Are You Happy? by Lori Ostlund

DESCRIPTION

Nine masterful stories that explore class, desire, identity, and the spectrum of violence in America–and in American families–against women and the LGBTQ+ community.

A collection filled with surprise, dark humor, and deep compassion, from the author of The Bigness of the World, winner of the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction.

In Lori Ostlund’s exquisite collection, Are You Happy?, she examines the lives of people who have left their place and culture of origin behind. Set in Minnesota, New Mexico, and California, we watch Ostlund’s characters as they try–and often fail–to make peace with their pasts while navigating their present relationships and responsibilities.

In deceptively straightforward prose Ostlund delves deep into the interpersonal and grapples with the compulsion to make others happy–and the elusiveness of being happy oneself. As a woman mourns the premature loss of her best friend’s youth, two parents the life of their son, a queer couple their feeling of safety, and a daughter her family’s political integrity, Ostlund paints a distinctly American portrait of violence manifest at its most intimate scale.

Richly layered and structurally complex, these stories have a novelistic feel. Lori Ostlund is a master of the form and Are You Happy? showcases her best work to date.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

LORI OSTLUND is the author of the story collection, The Bigness of the World, which won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, the California Book Award for First Fiction, the Edmund White Debut Fiction Award, and was a Lamda Finalist. Stories from the collection appeared in Best American Short Stories and the PEN/O’Henry Prize Stories. Her second book, a novel, After the Parade, was a Barnes & Noble Discover pick and a finalist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, the Ferro-Grumley Award, the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, and was a NY Times Editor’s Choice. Lori is the Series Editor of the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction.

PRAISE

"Lori Ostlund is one of our country's finest short story writers, a true national gem. Are You Happy? showcases her clear-eyed, emotionally astute, and often slyly funny prose. With a deft hand, one that manages to float gently as it cuts deeply, Ostlund explores recognizable American lives reckoning with injustice and seeking connection. Relevant, devastating, and ultimately redemptive, this book is a must have for anyone who cares about anything." — Heidi Pitlor, author of The Daylight Marriage

“Are You Happy? is bright, swift, and heartbreakingly direct in its portrayal of how home can sometimes leave a lingering bruise. Seriously, how does she do it?! Lori Ostlund is funny and wry; her work cuts to the quick. Every story I read made me feel deeply known. I’ve long been a fan of hers and this book does not disappoint. A short story collection that is truly all hits, no misses.” — Kristen Arnett, author of With Teeth and Mostly Dead Things

DETAILS

Hardcover | 272 pages