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THE WORLD IS FULL OF LAUGHTER by Dolly Sen

Reviewed by Chris Barchard

Dolly Sen's autobiographical book, The World Is Full of Laughter, would make a good read if it was fiction. The style is straightforward but engaging. The fact that it is an autobiography written by someone whose life has ultimately flourished against the odds makes it compelling. There is a lot of irony in the writing, not least of all in the title. It made me laugh in places in the book where laughter would otherwise seem inappropriate. Having said that the seriousness is not lost as a result. The book is moving.

An appalling childhood marred by verbal, physical and sexual abuse leads to madness. It is not credible that the madness is not connected to these experiences. In fact constant correlations are made about the constant misery, voices, ideas of self-harm, actual self harm, attempts at suicide and even homicidal urges, with the environment at home and the rejection she experiences outside of it. It has the sense of truth.

The story is told in a colloquial yet thoughtful way. She does not waste words. The swearing is not gratuitous. It makes the environment she describes seem very real. The narration flows naturally with complete clarity. She uses plenty of imagery. She succeeds in doing something very difficult, which is to describe the process of going mad in an integrated way. There is nothing cold about this story. Emotion is there all the way and it evokes empathy. She comments "I just didn't want this book to be about a happy family full of lies." But she also says "I know honesty is atrociously painful.", indicating what the book has cost her to write.

The bad times are very bad and she has utter self-loathing for most of the time. After some quotes from a diary of her thoughts she comments, "You could say I was a negative person.....". However her humanity shines through and the fact that she has such strong feelings and that they are so easy to understand in the circumstances suggests a positive spirit that is trying to get out. When all seems lost the story quite suddenly begins to take on a more hopeful aspect and is the more life-affirming because of what has gone before.

It is not a book for the squeamish and is completely unsentimental. However it is a book about hope, the conquest of adversity and forgiveness that should be an inspiration and a lesson to all of us.

Published by Chipmunkapublishing £10