"This electrifying, character-rich novel conjures intense feelings of fear, longing, hope and despair from a remarkable concept — what happens when the world careers into existential crisis?"
Dazzlingly zeitgeisty, Hanna Jameson’s Are You Happy Now? cuts to the core of our times, exploring what it means to be happy, to love, and to live in the heightened context of a mystery psychogenic illness. It’s an un-put-down-able blast of story-telling genius — dark, smart, and funny with it.
When four friends gather at a wedding in New York, at different stages of different roads to finding fulfilment in their professional and personal lives, one of the guests is taken ill. She sits down and won’t get up. She seems to be in some kind of catatonic state, but what’s the cause? Can it be cured? It seems to be a prolonged anxiety attack, but no one knows what’s wrong with her. This is just the first instance of a global phenomenon that comes to be termed “psychogenic catatonia” or “psychogenic death”. Essentially, it seems the afflicted are giving up on life.
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?
Against this intense, terrifying backdrop, the novel’s brilliantly drawn characters are experiencing their own individual existential crises, and practical ones, too. Can I make rent this month? Can I pay my hospital bills? Do I really want to be with this person? Am I living a lie?
Part coming-of-age story, part nihilistic exposé, Are You Happy Now? is wholly compulsive.
| Primary Genre | General Fiction |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
'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
Are You Happy Now features in the following genres: General Fiction, Dystopian and utopian fiction, Science Fiction, Thriller and Suspense, Modern and Contemporary romance, Fiction, Speculative fiction, Romance / Relationship Stories, Star Books, Recommendations
Are You Happy Now is available in Paperback, Hardback
Are You Happy Now was written by Hanna Jameson and published by Viking an imprint of Penguin Books Ltd
Are You Happy Now has 361 pages
