Farrar, Straus and Giroux
English writer Jem Calder's debut novel, I Want You To Be Happy, reports from the frontlines of modern-day dating. His book is good – but the news is not. A man in his mid-30s who recently broke off his engagement with his longtime girlfriend meets a young woman at a crowded London bar. He's a copywriter, she's a 23-year-old barista. Despite his intention not to talk about his breakup, he finds himself "shouting specific details directly in her ear." "Pretty intense," she yells back. He apologizes. "No-no, I like it," she yells. "It's like boarding a plane. You go baggage first." Neither can think what to say next. After an "interpersonal silence containing all the bar-noise," they share a few drinks, their first names (Chuck and Joey), some quips about their 12 year age gap and her lack of what he calls "a real job." They end up at his luxury apartment, which is far nicer than her crowded shared flat.
In other words, Calder's characters have boarded a plane, baggage first -- with no idea where it will land. Will it lead to an actual relationship, nevermind happiness?
Calder made a splash with his first book, Reward System, a collection of six interconnected short stories about young adults linked by social media yet adrift and alienated in today's fragmented digital world. The title of one story, "Distraction from Sadness is Not the Same Thing as Happiness," could also work for this closely observed, sad-but-sympathetic novel about the cagey, jittery dance that characterizes the modern-day mating game.
