PIECES OF HAPPINESS by Anne Ostby is exactly as promised: "a novel of friendship, hope and chocolate." It is the story of Kat and four dear friends who, in their 60's, rediscover each other once the original ringleader and recently widowed Kat invites her high school friends from Norway to come and live with her in Fiji. Seemingly unfulfilled, unanchored and unhappy, they come: Ingrid, straight-laced bookkeeper with an ultra-ego called Wildrid; Lisbeth, still beautiful, but estranged from her husband and children; Sina, a single mother who has struggled to support her greedy son, Armand; and Maya, who shows early signs of dementia.

Together, these five "sisters" strive to care for each other again and Ostby focuses mostly on developing the characters and their inter-relationships. Although she provides some details, I would have liked to have learned even more about the chocolate business called PIECES OF HAPPINESS that they decide to start together. Ostby also does a wonderful job of sharing the culture, language, and rituals of the native villagers. There were several sad and many happy moments in this book, but overall the feeling was indeed hopeful and peaceful. A perfect chance to reflect on life's purpose: "Kat pulls her gaze back from the beach, 'You can only see one step at a time,' she says. 'Never the whole journey....'"

I've been trying to finish this book for a few weeks. It was a very errant and slow read. Five women meet in Fiji on the invitation of an all expenses paid trip to try to reconnect after many decades of separation. Essentially, a Ya Ya Sisterhood with women from Norway. Got halfway through before finally giving up.

Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for this ARC in return for my honest review. This novel is about 4 friends from high school who are invited by another friend from high school who has been recently widowed to join them in Fiji. All of the women are around retirement age but they decide to take the suggestion to turn the cocoa farm that they are residing on and turn it into a chocolate enterprise. Each woman's backstory and why they accepted an invitation to retire across the ocean from their families is examined and addressed. The culture was a little alien and the atmosphere sounded wonderful.

A lovely story of the long-standing friendship between five elderly women from Norway. Six years ago, Katrine Vale and her husband Niklas bought a cocoa plantation in Fiji but Niklas has recently passed away and Kat invites her four old high school friends to come join her in Fiji, offering each a chance to reinvent their lives in the beautiful island setting--and all four take her up on the offer.

"Five fingers on a hand, five women in a house."

There's Sina Guttormsen, a single mother who has always worked for the Hoie Building Supplies Company. Her son Armand, who is almost fifty, has yet to 'find' himself and sponges off his mother so she's always broke.

And Lisbeth Karlsen Hoie, the wife of the wealthy owner of Hoie Building Supplies, who has gotten everything she has through her good looks which are now fading. How does a woman like that cope with growing older...and with an unfaithful jerk of a husband?

And Ingrid Hagen, the reliable, hard-working chief accountant at the County Bus Service who feels she hasn't loved enough. Can she take a chance and let her wilder alter-ego show herself?

And Maya, a widow and retired teacher who is showing the obvious signs of worsening dementia. Are the other women willing and able to be her caretakers?

After the women settle in a little, they come up with the idea to use the cocoa beans to produce a special line of dark chocolate which they decide to call 'Pieces of Happiness.' There is a lot of trial and error in the learning process but it gives their days purpose. The descriptions are mouth-watering!

The women's stories are told through alternating chapters and their deepest secrets are slowly revealed as the days go by. Another character we meet is the housekeeper Ateca who prays for these five women, asking for God's help in her own life. It is through her words that we see the cultural differences between the island people and the Europeans and the mistakes they make through their ignorance of local customs.

A delightful read you should add to your summer-reading list today! Highly recommend for those who enjoy such books as A Man Called Ove.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read an arc of this lovely book.

I wasn't sure I was going to like this book, but I loved it. It's an amazing story, so well written and with such strong characters. I couldn't out it down once I'd started reading it.

Five friends from high school in Norway have long grown apart, living very different lives, some with husbands and children, some without. They've always stayed in touch in different ways. One day, four of them receive a letter in the mail from Kat, who is living on a cacao farm in Fiji. The letters all the say the same thing: Come to Fiji, join me, see if you like it, leave behind the past and live as sisters.

All four women accept. Confident Lisbeth leaves her husband and grown children; Sina, who is financially strapped, leaves her grown, but needy, son; Ingrid leaves her job; Maya, who has early onset Alzheimer's disease, leaves her daughter. Kat is recently widowed and Atetca, her housekeeper (and more) takes care of them all. Will they be able to form a family? Can they actually turn a dream of making chocolate into a reality?

When they arrive in Fiji, all the women change in different ways, and it's so interesting to read about their journeys. The book is written is alternating chapters from their different points of view.
The character development of each woman from the beginning to the end of the book is staggering.
The writing is thoughtful and sensitive.

I can't say enough how much I enjoyed this book. I highly recommend it, and I'm so glad I read it.

Thanks to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Can life begin again from a new perspective for five old high school friends after the age of sixty? Newly widowed Kat sends an invitation to Sina, Maya, Ingrid, and Lisbeth to join her in Fiji and find out. Each accepts and brings a lifetime, with roots in their early years, in need of sorting out together. Pieces of Happiness by Anne Ostby follows the women as they look to answer the question.

There is single mother Sina with the son she chose to keep over her mother’s objections after a teenage pregnancy, a son now 50 years old and still expecting financial bailout from his mother. Maya comes as early onset Alzheimer’s Disease begins its destruction of her mind and body. Ingrid arrives with her less inhibited alter ego seeking to emerge. Lisbeth, who seemingly has had it all, needs to find out who she really is now that youthful beauty becomes harder to maintain. And Kat herself, who has lived the maverick lifestyle in the interim and issues the invitation, has unresolved secrets. Will renewing the old friendships give them a new lease on life? Do they want to stay and start a chocolate business together?

The story line rotates among the friends and a secondary character Ateca, Kat’s housekeeper. Ateca sees and understands each of the group and the dynamics of their interaction together and may be my favorite character. Speaking her wisdom periodically through prayer, she mingles her concern for the women with her own hopes that her son Vilivo can find work and start a family. “Calm Madam Sina’s worries for her child, dear Lord. And calm my worries for Vilivo. Let him find work, so he can support himself, become an adult, and start a family. In Jesus holy name. Emeni.”

The author, Norwegian Anne Ostby, is a world citizen herself having lived in several countries and writes often on themes of finding identity in a country not one’s own. The book publication is international with the English translation done by her daughter Marie.
Pieces of Happiness is a good read that can be appropriately enhanced by pairing it with some fine chocolate.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I took a journey to Fiji and met some wonderful ladies. First, it was nice to see a book feature women in their sixties, and dealing with various issues at this stage of life. I loved each character. Long-time friends and personalities vastly different. Very enjoyable and I want to try their chocolate.

A rare book featuring old women--in fact, they are all exactly my age. One of them has settled on a cocoa farm in Fiji, and invites her high school besties to dare to drop everything and join her. One's divorced, one was never married, another still married but we find out what kind of marriage it's been; and one has Alzheimer's, something I ordinarily do not want to read about in fiction (cancer is another fictional turnoff for me) but it was so beautifully handled here I read on with scarcely a hitch.

As these women get used to life in Fiji, and to living with one another, the alternating chapters are punctuated by internal prayers by a local woman who is taking care of them, Atheca, one of the best characters in the book.

Old hurts are reviewed, some are uncovered. Understanding, forgiveness, and hope are strong elements here, even though some subjects are thorny ones: disappointing children who are now middle-aged failures, financial desperation, rape. Juxtaposed against these are sudden belly-laughs, many of them described in such poetic terms they almost edge into ridiculousness--which might be the intent.

I especially appreciated the respect paid to Fiji's culture, in particular the locals' tolerant view of these fish-out-of-water Europeans with their odd cultural baggage.

Altogether a generous, warm, loving read.

Title: Pieces of Happiness
Author: Anne Ostby
Publisher: Doubleday
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:

"Pieces of Happiness" by Anne Ostby

My Thoughts ...

This author really give the readers quite one interesting read..."Piece of Happiness." I thought is was really one good read having these six people, five that had been friends since high school in Norway come visit and then live together [after the death of her Niklas, her husband] on a cocoa plantation in Fiji in the South Pacific with each one having there own story that was really intriguing to say the least. Oh, the sixth woman was Kat's housekeeper...Ateca who was so very understanding of each of these ladies. I loved her prayers for God to watch over everyone as the prayers seemed to 'mark the change in the chapters and even the narration from each of the women.'

I loved the invitation that was sent to each one of these ladies who were know in their sixties....

“I’ve planted my feet on Fijian earth and I intend to stay here until the last sunset. Why don’t you join me? Leave behind everything that didn’t work out!”

Will they be able to 'leave their worries, mistakes and problems back in Norway?' No, they hadn't stayed in touch but know would they be willing to start all over and 'come up with plans of a new future in this beautiful cocoa plantation?' How different this would be for these ladies who had difficulties of their own to come to this beautiful place that had much to offer with many highs and well as lows but in the end the readers will give one good story that will give one reason to ponder long after the read. I loved the characters...Kat, Ingrid, Maya, Sina and Lysbeth who all had 'secrets and hopes that had been keep hidden' so will they be able to stop and redefine just what they wanted in their life now? Will they be willing to rediscover their past friendships and even themselves?
All while I was reading this novel I keep thinking what would it be like to have friends like these!

This was definitely a wonderful and enjoyable read about a enduring 'friendship and second chances just to be happy' that I would definitely recommend. In the end all that is left to say is that hopefully we can all have this in our lives. This story was very well done by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley for a pre-publication copy to review.

Just like the title, there were pieces of each character that I could identify with. What a diverse group! And yet they grew and opened up to each other, reclaiming a long-lost friendship to help each other fill in the gaps of their lives. Great story! Will be looking for more from Ms. Ostby!

Thank you to the publisher Doubleday Books, Netgalley.com and of course the author for letting me tag along on this tropical adventure.

The book was a little slow getting started, but beautifully captured the stories of four women (plus others) in their 60s and 70s who retire to the magical place of Fiji. There were two major surprises towards the end of the story that startled and enriched the story. I wasn't sure I would enjoy the book, but ended up devouring it.

Five girls were best friends in High School in Norway, but as they grew into adults, they did not see each other very often. Kat, who lives in Fiji and has lost her husband, invites the other four, who are all now in their sixties, to her house, to live there and leave everything behind. The hope is that they will reconnect and support and comfort each other in their last years. A tender and fun story.

This is a vacation book in my view, no deep but diverting. Five old ( over 50!) friends reunite when one invites them all to join her in Fiji. The hostess hopes to recreate the close supportive group of their youth. To get there secrets and masks will need to be shed. There will be some pain but some joy as they band together to start a chocolate making business creating "pieces of happiness".

What an interesting story. Kat's husband has died and rather than face life alone, she invited friends from high school to come stay with her on her cocoa plantation in Fiji. Each woman brings their own life's baggage with her, and the story deals with their past relationships intertwined into their current lives.

This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review, and I'm glad for the opportunity to read it. It has a dreamlike quality, and it has dreamlike sequences, especially with the relationship between the housekeeper sharing local island beliefs and customs with the women, trying to keep order and peace between all.

The focus of the novel is that of relationships; everyone has secrets and no relationship is ever as it seems on the surface. When we covet, or wish for something else we really don't always discover the truth between reality and what we imagine. This would be a good book for any group seeking a book club sel lotion. There is much to be discussed thrpughout the story.

I tried. I did. I couldn't muster the motivation to finish this book

Five older women who had been the best of friends in high school in Norway rediscover themselves in Anne Ostby's Pieces of Happiness. Kat, who had been the teenage leader, traveled the world doing charity work with her husband. After his death she invites her old friends to join her on her cocoa plantation in Fiji.. For one reason or another the women decide to make the trip to a new life. I think my personal favorite was Ingrid, the sensible, who discovers her alter ego Wildred in the sweet warm air. They find their strengths while learning to make and market chocolate. I read this book in exchange for a review. I savored it as much as I would a rich, dark, complex piece of chocolate.

What a wonderful book. I truly didn't want it to end. At its essence it's a story of life and friendship. It's a great reminder that what you see on the surface in people - even your close friends - isn't always the whole story. I connected with every character - they are complex like most of us - and I loved the author's writing. As you will learn very early in the story, one of the characters has dementia and the author does a very good job of describing what it's like for that character and for those who live with her. She also has an intricate description of how our mind recalls events and how we often can't or don't really distinguish between what we saw first hand and remember vs. what we think we remember from the stories we've been told or the photos we have seen. The author is truly insightful, thoughtful and conveys the story in such a way that I could visualize every scene. The interjections from the housekeeper, Ateca, are priceless. There is even a bit of intrigue. And, of course, anything in life that has something to do with chocolate has to be good!

An inspiring tale about the importance of friendship.

Kat and her husband Niklas spent their life traveling and helping less fortunate people. When it came time for them to retire, they decided to buy a cocoa farm in Fiji. But before they could really do anything with it, Niklas passed away. At the suggestion of her housekeeper, Ateca, Kat invites her old school friends to spend the remainder of their golden years with her. Together they start their own chocolate company while getting reacquainted with each other.

I enjoyed getting to know each of the women and learning their secrets, fears and desires. I also liked learning about the people of Fiji and their culture. The story takes you on an adventure and I experienced a full range of emotions while reading it. It was easy to visualize the scenes. I also liked that the characters in this story were older. They were more relatable to me than the younger characters in a lot of other books that I read.

One of many favorite quotes in the book was what Ateca said about the women. "The ladies in the house are like a necklace made of shells: from the same beach, but each of them a little different. Each one worries for the next one on the string: Madam Lisbeth worries for Madam Sina, Madam Sina for Madam Maya, Madam Ingrid for Madam Kat, and Madam Kat for all of them.

Oh this one. All friends from Norway chucking it all to go to Fiji and see what Kat has up her sleeve. Kat was always the one they looked up to and none of their lives, including Kats has worked out quite the way the thought.

Each one has their own distinct personalities and gifts. They think they know each other, but the truth is they don't. But once they find themselves, look out world, here they come. A story of friendship, trust, love, loss, and of course chocolate.

This book made me cry, laugh and wish I was sitting on the front porch hammock sipping wine and nibbling on chocolate!

Good Job Ms. Ostby!

Thanks Netgalley/Doubleday  Release Date August 01,2017

A lovely story of friendships rediscovered and of hope given to women in their sixties who have "settled" for their unhappy lives. It's a warmhearted message that is never too late to pursue one's dreams. The author's prose and dialogue are spot-on. Hurrah for senior citizens!!