To be quite frank, I never thought I would ever write about a book! Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy reading, I enjoy books. However I must admit struggling in making reading a priority! Living in a society where instant gratification is the main story line, reading a 800 pages book over 3-4 weeks (ey, I lead a busy life ok!) is not always very attractive!

This said, a few weeks back I picked up Evan Handler‘s latest book It’s only Temporary – The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive. I have to say I actually enjoyed the reading very much.

Evan Handler

Handler is better known as Harry Goldenblatt in SATC. I wasn’t aware that he was diagnosed with acute leukemia at the age of 24. I read he’s written on how he’s been to hell and back in his first novel, Time On Fire: My Comedy of Terrors,. This time, without going into much details, this publication explains the treatments, the ups and downs, the lost girlfriend, the almost bankrupted family,… the rough patch!

Within a few chapters, he jumps to the life he later had, revolving heavily on chasing girls and admitting to loving them after having broken up. He’s also performed in many productions and had a stab at writing his own movie, but this is not the main purpose of the book.. Women are! When he’s not looking back at his lost youth from a more grown up perspective.

Most of the book is a very easy read. Many times I was left wondering where I was being taken, but the girls stories were clearly funny enough to keep me going. (I mean, the guy broke up 27 times, with 10 different women!). His writing is also very enjoyable without becoming too heavy considering the topics the book revolves around.

The story of his fornicating around goes until the last few dozens of pages where he meets and marries his wife, Elisa. Almost 20years have past since the leukemia hit, and he now looks back at what he’s had and his current situation, mostly. Reflects on people around him, his marriage and the fulfilling relationship between him and Elisa.

Surprisingly the last chapters take us on a completely different journey, where Handler looks at where he’s been, where he’s at and where he’s going. He offers a critical look onto his environment and the world in which we are all evolving, to some degree.

Elisa and the man who was declared clinically sterile more than once, have a child in the end, named Sofia. A one in a million chance doctors said.

In the end, the book offers some light philosophy which I think most will enjoy. The idea the author communicate is simple; are we really all in a position to enjoy life?