IN JUNE

Happiness is not the one to be analyzed, it‘s to be lived >

I‘ve been reading a gripping page-turning thriller* today and came across this statement made by one of the most insignificant characters in the book. Instead of skipping the lines further to finally find out “who did it”, I stuck to this one for the whole afternoon because for a sheer coincidence I was recently digging deeper into the concept of happiness for a literary idea of my own. Have you ever heard that each individual has certain tiny elements functioning in their brains that precondition happiness, such as endorphins, oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin; yet, we are constantly aiming at “I’d be happy, if” instead of “I’m so happy right now.” Therefore this simple quote has amazed me with its plain obviousness. Even Bobby McFerring got it right in his song Don’t Worry Be Happy. So why everything we do is worry, stress out and work around happiness like around a Rubik’s cube in order to crack the puzzle? We’re even choosing our reading by weighting its complexity and seriousness. The more dismal the plot, the more valuable it is considered. OK, perhaps I‘m laying it on too thick, it‘s not always the case.

To vindicate myself, this month of June I‘ll offer you two books - two winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. I‘ve chosen these titles, separated by the decade of other winners, just because the first is the most fresh and the most relevant to the situation happening primarily in the USA. Meanwhile the second is the reading so dear that it caresses my hardened soul. I‘ve noticed Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys last year right after its publication but only it getting the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in combination with the rising Black Lives Matter movement has speeded up turning my interest into factual reading. I didn‘t enjoyed it because the things Colson Whitehead writes about are far from being enjoyable. The story is based on the actual Arthur G Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Florida, which was closed only in 2011. In the novel it is called Nickel and follows the fates of two black boys there - Elwood, an excellent student inspired by ideas of Martin Luther King, who happens to find himself not in the right time not at the right place, and Turner, a down-to-earth survivor who knows how to navigate the rotten school system and tries to keep Elwood stay out of trouble. Till there’s nothing left but a dangerous escape. The final twist in the story (which I‘m not going to reveal) plays a shocking trick. It‘s like being stabbed with a dagger straight into your heart. Because the feeling is so sudden and so sharply painful.  And deadly.  It’s already the second Pulitzer win for Colson Whitehead, as this black American author’s novel The Underground Railroad also won the prize for fiction in 2017. I’d recommend to definitely keep him on your reading radar!

Elizabeth Strout won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2009 for her wonderful novel Olive Kitteridge. Actually it’s not a traditional novel but a compilation of short stories that circle around a town in New England with Olive as a center character present in each of them. Olive Kitteridge is a retired math teacher, known by most people in town. She’s not that typically nice lady but rather rough and churl, capable of knocking down a man with a slaying phrase. But that’s only her coveralls. Deep inside Olive is full of empathy, love and gratitude. There’s not much going on in a small town on the Atlantic coast, except the unique hostage situation at a local hospital, but minds and hearts of the local dwellers are no less complex and emotional. It’s like a miniature reflection of the world’s preoccupations, only further strengthened by introduction of aged and senior characters. And here we get to the major antagonists of the novel. Not to the particular people but to more universal phenomena: the youth and the old age. However, Elizabeth Strout doesn’t take sides and doesn’t oppose vitality against life wisdom. They’re all parts of the one and the same life, and getting older doesn’t mean your desires seize to shine so bright.  For those who will enjoy this book as I did, here’s a bonus: in 2019 Elizabeth Strout has published the sequel called Olive, Again. If you feel happy while reading, let those endorphins spin around and hit the target. In the worst case scenario, you’ll just fall asleep.

Literary Yours,

// ERA

*To satisfy your curiosity, the quote is from the thriller I Kill by Giorgio Faletti.