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

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I thought the premise was potentially very interesting - basically a mental health 'epidemic' - and the central question of whether this was caused by people becoming victim to an infectious agent or simply 'giving up' on life was very brave of the author. As cases and casualties escalate around the world, the “sitters”, as they’re later termed, are almost seen as an inconvenience, such is the scale of the phenomenon, with mass occurrences at big gatherings. Is it a collective expression of nihilism? Are the afflicted choosing to do this? Is it an act of selfishness? And why do so many want in on the act? 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.

I would describe the genre as soft sci-fi/dystopia within a contemporary novel. It gave me Emily St Mandel vibes and I think if you like her writing you would love Jameson’s too. Fin wanted with all the wide-eyed grasping of someone who’d never had, and no matter how viciously he polished the surface everyone could see it. 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. I'm aware this review is somewhat vague but I think this is a read best served without prior knowledge.

Yun, Emory, Fin and Andrew attend the wedding; their lives entwine as the “psychogenic death experience” takes hold of society and the story follows them along a sinister end of the world trajectory. The novel doesn’t just ask how we can exist in a doomed world but how we can love a damaged person, interrogating their intense, tangled relationships. Take a Look at Our Summary of November Highlights, Whether You're Looking for the Latest Releases or Gift Inspiration 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. I found Andrew and Fin’s relationship to be more interesting. Although their dynamic is in some ways more straightforward (but not entirely), I found myself wanting to delve more into their interactions than any others.

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. Andrew waited at the bottom of the steps, wondering whether friendships burned out in the same way epidemics, hysterias and protestors do, then went up. En ‘Are you happy now’ seguimos la historia de cuatro personajes principales (junto a un buen puñado de secundarios) que se enfrentan a un mundo donde se origina una pandemia. Parece la historia típica que podría surgir de estos últimos años. La pandemia consiste en personas que de un momento para otro se sientan y no hacen nada hasta que pasadas un par de semanas mueren. The main problem with his life-as-a-movie theory was that it wasn’t easy to apply to other people who weren’t the protagonists of his reality. What happened to everyone else?

He wondered if she had somehow felt it, felt him slipping away. But it wasn’t likely. She was just standing by him and searching for a way to help, like any normal person would. Like any good person. 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. Some of the story at times almost feels too clean, as though some plot points are at times too convenient, and it’s certainly an imperfect novel. He wondered if a love not properly expressed mutated into something jagged and unwieldy like metal, something that could kill you.” 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.

It was like he didn’t understand that relationships were all about power. They were about control, about who could endure the longest without visibly caring. Andrew was always giving his power away without a thought, like wasn’t ceding anything. You couldn’t actually tell people you just didn’t want to be with them any more. There had to be a better, more socially acceptable reason. Llegué a esta novela porque la anterior novela de Jameson, ‘Los últimos’, me pareció una interesante propuesta dentro del trillado género detectivesco, aunque la ejecución fuera finalmente fallida. Desgraciadamente, leyendo esta nueva obra de la autora me encuentro con una situación similar.

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Have people finally given up? Are they choosing to die? After a wedding in New York when a woman sits down in the middle of the dance floor and refuses to move, all over the country people start doing the same. Soon it’s a pandemic, with “catatonic events” happening worldwide. Dystopian Fiction Books Everyone Should Read: Explore The Darker Side of Possible Worlds and Alternative Futures 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. A hard book to categorise and, to some extent, also a hard book to read. We’re introduced to four people attending a wedding in New York: Yun a musician and DJ, Andrew an associate professor, Emory an aspiring news reporter and Fin – the youngest at just twenty years old – a ballet student. At some point during the celebrations a girl making her way to the bar suddenly sits on the floor. She doesn’t get up, she’s uncommunicative and all efforts to lift her are met with a snarling, snapping response. In the following weeks a number of similar cases come to light. Nobody is sure if this, seemingly irreversible, behaviour is caused by some kind of virus or disease, or whether it’s something else. Firstly, I just want to say that I do not read pandemic books, it's too early for me but this isn't like anything we experienced in recent years, apart from how humans behave. Most people will feel safe reading this in my opinion. I'm not going to spoil the events this book is built around, but suffice it to say, it's a clever concept.

Jameson’s writing is so easily digestible. Some of her prose delivers a punch directly to the gut, a left hook swinging from out of nowhere. 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.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. 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. This is a novel abo Jameson presents us with a painfully realistic portrayal of depression: not only the many ways in which it manifests in the person affected but on its eventual effects on the people who love them; rather than indicting Yun, Jameson makes us feel for him. We eventually may grow saddened by his inability and unwillingness to accept other people’s help and the way he weaponizes his own hurt and disappointment. Despite the melancholic tone permeating much of this novel, there are so many moments and scenes that will fill readers’ hearts with hope and love. I was 100% invested in Andrew and Fin’s relationship, and seeing them be vulnerable with one another really pulled at my heartstrings. Andrew and Yun’s relationship also gave me all sorts of feelings, and I found myself filled with sorrow on their behalf.

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