The Pursuit of Happyness

Autobiographies are not my favorite genre, but occassionally I come across one that catches my interest. I saw the Will Smith movie (as I'm sure many of you have) and I really liked it. So of course I would want to read the book on which it was based.

The book, as you can guess, is a little different from the movie. The subject matter was much darker and sadder, because the story begins with his childhood. We don't even arrive in San Francisco until halfway through. I shan't give away much info, in case you decide to read it, but I must warn against two things. First, it is chock-a-bock full of cuss words, particularly "motherf***er". Also, there is a moderately graphic rape scene, which was unpleasant to read (duh).

It is sad to read about the year the author and his toddler son spent homeless in S.F. Every morning he took his son to daycare and then worked a full day, picked up his son, and tried to figure out a dinner meal and sleeping situation for the night. His determination and caring for his son is really impressive and inspiring.

The book, unlike the movie, shows a more well-rounded picture of the author. Besides being hard-working and a good father, you also learn about his infidelity and the mistakes he made along the way. So, you're given a truer picture of who the man was, but it might not leave you feeling as warm & fuzzy as the film does.

My final word: It was a good read, but not fantastic. I recommend it if you enjoyed the movie and the subject interests you.