THE ROAD TO LIFE
Set in 1960s Britain, The Zigzag Road to Happy is the story of sixteen-year old Nicky who runs away from home and moves to London, where she encounters mods, rockers, snake dancers and handsome but controlling young men. Initially, life in the capital is good until everything is thrown into reverse after a disastrous end to a night out.
Anita Heavens’ book is a reflective and often harrowing account of what it’s like to be young in a world that isn’t always easy to understand. The narrative tone is set from the outset with a simple but powerfully written prologue that acts as an explanation for the first major decision of Nicky’s life. As the only child of a broken marriage she is catapulted into the role of caring for her mentally ill mother whose condition deteriorates when her husband leaves the family. Nicky misses her father, yet reasons that his absence isn’t necessarily a bad thing as her mother appears to be genuinely happy and has grown closer to her daughter.
Tragically their closeness is transitory as the “dark days” of “tears, seemingly endless tears, and stories of hurt, pain and abandonment” intrude upon and ultimately eat away at the mother/daughter bond. As Nicky struggles to cope with her mother’s shifting mood swings and emotional manipulation, she realises that to save herself will mean walking out on a relationship that has become dangerously toxic. Running away is the last, desperate, option. It will involve leaving behind her childhood, abandoning a mother who she loves, and finding a place in the world where she can start her life again on her own terms. Nicky has taken the first steps on a road that will veer in multiple directions, yielding both joy and heartache.
The Zigzag Road to Happy is a sensitively written novel that captures the innocence of youth and the inner resilience of a young girl who grows into an awareness of her strengths. Nicky is a likeable, sympathetic character who despite being dealt a tough hand, succeeds in overcoming each setback even when the odds are miserably stacked against her.
Another reason I enjoyed this book is because it does an impressive job of debunking the popular view of the 1960s as the “swinging” decade. For Nicky the hardnosed reality is snobbery, insensitivity towards the mentally ill, abortion and racism. She is shocked when her friend Kwesi, an African night club entertainer, is attacked by a gang of thugs when they see him kissing his white girlfriend. The assault is brutal and incomprehensible yet it also represents another step in the road of Nicky’s life journey. Not only has she witnessed the physical consequences of racial violence, but she begins to understand its dehumanising impact on the victims and those around them.
Based on a true story, The Zigzag Road to Happy is a poignant and engagingly written novel with a good structure and a simple yet powerful narrative. The one “flaw” (in my opinion) is that the ending did feel slightly rushed and out of step with the overall pace of the book. Aside from that, this is still a strong debut for a writer of tremendous promise. In Nicky, Anita Heavens has crafted a character who is plausible and extraordinarily courageous.
Reviewed by Juliette Foster
