The Happy Room

by Catherine Palmer

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This is one of the first contemporary novels I have read by Catherine Palmer. I have long been a fan of her historical novels so this was an interesting excursion for me.

There is no doubt in my mind that Catherine is a gifted author. Her characters are very real and human and it is easy to empathize with each of them. Even minor characters such as Nurse Ralph tugged at my heart strings and I wanted to know more about his life and his pain over losing his own wife years earlier. A romance between him and Debbie was what I was rooting for!

What I thought was quite remarkable was how she was able to realistically capture and portray the emotions and pain of Peter - the significant male character. His desires and anger is realistically portrayed throughout the novel and I thought it was absolutely beautiful when Peter's father was able to relate the good news of Jesus' death for our own personal sins and his resurrection in a way which spoke of knowledge of Peter's longing for Africa and his experiences there. The realization that the elderly Mossman missed Africa just as much as Peter and that he treasured the African rituals and stories like Peter did, was a beautiful moment in this novel.

However, I was uneasy with the whole speech by the elderly Mossman that Peter's negation of Christ was far more sad than the possible death of Debbie. That is a typical response of Christian's to death. To die an unbeliever is supposed to be far more sad than if someone dies a believer. I understand the reasoning about this but something in me cries out in disagreement. The fact that Debbie may be sacrificed in this novel for Peter's salvation makes me angry. (I won't say if she was or wasn't for all those who haven't read the novel yet).

The dialogue between Peter and his father about their longings for Africa brings me to recall the beautiful imagery of Africa portrayed in this novel. I have to believe that the author herself has travelled to Africa in order to capture so many of the feelings and nuances that she describes in this novel, or accept her exceptional ability to describe and make real places she has never been. A question to find out eventually. Africa is only slightly idealized in a few places, but it is realistically communicated by the author that these characters considered Africa their home and it had a significant impact on them in many ways.

The whole image of "the happy room" and all the symbolism in it almost breaks my heart. This is where this book really manipulated my emotions as a mother. I could easily become outraged and argue that this novel is a condemnation of working mothers everywhere who "...come and go, come and go. They are getting used to it. Used to leaving us. Used to saying good-bye." (inside book jacket, The Happy Room), but then I take a step back and realize that it is my own guilt as a working mother that continually plays at me. One of the many guilts that mothers (and fathers) go through as they try to make the best decisions for their children and families, trying to avoid the mistakes their parents made and make the best life for their children while balancing the "rest" of life. I could also imagine that missionaries, diplomats, and others in similar situations who have had to choose to send their children away to bording schools might also feel this same condemnation. The life of "abandonment" and being "left at boarding school" is definitely not a positive thing in this book and is the cause of Debbie's anorexia, and ultimately, her death.

Ultimately, do I really think Catherine Palmer is delivering some rant on parenting and the abandonment of children by their families? No, absolutely not. It is simply a real, authentic, believable story of one family and their road to understanding, reconciling, and relating with one another and their God.

Quite amazing, really! This is a really heart-felt novel about life, family, siblings, parents, goals and desires, developing a deeper faith in God, and learning to understand and communicate with loved ones.