In this book Hector the main character is sent by a large pharmaceutical company to find Professor Cormorant who has absconded with a promising love potion. While searching high and low around the world Hector contemplates the components of love and the effects these have not only on the general public but on his own relationships.
He discovers some universal truths about life and love along the way, mostly that love is complicated but essential. The simple tone of the work is refreshing and delightful. It's well observed, thoughtful and highly entertaining.

After the extraordinary success of Hector and the Pursuit of Happiness, Françoise Lelord repeats the formula for Hector’s next adventure. First let’s get that out of the way: yes, it’s manly the same characters, the same writing style and, even, almost the same formula for heartache from the first book: our hero torn between his nice, loving girlfriend at home and the thrilling asian fling. So, if you didn’t like the first one, don’t even try it. But if you did, it’s a great follow-up.

It really surprised me how ticked off were some of the reviewers with the first book regarding how it managed the topics of love, fidelity and relationships. For me, it was one of the things I liked the most about it: showing real characters with complex (and a little messed-up) relationships, especially when dealing with monogamy and long-term compromise.

Well, this book goes even deeper in the subject, so expect to find infidelity, broken relationships, prostitution and sex for sex’s sake. But we’re not dealing with a Vice NSFW section, it’s still in the same veiled and naïve tone from the first book. All of this, intertwine with a little espionage and conspiracy tale serving as a vehicle for the plot.

As easy to read and as entertaining as the first one, I would even say that I enjoyed this second title a bit more.

I like hector still being his lovable self. Love his innocent ways of analysing the enotions from love, anguish, guilt, anger and etc.

If you haven't read the first book Hector and the Search for Happiness, go read the book. I read it some time ago and completely fell for it. Maybe I'll do a review on it????? Anyway there is also a movie, which was really good.

Hector has been given the opportunity to help research love. What makes love? What breaks love? What's true love? Within his research he is told to track down a doctor, who was developing a drug that makes people fall in love with each other on different levels.

His search takes French psychologist Hector to parts of Asia that in his previous journey he has never been. But mentally and emotionally, Hector goes on a journey that he could have never prepared for.

This novel was a bit more fast paced that the second one. But it still held the same thoughtful questions and passionate emotions just like the first one. What I liked about this book was how human Hector was. He was/is (how ever you look at it) conflicted with not just love but with understanding people and their needs. But most importantly understanding himself. He was just a very confused man and it made me think of what I was always told about psychologist "In order for them to help people with such mental issues, they need to be a bit crazy themselves."

Hector doesn't know what to do, even when given solutions, even when the answer is obvious, he just doesn't do anything. It makes for a very complicated but interesting story. I couldn't stand Clara, who is extremely selfish, EXTREMELY SELFISH. Every time she came on the page I rolled my eyes. I was done with her.

I also, towards the middle and end of the book, felt some type of way about Hector; he was selfish too but in a different way from Clara. Without getting too much into detail, I don't feel that he uses a (the woman not Clara) woman but he also didn't change the situation either.

The pace of the novel was great once it got going. It took a little bit but I wasn't unhappy when it started moving better. Although this book was originally (so it says per good reads) published in 1900 a lot of what is in the book hit home to modern times.

I hated the ending. It could have been better. It was sloppy and it was obvious the author didn't want to write anymore.

Overall,

3.5 Pickles

Thanks so much for letting me review this book.

This was recommended to me and I am so glad I gave it a shot. It is a really easy reading with an interesting narrative that I found gave the book more depth. I will say that I preferred the first book over this as the story was a little easier to follow.