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.
