Are You Happy Now: 'One of the best novels of 2023' Sara Collins

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My favourite character was Emory, but even that felt like a distant enjoyment of her role in the story. She was so much more complex and insightful, wondering if she’s responsible for the narrative and consequent public response to the mysterious illness in the story. She had a good role in the story but I wish it was explored more. Este, para mi gusto, buen punto de partida se sume en el más absoluto aburrimiento durante la novela. Ni los cuatro protagonistas son interesantes ni su desarrollo atractivo. Sus idas y venidas no son más que un slice of life que, aunque por momentos parece despegar, termina siempre dejando una sensación agridulce. Para añadir más problemas, el ritmo de la historia es sumamente lento. Y, aunque sea un ligero spoiler, el final de la trama “pandémica” es totalmente decepcionante. Unhappiness is only a thought in our mind. What a concept … and a true one! Berger presents a great caveat here – “Live in the present, do not project into the future” . She is specifically referencing dealing with pain, but this could be referencing anything that we are dealing with.

He couldn’t forgive them, for being human, for not getting parenthood right the first time, for not raising him better able to deal with this. Oh my baby girl can finally find her mate!" My mom had tears of joy in her eyes. One could easily see that I was her favorite of the three of us. In second is the oldest, my brother Jacob, followed by my older sister Briella. Mom never really liked her after she found out about all the men she has slept with. My mom was a big believer in waiting for your mate, and so was I, and secretly Jake was also. What a difficult book to categorize, rate, and review! Nothing feels straightforward with this read, including the plot, the character dynamics, and the characters themselves. I finished the read feeling thoroughly bewildered.

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Andrew is much more conventional, almost eye-rollingly so, handsome, financially comfortable, described as perfect multiple times by those around him, admittedly biased characters, but still. I liked him because whilst he was oblivious to peoples attention of him, he was also always so considerate towards others. Then, what will happen when Cassidy is forced to return home after disaster strikes? What will she face? 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?

Something about this book just spoke to me. I settled into the life on John Lincoln almost immediately…seeing the people, places and happenings of his world clearly. (Oddly, I kept picturing him as the character Richard Sherman from “The Seven Year Itch”. A man living through a hot summer in the city, away from his wife, with an active imagination…also a book editor for a small press….)

Customer reviews

As the characters contend with old and new hurts, hidden feelings, loneliness and longing, psychogenic catatonia continues to threaten their horizon. Jameson seamlessly switches points of view, often adopting a nonlinear narrative and or using foreshadowing to build and maintain tension. Her prose brought to mind Hanya Yanagihara, Donna Tartt, and Scott Spencer. Jameson’s prose effortlessly moves between registers: from presenting us with clear-cut and incisive descriptions (of the character’s feelings, thoughts, actions, and surroundings), to using her language to evoke with striking intimacy and poignancy the mood and nuances of a certain moment/scene. Jameson’s style maintains a balance between crisp yet opaque, at times eliciting in dazzling detail the state of mind of a character, at times allowing room for the ambiguous nature of her character’s fears and desires to shine. Her dialogues rang true to life, not only in their rhythms but in how they often revolved around or hinted at unspoken feelings. The setting, mostly ‘post’-covid NY, is brought to life. Jameson captures just how easy it is to feel lost and alone in such a city, while also incorporating discussions on current politics and on America’s healthcare service.