Are You Happy Now
Ratings2
Average rating3.5
15
Ratings2
Average rating3.5
'Jameson channels the righteous anger of a generation' Luzia Sauma 'An eerie, fascinating, nihilistic triumph' Heather Darwent ----- At a New York City wedding, on a sweltering summer night, four people are trying to be happy. Yun has everything he ever wanted, but somehow it's never enough. Emory is finally making her mark, but feels the shame more than the success. Andrew is trying to be honest, but has lied to himself his whole life. Fin can't resist falling in love, but can't help wrecking it all either. And then the world begins to end. The four of them watch as one of the wedding guests sits down and refuses to get back up. Soon it's happening across the world. Is it a choice or an illness? Because how can anyone be happy in a world where the only choice is to feel everything - or nothing at all? An intensely compulsive novel for anyone who has ever felt hopeful and helpless in one breath, ARE YOU HAPPY NOW is about how you keep living when the world is on fire. Perfect for fans of Emily John St. Mandel's Station Eleven, Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, Patricia Lockwood's Nobody is Talking About This and Naomi Alderman's The Power. ----- Praise for Hanna Jameson: 'Such a brilliant concept, perfectly executed' Araminta Hall, Hidden Depths 'Furious and tender . . . cuts to the core of modern life' Jessica Moor, Keeper 'A compelling meditation on fear, hope, grief and the difficulty of imagining a future in a world in crisis' The Bookseller 'Yun, Emory, Andrew & Fin buried themselves into my heart' Nikki Smith, The Beach Party 'Extraordinary' Emily St John Mandel, Station Eleven 'One of those books you can't stop reading, but don't want to end' TM Logan, The Holiday 'Dark, compelling, original' CJ Tudor, The Burning Girls 'Compulsively readable' Daily Telegraph
Reviews with the most likes.
Ironically, I kind of feel like this book was largely pointless. And since the whole plot is based on people losing the will to live, maybe that was... the point. The first half was a solid 4 stars, dropping to 2.5 in the last 1/4 and if we compare all millennial novels to Sally Rooney then it's a 7.5 on the Normal People scale.
Are You Happy Now is a difficult book to sum up. There is a mystery virus with no cure striking at random, and we follow the lives of our four main protagonists, Yun, Emory, Andrew, and Fin as they continue on with their lives amid the chaos. The characters are exceptionally well drawn, as each one struggles with their own problems, and the writing is superb throughout.
