Happy Now?: A Novel

by Katherine Shonk

HOW FAR WILL WE GO TO DENY THE DARKER SIDE OF OUR RELATIONSHIPS? HOW MUCH WILL WE RISK TO BE HAPPY? After many lonely years and alarming Internet dates, Claire Kessler, an artist and self-proclaimed homebody, believed she had found the perfect man. Jay was earnest, romantic, and gainfully employed, and within a year they were married. Less than two years later, Jay had killed himself. On Valentine's Day. Happy Now? follows Claire's chaotic and often tragicomic journey through the weeks that follow her husband's suicide. Nomie, Claire's pregnant younger sister, welcomes Claire into her guesthouse and abandons her own husband in solidarity. Claire's father turns into a concerned stalker, trailing her every movement. Encounters with well-meaning therapists go horribly awry, and Jay's abandoned cat goes on a hunger strike. All the while, Jay's suicide note lurks on the coffee table, waiting for Claire to gather the courage to read it. As she struggles to confront the truth about her marriage, Claire also struggles to negotiate life as a young widow—the well-intentioned remarks, the sympathy bouquets, and the terrifying prospect of dating (and loving) again. With wit and compassion, Katherine Shonk explores both the possibilities and the limitations of human relationships. Happy Now? is an uncommonly honest portrait of love, loss, and letting go.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit, Modern

271 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 7, 2010

About the author

KATHERINE SHONK is the author of the novel HAPPY NOW? and the story collection THE RED PASSPORT, a Chicago Tribune Best Book of the Year. Her writing has appeared in Best American Short Stories, McSweeney's, Tin House, and elsewhere. She works as an editor for Harvard University and lives in Chicago with her husband and daughter.

Reviews

[Susan]

Happy Now? is one of the best books I've read this summer. Katherine Shonk is a beautiful writer and can take a subject as tragic as suicide and turn it into a humorous tale. The story takes place in Chicago and the northern suburbs. Claire Kessler is a thirty-something artist who marries an ambitious college professor (at Northwestern, but the university is never named). Just before their second wedding anniversary, Claire's husband Jay commmits suicide--on Valentine's Day. The book chronicles Claire's coming to terms with her marriage and why her husband chose to check out so early in life. Everyone seems to think he/she knows what's best for Claire, but she's determined to deal with her 'incident', as she calls it, on her own terms.

[Katherine Shonk]

This is my new novel. It's about a young widow reeling in the aftermath of her husband's suicide.

[Ms.pegasus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Katherine Shonk has written a pentimento of grief. Without introduction, we meet Claire. Our curiosity is piqued. The 'what,' 'how,' and 'why's' are hidden behind the slow cloud of mourning. The details are at first merely alluded to in almost dismissive fragments. Claire remembers her husband's cat, Fang; the recollection prompts an image of an Egyptian funereal tableau. So fresh in her mind is her wedding day, that the colorful profusion of flowers triggers a memory of the wedding garlands. The brevity of these flashes of memory reflect both the pain of remembering as well as providing the reader with a fragmented and destabilized context for what has just happened.

The writing is disciplined. The narrative is from Claire's viewpoint, so we see a dynamic of opposite forces that slow the action, allowing for longer flashbacks while inflicting a paralysis on Claire. The emotionally needy part of her confronts feelings of suffocation as she is surrounded by a family that tries to comfort her. Her indifference to Fang turns into an imagined empathy with the animal. The thought of the cat sickening and dying becomes unbearable. She vacillates between propriety and raw emotion: “Claire understood that she was supposed to feel grateful. She should thank her sister and her brother-in-law for bringing her here, for allowing her to be a guest in their guesthouse. She should tell them that she was touched by the flowers people had been sending to—what? Show their sympathy, show that they did not blame her, although surely they could not help but wonder what she had done or failed to do.” The rational need to move on with her life, to compartmentalize the past, clashes with the emotional need to maintain a connection to the past, to maintain the memory of smells and sights and mementos. For comfort, she pulls out her cell phone and listens to the sound of a beating heart – Jay's heart. It was recorded from a phone call she missed. She recoils from reading Jay's notebook, fearing it will shatter everything she has believed to be real about their relationship. But that relationship has already changed. Her feelings are punctuated by bouts of anger and bitterness. The ambivalence multiplies. Her mother arranges for her to see a therapist. There is a rapport with him at their initial meeting, but she recoils from the thought of excavating her own feelings, for asking herself hard questions. She visits her husband's therapist to ask – what? Shonk deftly makes us feel the disquiet of meeting someone who knew her husband's most intimate thoughts.

I led with the idea of a pentimento. Claire is an artist. For a time she painted interiors of houses with their furniture and walls, their inhabitants and pets. It grew out of an earlier fascination with doll houses. Then, later, she would paint over these interiors with an exterior skin of brick and landscaping. In an inexpressibly romantic gesture, she painted the details of the Orpheus Record Store – the subject that brought Claire and her husband Jay together. She gave him a photograph of that painting, before she painted over the Flower Shop that replaced the Orpheus – the flower shop where she and Jay first met. It's a beautiful moment that brought tears to Jay's eyes.

Claire earns her living by creating “stagings” for a real estate agent. She chooses and arranges the furnishings to suggest an implicit rapport between the house and the people she imagines might want to live there. It's a deeper subliminal suggestion than the usual realtor tricks of baking bread or discretely planting a set of Mercedes keys on the entryway table. It's a pursuit that allows her to nurture her artistic sensibilities and provide a comfortable cocoon of privacy.

But, there is another side to Claire. It's a gritty side that shows her fortitude in a harrowing scene of driving along the icy lakefront during a blinding Chicago blizzard on New Year's day. The details of following the treads of the barely seen vehicle in front of her, the fishtailing on the ice, and buffeting winds bring the scene to life. (An unexpected bonus of this book was the details of Chicago's streets and neighborhoods. I grew up in Chicago and could visualize every location).

The title itself is intriguing. “Happy now?” Is the 'now' the now that stretches out into eternity or the ephemeral now of a millisecond? Jay once explained happiness to Claire, that everyone has an individual set-point of happiness. Emotions eventually level off back to that set-point. “Look at it this way: if you were permanently happy, you wouldn't feel the need to reach for the next big goal—your next gallery show, or a fulfilling relationship, for example....If you were happy all the time, you'd never get out of bed, see?”

I've tried to give a flavor of this book while disclosing as little as possible of the plot. This is one of those books that should be experienced without benefit of preconceptions. It contains some extremely likeable characters, and even some touches of subtle, unexpected humor.

Gr 10/31/13

note:

The Chicago Tribune review by Wendy Smith gives a much better explanation of the title. This is the link (http://www.chicagotribune.com/enterta...), but I still maintain you shouldn't read the review prior to reading the book.

[RETRODOLL · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Good Reads winner**

"Happy Now?" is the fictional account of a young Midwest woman named Claire who becomes a widow due to her husband Jay's suicide on Valentine's Day. One might think this is going to be a blubbering tearjerker, but it isn't. Instead the author infused light humor with the often tedious (but necessary) details of the grieving process. What's great about "Happy Now?" is it isn't a novel that 'feels sorry for itself' and neither does the main character Claire. Yes, she goes through the phases you would expect any widow to go through: the questions of why and the timing of the suicide, her husband's final thoughts, the validity of their marriage, etc. Suddenly single again and childless, Claire has to put on a happy face to morally support her pregnant sister and brother in law. What's impressive here is Shonk's ability to never allow Claire to lose that 'human touch' that keeps her connected to the reader -- even when Claire is berating the members of a support group or confronting Jay's therapist about the details of his sessions. One of the best elements of the book was how the story unfolds. The reader is thrust back into the tangled marriage of Claire and Jay: from a simple conversation during a date gone awry to Jay's laying in bed for days during the honeymoon because of depression. Jay even leaves his suicide note in a sectioned binder and unbeknownst to Claire, gives away a painting she did for him. All of those little details helps the reader understand Jay, if only a little bit better, while simultaneously allowing the lead character to reflect on her relationship with him as well. For some readers that have never suffered from CHRONIC depression it's going to be difficult to fully empathize with Jay. The same likely can be applied to real life circumstances too; making sense of depression is like a ball of confusion if it hasn't been your personal experience. Common reactions can range from: "Why doesn't he just get himself together!?" or "She should've left him for acting so irrational." But for someone that can relate to Jay's struggles all too well, his description of what it's like to be in the web of depression will resonant: "I get tired of pushing the stone up the hill...the thought that I'll have to take a shower every day for the rest of my life." Two issues I did have while reading was I couldn't help but long for Jay's character to be rounded out more. A few more 'action' scenes or flashbacks revealing more about him & his relationship with Claire wouldn't have hurt. Also, the final ending leaves a bit to be desired & seems it was aimed to convey some kind of message possibly about the characters and their futures? But whatever it was, was lost on this reader unfortunately. Overall "Happy Now?" was an easy, witty and entertaining read about a subject matter that can be difficult to broach in fictional writing.

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book on a lark while at the library (truth? There are too many good songs with the same title...Gwen Stefani, Michelle Branch and others...I am a sucker for titles that remind me of songs). I was intrigued by the plot: a newly married woman coming to terms with her husband's suicide. The story begins a couple of days after the funeral as Claire moves into her sister's guest house as she tries to figure out why her husband jumped from the balcony of an associate's apartment (on Valentine's Day, no less...) and why she was powerless to stop it from happening. Claire relives the past two years as she tries to find someway to move forward with her life. Jay, Claire's husband, suffered from debilitating depression that would leave him in near-catatonic states. Although he was a psychologist himself, he really had no better handle on his condition (he studied infants...). I really appreciated the complex, well-written characters. I also appreciated the humor...and there was a surprising amount of humor for a book of this subject (Jay didn't just leave a suicide note, he left a suicide BINDER...as Claire finally decides she is ready to attend a support group, she ends up going to a group for people who are severely depressed and have thought about or even attempted suicide). The ending felt really abrupt. There were so many things that were brought up in the course of the book that weren't really dealt with. I understand that leaving the narrative "hanging" in a way reflects the reality with which Claire is dealing, but I felt that either it should have ended two chapters sooner or a couple chapters later (I really would've liked to be with Claire when she returned to the inside of their house; did she ever find the picture she took of the painting before she obscured it with it's happy facade?; though Jay wasn't in a "place" to allow him any further consideration of how Claire would deal with the aftermath, couldn't he have arranged to have the closets redone?). This is a book that while easy to read, it is difficult to stop thinking about it once the cover is closed.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This new author writes with great facility. I seldom read modern fiction because of the immaturity of the characters and the inevitable anomie that pervades the stories. I simply don't "relate."

"Happy Now" is not entirely free from those qualities that disturb me, but I'm delighted that I took a chance.

The story is about a relatively new marriage. The husband commits suicide and the young wife spends a long time trying to discover why, and to whom she was married. It is unexpectedly quite funny throughout, and I'm laughing while remembering some of it. At the same time, there are passages that touch the heart.

It's a small book with memorable portraits of a family and heroine trying to cope. It's neither sentimental nor does the humor descend into farce. I strongly recommend it.

Incidentally, it made me miss Chicago.

I read about this book in the "NY Times Book Review."

[Mia Everding · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't believe I didn't put this book down after the first five pages. I thought, "It's just 260 pages; I can muscle through." A goal for myself should be to put down stupidness and not hold myself to finishing unpleasant things.
Interesting premise, but unbelievable characters and a truly unnecessarily amount of varied verbs. Wouldn't recommend.

[Yusei158 · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOLY SHIIIITTT, i was not expecting it to be this good 5/5

[Shelley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wonder if this book would have been different had Katherine Shonk written it in first person from Claire's perspective. I'd rather see the world through Claire's eyes than through a third person who is never identified. But ultimately, Shonk's writing style is rudimentary and feels like something I could have submitted to a college professor. Interesting enough plot (despite my concerns below) but executed poorly.

My suspension of disbelief waned early on for many reasons (and this is because Shonk did not write in a believable way). Who has a dad who sits outside his daughter's house in his car from 7am to 9pm every day after her husband dies and never talks to her or even looks at her? And then follows her every time she leaves the house? Who actually commits suicide by planning enough in advance to jump off a balcony on a weekday at party at a co-worker's house? Let alone does it on Valentine's Day? Let alone when that day happens to be the anniversary of his first date with his wife? Who has parents that get divorced and then go on monthly dates to the opera despite that the mother has remarried a 9-years-younger man, who just happens to be okay with these dates? And Claire, god, she seems so dull and I think that is because the writing is dull. And who is named Nomie? Plus, I'm not going to lie, when the second sentence of a new book I'm reading contains an over-used cliche (in this case, "chilled to the bone") I know the rest of the book is going to follow suit. Any writer who cannot think past a cliche for describing someone as cold is lazy.

As someone who has struggled with depression, Shonk's writing doesn't help the reader understand it in any way. I have written far more vivid stories about it than anything contained in this book.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Katherine Shonk's "Happy Now?" work sounded extremely intriguing. . . Claire's husband, a psychologist, commits suicide. At a party she isn't supposed to attend. On Valentine's Day. Claire is left with his cat to care for and a suicide note and practical matters all organized in a binder.

Valentine’s Day is a reoccurring theme. Their first date is on the holiday. The setting is Chicago, where I am from, and this appealed to me. I love actually having an exact picture of where the characters are. This novel really hooked me on the setting, but it left me lacking for the characters and their development. They all seemed flat to me.

I wanted to like her husband. I have respect for academics. He studied the intelligence of babies and even had an “Infant Lab” at his office. He and Claire seemed to have a meant-to-be meeting over discussion of a record store. He struggled with depression, and he obviously didn’t win against it. Depression is a very real psychiatric illness that many real people have dealt with . . . Jay never seemed real. Maybe that’s because we know all his words and actions were in the past and Claire was left to deal with the pieces. If Shonk had included a few “live” scenes before Jay’s suicide, maybe he would have felt more real.

The plot thickens and thickens, raveling what you hope will unravel . . . and then it ends. I don't require a happy ending, but I like an ending that feels like it came at the right spot.

[Linda FitzGerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

well... the story, while nothing new, was told well. Those left behind after a suicide. She has a way of writing that made me feel, just feel. Clever characters, interesting situations which luckily lots of us have never encountered. This story of a woman reaching for answers, and trying to get her life back is told well I thought. Why though oh why does this writer as so many others have the despicable need to use qualifiers whenever there is a character that is not white? Those moments when we meet someone new I would just cringe reading how the "African american" man in the support group looked our heroine in the eye, or how the Asian American girl sat in her chair. Each description make me take a beat and have to force myself back into the story because it felt like she was working so hard, much harder than the heroine worked at understanding her husband's suicide. '

If only someone would teach white Americans that everyone is not white unless otherwise noted and perhaps the sign of a truly good writer is one tat doesn't have to use qualifers like race to describe a character. Maybe it's just too hard to help us see in our minds how a person looks unless you say "black". If indeed this is the case why don't they always use "white" when describing someone not a racial minority? Bugs me... obviously.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Claire's husband jumps to his death on Valentine's Day leaving behind a suicide binder (ie. very long note). The novel explores Claire's collapse into grief, her devastation and confusion. Her reaction is realistic. Fortunately, she has a supportive family that allows her to be paralyzed with her grief. They look after her. The long unopened binder creates a tension that was a bit overplayed. However, I like Shonk's writing style. I like the characters. Since I often complain about too much melodrama in novels, I laud Shonk for steering clear of it here. Yet, I was left wanting something more, perhaps a deeper look into the husband's motivations or a clearer understanding of Claire's past, her decisions. The premise of a suicide binder may have built my expectations for its contents to reveal a secret or something enthralling. That may explain my feeling of want. The novel felt a little like a modern short story, a slice of life (and death) with questions left unanswered. It was a pretty true to life, which is most likely what Ms. Shonk was aiming for.

[Christina Culbertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claire never understood the true meaning of depression nor was she open enough with a depressed person. She should have taken the time to be more open and communicate with Jay instead of running away to her art studio to avoid the problem. I'm bipolar and I know what it takes and what kind of person can handle me and be my partner to help me through my depression. Claire and Jay were simply not compatible with one another as soul mates should be. At first I thought jay was sleeping with his therapist and I was gonna be mad especially the picture that Claire painted for their one year anniversary and he gave it to his therapist? Never understood that. I think he was in love with his therapist. I liked this book but I didn't like Claire much. I think she was too blind and too nieve to see her husbands pain and the fact he was falling apart right in front of her eyes and she ignored it and got a gym membership

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Couples were flowing into the restaurant, shedding furs and down jackets into the arms of the coat-check girl, snowflakes evaporating in midair."

"Claire focused on the salt and pepper shakers in the bookcase. Shopkeepers and collectors had shepherded these pairs through the decades, making sure they were not separated, simply because they were jolly and sweet."

"Her and Jay's house was a living organism, always changing, with a hundred seemingly important details in each room to sift through mentally. Building a model of it felt like trying to paint a portrait of someone who refused to sit still."

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this book mentioned in the NYT book review or something. So when I spotted it in my local library I picked it up. Not sure I would have if I had been familiar with the plot but I am glad I read it. It's about Claire whose husband has just killed himself on valentine's day and it covers her mourning and reminiscing about their relationship. Very nicely written, kind of funny at times and very very touching. I got a little teary at a few points, in a good way. Kinda like a good episode of Grey's Anatomy....

[Nell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claire, a painter and creator of dollhouses, loses her husband to suicide after less than two years of marriage. Her work symbolizes "the darkness underneath the cheerful top layer" of relationships, which only those directly involved can see--true of her family of origin as well as her marriage, and probably of all relationships. The novel also explores power in relationships--where it comes from, who gets what. Fittingly set in the bleak late winter in Chicago, when Claire can withdraw and wait for literal and figurative spring. True to life.

[Marjanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novel. The author seems to write from experience (though I really hope not), however I think she’s just a good writer. This story is so heartbreaking, but it didn’t seem overly engineered that way. I was expecting the story to cover a longer length of time, but it was a nice surprise that so much of the past was discussed, thought over, etc. I might actually read this novel again at some point in the future, and definitely if I come across another of the author’s novels.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down. A deep, moving and sometimes funny tale about a young wife whose husband commits suicide on Valentine's Day. The characters are believeable and there was not a moment in the book when I felt it was forced or contrived to make a point.
The author does a fantastic job of going back and forth in time to paint the picture of their courtship, marriage and his eventual suicide. I highly recommend it.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can we ever truly know anyone else? Claire is trying to come to terms with her husband's suicide after many bouts of depression. I'm reading the book for the second time and finding a lot more in it than I thought at first. Shonk is a detailed writer with the gift of very natural dialogue. Her characters come alive and one empathises with Claire and her attempts to understand this 'incident' and to begin her life again after it.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

The synopsis is simple: Claire deals with her husband's suicide. I admit I was not excited about the premise. But I read a good review, and the author is from Chicago, so I tried it, and I am glad I did. The author did an amazing job developing Claire, showing us a woman who is content to be content. Or was, until her husband jumped from a high-rise balcony.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

My husband loves what he calls "character" movies. Movies where it just shows a snapshot of the story, and leaves you wondering at the end. He might like this book. It is a "character" novel, just a snapshot of the story, and it really doesn't resolve much. I don't enjoy "Character" movies and now I know I don't like "character" books either.

[Marcia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought 'Happy Now' was well written and I was interested in the characters and what was happening in their lives, but was disappointed that it was so distressful, since it began with a suicide. I think if I am going to be engaged in a story about mental health I'd rather see 'Next to Normal' again.

[May · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book as an ARC. It's an interesting read. It's not a straight romance since the husband killed himself on Valentine's day. The rest of the book is about the heroine coming to terms with it and finding more about what really happened. It kept me interested till the end of the book. It's a good read for summer!

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful, lovely, full novella that struck the right cord with me. It told a beautiful, heart-breaking story that kept me coming back for more. And when it ended, I was able to let go of my breathe--as it turns out, I had been holding it the entire story...

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

And again with the character study. Always appreciate when an author thinks of a unique situation to give us a peek into. This woman has just "survived" her husband's unexpected suicide -- on Valentine's Day. Yuck. But so interesting and well written.

[Amanda Ishtayeh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not love this? It started out very well and some little slaps that were humorous and I thought I would like but then it just seemed to drag on and on. The characters were no very vivid and I did not care that much.

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grieving from someone who died from suicide is always harder for people because we like to think it didn't have to happen. This woman deals grief the best way she can and on her own terms! An interesting take on the grief process!

[Audrey Henning · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehh...about 3/4 of the way through this book I decided to stop reading it. I don't like to do that, but the story just wasn't holding my attention. I liked the way it was written and it was fairly interesting at the beginning, but there just wasn't enough depth to keep my attention.

[Sandee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claire copes with her husband's suicide by wrapping herself in her family. Good story of working through grief.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Claire and Jay are married for 2 years, when Jay committs suicide.

The book is seenn through CLaire's eyes (both the past and the present).

It was a fabulous book