Hector, a slightly disillusioned psychiatrist, unable to decide between his beloved Clara and his desire for exoticism in the form of beautiful Chinese women, had finally found happiness — as well as the secret of love. Things were going smoothly for him — but everyone else was asking questions and raising issues. There were childless women who worried because their biological clock was ticking away, while others complained that it was already too late for them. There were children who were impatient to grow up faster. Some men and women had regrets, others felt nostalgic or frustrated or concerned because they no longer felt careless and light-hearted. Could time be the underlying problem? Time that goes by either too quickly or not quickly enough.

So Hector decides to go on a long journey, travelling far North to meet with a friend in the land of the Inuit — because travel is known to educate the psychiatric mind, especially when the journey in question turns into a burlesque comedy, and most particularly when the psychiatrist in question chances to meet a certain beautiful Chinese lady and a certain aged monk.

Following a novel about happiness and wisdom told in the form of a rebus, and then a love story written in the manner of a spy novel, François Lelord continues the saga of Hector's amusing quest for Life's Great Secrets. As usual, Lelord's style is gently ironic and entertaining.






A psychiatrist and the author of such popular books as Les Contes d'un psychiatre ordinaire (1993) and Comment gérer les personnalités difficiles (1996), François Lelord is now a full-time writer. Following the international success of his novel Le Voyage d'Hector, in 2002, he has written several novels about the psychological-burlesque adventures of his hero, Hector.

In addition, he is the author of Hector et le secret de l'amour (2005) and the co-author, with Christophe André, of La Force des émotions (2001) and L'Estime de soi (1999).