Happy People Read and Drink Coffee

Diane, owner of Happy People Read and Drink Coffee, a cosy coffee shop turned library in Paris, seems to have the perfect life. But when she suddenly loses her husband and daughter in a car accident, her life is overturned and the world as she knows it disappears. Trapped by her memories, Diane closes her shop and retreats from friends and family.

One year later, she moves from Paris to a small town on the Irish coast, determined to heal by rebuilding her life alone, without anyone's help or pity - until she meets Edward, a handsome and moody Irish photographer. Along windy shores and cobbled streets, Diane falls into a surprising and tumultuous romance. As she works to overcome her painful memories, Diane and Edward's once-in-a-lifetime connection inspires her to love herself and the world around her with new-found inner strength and happiness.

But will it last when Diane leaves Ireland, and Edward, for good?



After six years as a clinical psychologist, Agnès Martin-Lugand now devotes herself to literature full-time. Happy People Read and Drink Coffee is her first novel.

Sandra Smith is a critically acclaimed translator of French literature. She has previously worked on Suite Française and subsequent novels by Irène Némirovsky, as well as a new translation of The Outsider by Albert Camus.



Profoundly moving and expertly told,

Happy People confronts life's most nightmarish tragedy with an unblinking examination... The wisdom and magic in these pages will linger long after the book is closed.



This feelgood novel will warm up a cold winter's day.