Book Review: Look on the Bright Side | Kristan Higgins
I’m a total baby when it comes to sad books. Not unlike the main character in Kristan Higgins’s new novel, Look on the Bright Side, I cry very easily. I feel empathy so deeply in my soul, I often can’t control it when I see others suffering or even sometimes think about them suffering. But it can be a super power, right? This book has it all!
Why should you read it?
Kristan Higgins writes characters, relationships, and families that are so rich with authenticity, it’s hard to believe they aren’t real people. I mentioned that I struggle with sad books, and Higgins’s books have moments that make me weep. My throat closes, my eyes tear up, but I also can’t put her books down.
If I could describe to someone why they should read her books, I’d tell them how she writes about the messiest parts of people but also about the love that surrounds people through the good times and bad. Her books may make me cry, but by the end I’m crying with happy tears. They’re cathartic and beautiful stories and characters who work their way into my heart.
What is it about?
Look on the Bright Side centers primarily around a woman named Lark, but also has parts of the story that center around her mother, Ellie, and her landlady (this honestly undersells her role in the story, but it is technically true), Joy. Lark is in her medical residency in oncology when her attending physician calls her into his office. It’s not good news—he’s transferring Lark to the E.R. for the remainder of her residency. She’s a good doctor, but she cries too much to work in oncology. Lark can’t even defend herself without bursting into a new round of tears.
A renowned surgeon, Dr. Lorenzo Santini, eviscerated Lark when she was a student. The people around the hospital refer to him as “Dr. Satan”. When he unexpectedly asks Lark to dinner, she learns the staff at his favorite restaurant refer to him by the same nickname. It turns out that he needs a favor. His grandmother is dying and she wants to see him happy. He asks Lark to pretend to be his girlfriend at several events that summer, leading to his sister’s wedding.
This premise may sound like a classic fake-dating, laugh-out-loud trope, but that actually isn’t the story at all. Lark soon learns how much she loves his family, one person in particular. His brother. But it isn’t as soapy as it sounds. The Santini’s are a dynamic family full of love, and Lorenzo so clearly doesn’t fit in. Lark could be good for him, if he’d open up to her advice. Alongside Lark, I fell in love with the Santini family as well. Which brother may she end up with? You’ll have to read to find out!
The storyline with being removed from oncology and Lorenzo offering to connect her with another hospital in exchange for their fake relationship may be where the story starts, but it isn’t the scope of what this book is about. The reader learns about a relationship from Lark’s past. So many things in her life have led her to where she is now. But this summer may change everything for her. Does she really want to be an oncologist, or did she convince herself of that because she has so much love to give? Can she let go of the past and be open to new experiences?
Lark’s family is another wonderful part of the story. Even more than the Santini’s, you will fall in love with the Smith’s. Lark has a twin sister, two other sisters, and a brother. But the real focus on Lark’s family drama centers around her parents. I won’t spoil what happens, but Lark’s mother Ellie has her own story throughout the novel. As Lark is going through a summer of change, it seems Ellie may be as well. I didn’t relate as much to Ellie’s story, but I loved it all the same.
Then there is the story of Joy. Joy is wealthier than she can possibly imagine, but she’s also lonely. When she met Lark, she immediately loved her and offered her to move into her guest house for free. Joy thinks of Lark as a unicorn that galloped into her world, but Lark is busy and Joy is still lonely. Joy’s backstory is heartbreaking at times, and intriguing at others. She is quite a character and the more I learned about Joy, the more I liked her.
Joy has spent her life trying to find security, both physical and financial. She’s never been happy though, except for a brief period of time when she was ironically in a loveless marriage. Lark and the Smith family may be the exact people who can save Joy from a life of loneliness. Watching Joy emerge from a life of hiding in opulence was one of the most uplifting parts of the story.
Audiobook review
Books with alternating narrators can be hit or miss with audiobooks. If they use a single narrator, the person needs to be able to narrate in a way that the reader can keep straight. With multiple narrators, they need to match the character whom they are narrating. Look on the Bright Side fell in the latter camp, with Susan Bennett, Xe Sands, and Christina Moore bringing the central characters to life. I enjoyed the audiobook, and the narrators brought the emotion that the story demands. However, I thought that Xe Sands wasn’t the right choice for Lark’s narrator. Xe Sands is talented (I’ve read other books narrated by her), but her voice sounds older and too wry to capture Lark the right way. Otherwise, an outstanding performance!
Final Thoughts (TLDR)
I could go on and on but I don’t want to spoil it! I encourage you to read this book. It is full of love start to finish, and left me with a warm feeling in my heart after turning the last page. Another wonderful novel from Kristan Higgins that will have you appreciating the messiest parts of your life and the beauty that comes from the imperfect moments as much as the perfect ones.
Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.
If you liked Look on the Bright Side, what should you read next?
What is Look on the Bright Side about? (official synopsis)
Lark Smith has always had a plan for her life: find a fantastic guy, create a marriage as blissful as her parents’, pop out a couple of kids and build a rewarding career as an oncologist.
Things aren’t going so well.
For one, the guy didn’t work out. Theoretically, she’d love to find someone else, but it hasn’t happened. Two, she’s just been transferred out of oncology for being too emotional. (Is it her fault she’s a weeper?) Three, her parents just split up.
Deviating from the plan was…well, not in the plan. A potential solution comes from the foul-tempered and renowned surgeon Lorenzo Santini (aka Dr. Satan). He needs a date this summer for his sister’s wedding. His ancient Noni wants to see him settled. In exchange, he could make a few introductions and maybe get Lark back into the field of her choice.
As a sucker for old people and fake relationships, Lark agrees. Teeny problem—she instantly falls for his big, warm family. Especially his estranged brother.
Meanwhile, Lark’s mom has moved in with Lark’s flamboyant landlady, Joy, and an unlikely friendship blossoms. The three women have a long summer and a big beautiful house on the ocean to figure out what’s next…and quite possibly learn that the best things in life aren’t planned at all.
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