I don't know about "devoid of meaning and joy", but certainly lacking something.
Something important.
Through most of my childhood, my father worked away from home for a week or more at a time. One time he took a job in Kazan, in the USSR, he was gone for 4 months.
That was just life. It wasn't joyless, but things were very different when he was home - and in many ways, more complete.
I guess I identified more than I thought.