100 Days of Happiness

October 19, 2015
Immensely readable and infectious, this warm and insightful novel follows a terminal cancer patient in San Lorenzo, Italy, through his last wishes and life's goals. Presented as a memoir, it's a stream-of-consciousness revelation of the joys and fears of life interspersed with pearls of wisdom. Water polo coach and gym instructor Lucio Battistini provides a first-person account of his discovery of late-stage liver cancer and his to-do list for his 100 days left. He wants to see his beloved water polo team succeed; play practical jokes with best friends Umberto and Corrado; treat children Lorenzo and Eva to a trans-European vacation; find a girlfriend for widowed father-in-law Oscar, who always has fresh hot doughnuts ready in his bakery; and apologize to reluctant wife Paola, whom he cheated on. Lucio names his tumor Fritz, is obsessed with over-achiever Leonardo da Vinci, and provides opinions on chemotherapy, illness, and suicide. Brizzi's enchanting and often humorous story encourages readers to start now on their to-do lists.

March 1, 2015

When happy-go-lucky Lucio Battistini learns that he has inoperable cancer, he determines that he'll live his last 100 days to the hilt and try to win back the wife he's been unfaithful to but truly loves. A best seller in Italy that's been sold to 22 countries, with a 25,000-copy first printing here, this fiction debut by Italian director, screenwriter, and film producer Brizzi unfolds in 100 pithy, cinema-worthy chapters: "When all is said and done, Lucio my lad, the true meaning of life is nothing more than taking a bite out of a hot doughnut."

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.