☆☆☆☆¼

At a wedding in New York, four friends witness one of the other guests enter what seems to be a catatonic state that they cannot recover from. Soon it transpires that this isn't just an isolated incident but something that, slowly but surely, becomes pandemic-like in scale and prevalence.

Is it a virus? Is it psychological? Is it mass hysteria? No one seems to know what's going on, and this looming threat fosters an uneasiness as you're getting to know these characters. This makes their attempts at navigating their relationships that much more intense.

What follows is a relatable and timely character-driven exploration of the state of the world today. And whilst Jameson's worldview is at times a nihilistic one, it is also rooted in reality, serving as a damning critique of capitalism.

Jameson's characterisations are complex and diverse (two of the four main characters are Asian whilst gay and bisexual identities are also reoresented). We learn about their hopes and dreams, their fears and doubts.

If you're not into contemplating the 'big questions' in life, then this book may not be for you. For me, it was a real treat that validated the way I look at the world sometimes, especially in the midst of an existential crisis.

Many thanks to Viking Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

This novel is hard to describe. In brief, it's about a pandemic, with all the echoes of the COVID crisis one would expect – the fear, the uncertainty, the impact on the economy and society as a whole, the grief and the loss. But more than that, it's about love, and selfishness, and creativity and apathy. It's about frustration and settling and fighting and giving up. The illness sweeping the world takes a strange and haunting form; those affected abruptly sit down and refuse to move, speak, eat, drink – they simply stop and effectively wait to die. Are You Happy Now explores this chilling pandemic from the perspective of a group of interconnected friends, each struggling with their own personal issues – sexuality, break-ups, relationship problems, career challenges – which take on a stark nature when set against the backdrop that all around them, people are suddenly stopping and seeming to give up. Really compelling and unsettling.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Not for me, this one, I found it quite disturbing. Although well-written.

Unfortunately for me this was a dnf book. The characters are dull and not interesting and the plot moved far too slowly for it to keep me interested and engaged. I wasn't super eager to read a book which feels like it is about a pandemic especially after going through one but I would still give it a try but the pacing was just far too slow for me to care. Honestly the writing style made me slightly bored.

This was so different. A slow burn which eventually had me hooked. I have a fascination fir books with a dystopian feel and am always pleasantly surprised when takes me in a different direction to what I was expecting .

I was really intrigued by the premise of this book but unfortunately I wasn't a big fan. Perhaps it was too close to living through a pandemic to read it or it may not have suited my January mood when reading but I failed to connect to any of the main characters and when a novel is largely character driven , you need to feel something for the characters and unfortunately I didn't. and found the second half dragged before being neatly tied up. An interesting idea but the delivery fell flat for me, maybe I missed something obvious but I think this books target audience is one that is a lot younger than I am.

2 stars.

Intense, cutting and enthralling writing from an incredible writer. For those who enjoy Naomi Alderman and Patricia Lockwood, this novel asks the right questions and is both hopeful and desperate all at once.

"Boy meets girl at a wedding and the world ends."

On paper Are You Happy Now? was my kind of book. However, the characters were so self-absorbed, shallow and repellent that I almost didn't finish the book several times. I only carried on because I enjoyed the author's previous book.

I read this book to the end and I am still undecided whether it would have been better to have not read it. It made me feel something for the characters I guess but I don't feel like it left me with anything. Having said this, it was well written and I liked the premise. It wasn't for me but it may be the book for someone else.

"The young woman in the teal dress appeared to have sat down....

Emory took both of Rose's hands and gently pulled, but as soon as she exerted enough force to threaten to bring her to her feet,Rose snatched herself out of Emory's grasp with what could only be described as a snarl. Her face was contorted, teeth bared. Only when she was free did her expression slacken once again. Her eye though, those were blank."

If you can look past the entitled and obnoxious characters then you may enjoy the book.

I knew nothing about this book before I'd started it, but I'd seen a lot of hype and knew I needed to read it.

I didn't enjoy it so to speak (the type of book it is, means it isn't lighthearted) but I'm glad I read it, and I could not put it down.

The first real event that happens is a friend sits down at a wedding, refuses to get up and lashes out at those who try and help her. Is this a form of protest? Is she sick? And what happens if she isn't the only one?

The premise of this is so interesting - nothing at all like your usual pandemic plot. I would have liked an explanation but totally realise why I can't have one. The arguments and theories are fascinating and add to your understanding of everyone and their perspectives.

With this as a backdrop, it's really a study into our four main characters and how they manage with the uncertainty of what is happening around them. They are all very different; I loved Emory at the start and how she tried to find answers while living with guilt (but felt she lost part of herself towards the end), Andrew and his compassion grew on me, Finn evolved most as a character but I struggled to really connect with him, and Yun I just struggled with full stop.

The tone of the whole book is bleak, with little in the way of hope for the (fictional?) future, but we see our cast try to live their lives and have relationships regardless. There are lessons in morality and ethics with huge themes about mental health, death and suicide - so please make sure you're in a good place to read this before you start.

All in all, a fascinating slow-paced but quick-witted dystopian novel!

For me the pandemic/dystopian vibes of this book kind of felt too soon unfortunately (but I won’t let that impact my review!). Disregarding that I did think the angle was very interesting and found myself intrigued. I enjoyed getting to know the different characters and their relationships, they all felt quite raw and real and that was probably my favourite part of this book. I got a bit bored halfway through though and had to push myself through. Most of the answers or resolutions I was waiting for fizzled out a little which is where the book lost a few stars from me. If it sounds like an interesting read to you definitely give it a try when you’re in the right headspace!

Sorry, got halfway through, but it was mind numbingly slow paced and I gave up. Didn’t care about any of the characters, who were all self obsessed. I’m probably the wrong age group to enjoy this.

Are You Happy Now is a quiet, intelligent, emotional and moving novel. And compulsively readable. Like all the best dystopian novels, it gets to the heart of how ordinary people experience extraordinary events. The concept is brilliant (psychogenic catatonia), both as a storyline and for it's possible metaphorical interpretations.

The novel works well on an intellectual level: it sparks a lot of 'what if?' thinking as well as reflections about what it is to be young in today's world (and not just in terms of living through a global pandemic). But it's also a good read, even if you don't feel like putting too much thought into it. In other words, it allows you to think but doesn't force you to do so - I like that in a book :-)

It's got engaging characters (not all likeable, but mostly interesting), a good story, good dialogue and pacing, and it's well written. It's rather dark, occasionally nihilistic, and sad, but actually not depressing to read - I can't quite put my finger on why that is. I think some readers may be more dragged down by it while for others it may tap into ideas about resilience and optimism.

I would recommend it highly for any reader who likes books that explore stories about people living through adversity, and for book clubs in particular: it could trigger some interesting discussions!
3.5*

Are You Happy Now is the second novel I’ve read by this author. It follows four people. Yun a musician/DJ, Andrew a professor, Emory an aspiring news reporter and Fin a ballet student. All four are attending a wedding when they witness a guest at the wedding sit down in the middle of the dance floor. When guests try to help her up she refuses their help by lashing out. At first this looks as a one off incident but soon people across the world are doing the same.

This was an interesting read that not only covers a pandemic but questions the way people live and mental health issues. It’s not obvious at first that this is what the book is about but this is what I came away with after finishing this book.

I felt this was a well written book, it was easy to follow and although it didn’t feel particularly fast paced I wanted to read on. The characters are well done and develop well as the book progresses. However, I didn’t particularly like them. I mean I liked them at the beginning of the book but as the book progressed my feelings towards them started to change.

This was definitely looking to be my favourite book by Jameson however the ending is the reason for the lower rating. I found it predictable and left me unsatisfied. I did work out roughly how it would end about halfway through the book. Also I was expecting the whole thing to be more dystopian/ pandemic based as this is the vibe I got from the description.

This is definitely one of those books that won’t be for everyone but it was still a good read, and can’t wait to see what Jameson comes up with next!!

I would like to thank the publishers Penguin General UK and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased thoughts.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Death, Mental Health and Mention of Suicide

My Rating 3.5 stars

I struggled to read this. The writing style was good I just didn't enjoy the storyline. I think it was too soon. I'm hoping to revisit again in the future and hopefully I can enjoy it mire when we are not still living during a pandemic

I was attracted to this book as it sounded intriguing. I enjoyed it to a certain extent, the premise was good as were the characters. However I felt it was a bit slow paced for me.

I was excited to read the latest book from Hanna Jameson. I loved The Last! Are You Happy Now has a different vibe. I don't think I've read a book where there is a global 'pandemic' of sorts, but this isn't the main story line. It is a story about a group of friends, and their emotional turmoil as they go through the pandemic and how this shapes them as people. I found the story interesting and the characters felt real, but the ending was dissatisfying. I know have more questions than I started with.

Rating: 3.5/5

Upon reading the synopsis of this book, this seemed like a really intriguing read, which it was in my opinion.

Following the lives of the four characters was interesting - seeing how they all coped throughout the pandemic at hand as well as realising things about themselves and what they want for their futures. Some I definitely liked more than others, but I loved the diversity of them all.

I really enjoyed the idea of the plot, and loved how the story ended, although I still wanted a bit of closure in regards to the pandemic side of things. Despite that, this book had me reflecting on things in life and had me asking questions that wouldn’t necessarily come straight to my mind. It could be a bit slow at times with the character’s relationships taking over the plot a little, but I still enjoyed this read and would pick up further works from Hanna Jameson.

Bizarre but compelling, I couldn't put this down.

I absolutely love how it ended, with no real conclusion as to what the cause of this pandemic was and no cure, it left me wanting more but also strangely satisfied that there was no nicely wrapped-up ending.

Wow, this was a heavy and bleak read, but also quite brilliant.

A world that's lost hope. A generation plagued by anhedonia. A woman sits down at a wedding and never gets back up.

So begins a pamdemic of catatonia leading to death. Worldwide but by far concentrated in Western civilisations, there is no explanation, nor cure.

Focusing on four main characters - Yun; Emory; Andrew and Fin - each face their losses and challenges with their own unique style of coping - or not coping. The sense of life being an unbearable burden and a never ending hamster wheel of pointlessness runs through all their lives, but more so in Yun's.

This is not a book to bring comfort or joy, but it is a damning and true indictment of the way we are living, or should that be, existing. A call to arms perhaps?

It's hard to say I enjoyed this book. I was absorbed and engaged, but I guess I often read to escape, and this felt just a little too real to be comfortable. Definitely an interesting read and well written but I did feel quite depressed throughout. It will definitely be a marmite read I feel, but that isn't a bad thing.

I finally finished Are You Happy Now at midnight last night .. and I'm going to be honest I loved the first part of it but didn't love the last 30% ...
The story is about a global pandemic (no, not that one, don't worry) where people appear to be just sitting down and giving up but it is also about relationships and happiness. The themes of the story really appealed to me and I was hooked by the notion that people may be just giving up, was it an illness .. a virus? Or was it a choice?
Sadly I don't feel we really got enough of an understanding of what was happening (and maybe that was intentional by the author but I felt a bit robbed of an explanation) .. so the story felt a little hollow and although the characters were well thought out and described I also found them quite unlikeable (not in a good way) and wasn't overly invested in them.