Adeline was really rather charming, she always had a man in her life, but it never worked out: either they were nice, but she didn't find them very exciting; or they were exciting, but she didn't find them particularly nice, or they were neither nice nor exciting, and she wondered why she was with them at all. She found a way of making the exciting men nicer and that was by leaving them. But then, they weren't exciting anymore either.

— François Lelord

And since he was seeing more and more people who were unhappy for no apparent reason, he was becoming more and more tired, and even a little unhappy himself. He began to wonder if he was in the right profession, whether he was happy with life, whether he wasn't missing out on something. And then he felt very afraid because he wondered whether these unhappy people were contagious.

— François Lelord

Basically, having a gift for happiness was a bit like being good at math or games: it depended partly on the development of the brain after you were born, ad even before, but also on how your parents or other adults had brought you up when you were small. And of course on your own efforts and subsequent encounters.' Nature or nurture,' said the professor. 'Whichever way, the parents are to blame!

— François Lelord

Because they know that people will be kinder to a child who smiles.

— François Lelord

Exciting happiness is joy, celebration, travelling, being in bed with a woman you desire.

— François Lelord

Happiness. We're tearing our hair out to try to find a definition of it, for heaven's sake. Is it joy? People will tell you that it isn't, that joy is a fleeting emotion, a moment of happiness, which is always welcome, mind you. And then what about pleasure, huh? Oh, yes, that's easy, everybody knows what that is, but there again it doesn't last. But is happiness not the sum total of lots of small joys and pleasures, huh?

— François Lelord

He had fallen in love with her emotions, and that was a very profound feeling indeed.

— François Lelord

He looked at Hector's list and told him that, thanks to a lot of studies and calculations, they'd shown that if you compared yourself to others and didn't find yourself wanting, if you had no money or health problems, if you had friends, a close-knit family, a job you liked, if you were religious and practiced your religion, if you felt useful, if you went for a little stroll from time to time, and all of this in a country that was run by not very bad people, where you were taken care of when things went wrong, your chances of bring happy were greatly increased.

— François Lelord

He who spends too long regretting his ruined crop will be neglect to plant next year's harvest.

— François Lelord

He wondered why he wasn't as in love with her as he was with... Hector had only shared enjoyment with (her)...he shared everything, enjoyment and sorrow...but for some time now they'd shared too much frustration, boredom and fatigue.

— François Lelord