Alleys, thinks John Lincoln. At least Chicago has alleys." These are the opening lines, immediately catching you off-guard but in so doing drawing you in from the off. Jameson utiliza esta pandemia como reflexión de la vida de estrés y las presiones que todos ponemos a otros y a nosotros mismos por tener que hacer ciertas cosas vitales como parte fundamental de nuestra vida.

Hanna Jameson’s Are You Happy Now follows two overlapping and imperfect love stories, both of which begin at the same time and place as a frightening worldwide phenomenon. The novel’s four protagonists – Yun, Emory, Andrew, and Fin – are present at a New York City wedding when one of the guests collapses without explanation. She is alive but unresponsive, appearing to have suddenly just ‘given up’ on living. Soon this mysterious ‘disease’ begins to spread, and we follow Jameson’s protagonists as they grapple with building new relationships whilst the world seemingly collapses around them. All the characters are flawed and act out on their individual insecurities and anxieties. There were moments where I empathised with them but many times where I got quite frustrated with them too. What started out as a meet cute between Emory and Yun becomes a lot more complicated. I particularly loved the intimacy and complex dynamics between Yun and Andrew’s friendship. I found that each chapter in this book was very well written, and brought it’s point home in a manner that the reader could accept, and that allowed them to take a look at themselves in a non-judgmental manner. This book acts as a mirror to who we are at the soul level. We follow four main characters. First Yun and Andrew, old friends, followed by journalist Emory and dancer Fin. If I’ve unlearned anything about ingesting stories over the past number of years, it’s that I don’t have to love a character to love their story. Which was a necessary perspective when it came to this novel, because our first protagonist is Yun, a jaded musician who is just almost likeable, but somehow never quite made it there for me. His relationship with Emory is interesting, in that it’s imperfect, and sometimes bland and often confusing, and reflects how sometimes we feel most lonely beside the person we’re supposed to be closest to. REALLY? the fighting the bear story? Now I'm just baffled. and for him to think that ended his childhood? Maybe I don't see literary symbolism here, but that just makes no sense to me. Why does he rub his arm whenever he is stressed? And why would he rub Amy's arm? I see no corralation.That is a lot to digest! The message? Be authentic, and take responsibility for yourself. Not a bad message at all! In her introduction Berger tells us how this book came about – as an offshoot of her personal writing about what she needed to know to live her life in a better way. She was doing this to clear her own mind – the end result with her sharing this is that her readers have a way to clear their minds and lead a happier life! It really is one of those reads that completely bases its entertainment level on the readers interpretation of the novel. For me, this was a searing account of mental health, pointing out the prejudice and injustices of American ideologies and systems, which are also reflected across Western Europe. Perhaps I’m too conventional with enjoying traditionally formulaic novels, with story climax’s and equilibriums, or at the very least some decent character development. Unfortunately, I felt that this book didn’t offer me any of that. My initial impression of this book was that it was a very self indulgent story about publishing and Chicago, told by an old Chicago publisher. If I'm being honest, that impression never really went away. My initial take on the protagonist was that he was average with a superiority complex, selfish and largely irritating. That impression never really went away either. When Cassidy's world comes crashing down she finally leaves and becomes a female rogue, a rarity of its own. Cassidy will find herself in the year she is a rogue.She will make a new family and discover herself.But what happens when her past catches up with her? That’s my problem. Everyone feels like the right person, I can’t even tell the difference any more. I ride the subway and see someone reading a book I was just reading and think, Wow, maybe it’s you. It happens all the time. Someone looks at me and it’s just them. You know what I mean?

Also, how is Damen, Cassidy's mate, doing? How does rejecting his other half feel? Does he regret it? Does he change is man-whore ways? Or does he continue on with Briella? How is Jake, Cassidy's brother, handling her departure? How about her mom and cheating father? How is she? I wanted you to be happy. I didn’t care what you were doing. It just got too much, watching you do the same thing over and over, and I realized you were never going to stop trying to become this imaginary version of yourself where you’re happy because you’re rich or signed to a big label or something huge like that. Even when things did go well, you were never happy because it wasn’t like this ultimate fantasy you already made up in your head. […] It was really hard to be around, to be with someone who was just never happy. Yes!" I squealed. "I was hoping this would happen! I mean I thought about it happening when I first met Logan and he basically adopted me as his daughter. I just thought that you two would make such a good couple. But then I realized that my sperm donator still stood in the way and then just pushed the thought away. But then he was out of the picture and I thought about the pair of you again, but then I also thought Logan was dead but -" Logan covered my rambling mouth so I'd shut up. I gave him a sheepish smile, well I tried with his hand still covering my mouth.Throughout the novel, Jameson explores happiness, adulthood, loneliness, and connectedness. Her characters deal with failure, disappointment, and their own impotence, ‘smallness’, in the face of all that is going on in their world. I loved how many moments of vulnerability, kindness, and love we got. I also found myself relating very much with the many instances where characters are struggling to cope: with their own life, with their own unhappiness, and with taking accountability. Yun, Emory, Andrew, and Fin’s flaws and idiosyncrasies are what made them memorable and real. Although I am more of a Yun/Fin, Andrew had my heart. He was such a gem. His kindness, his alertness to other people's feelings, his selflessness…getting to know him was a delight. He wondered if a love not properly expressed mutated into something jagged and unwieldy like metal, something that could kill you.” However, I didn't particularly enjoy the story. The characters were 20-30 year olds living in New York city and we were witness to their thought processes, motivations and desires, but they mostly seemed selfish and unstable (although perhaps this was the point...) The book focused a great deal on their sexual relationships, which happened to be mostly gay or bisexual, much to the detriment of the main story. Progress was slow and it did unfortunately become rather tedious to read at times.

Comparisons to Emily St. John Mandel should be ignored, imvho, but otherwise it's a solid dystopian take on the anger and sense of injustice that permeates throughout contemporary twentysomething culture. Even more so than in her previous novel, The Last, Jameson bypasses the usual apocalyptic storylines, as she grounds her quietly dystopic concept firmly into reality. There is a minimalism to Jameson’s alternate/what if reality that brought to mind the subdued yet ominous world-building of authors such Kazuo Ishiguro, Emily St. John Mandel, Ling Ma, whose works are often characterized by a faintly ominous atmosphere.

Customer reviews

It is my sixteenth birthday: where everything went wrong. The day I was finally able to find my mate. This is a novel about relationships, romantic and platonic. It’s a novel about loneliness, about illness, about fear, about unmatched expectations. It’s about art, music, society and philosophy. It’s a novel about our daily interactions, about how we interact with and care for the people around us, be they strangers or loved ones. it's good! i've been meaning to read this for so long and i was not disappointed, even if it was not what i had expected at all. Are You Happy Now makes for a deeply moving novel exploring the sadness and happiness of its main characters as they grapple with ordinary and extraordinary situations. While I was reading I felt many things: apprehension, joy, sadness, and tenderness. Are You Happy Now is a striking novel that for all the heartache it causes me, I look forward to revisiting again.