The Trouble with Happiness (and Other Stories) — Tove Ditlevsen

BOOK REVIEW • “It was as if suddenly she didn’t have the strength to rinse the potatoes and put them on the stove.”

I enjoyed this collection! Distressing childhoods and failing marriages really don’t disappoint. Ironically, I feel this would be a great beach read. I read most of it in the sun out on my balcony and it just made sense.

This collection’s characters are wide ranging in their temperaments. Some are resentful while others are resigned and still others are ashamed. But their stories are all neatly tied together by domestic tribulations. A woman realizes that marriage isn’t all she ever wanted. A man is in a rage over a cat that’s beloved by his wife. A boy tries to prove himself to his adoptive parents. A girl wonders what life would be like if her father wasn’t always angry. Each one of them is perplexed, grief-stricken, and anxious - usually all at once.

In describing the plight of these characters Ditlevsen presents many troubles, but perhaps the greatest trouble with happiness is that we are waiting for it. Waiting for others to give us permission or until we are more deserving or when we are old enough. We linger in our unhappiness, waiting for an experience that ultimately doesn’t have the ability to come to us.