{"product_id":"are-you-happy-stories","title":"Are You Happy?: Stories","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"Don't let\u003ci\u003e Are You Happy? \u003c\/i\u003epass you by: There's not a word out of place in these brilliant Midwestern sketches. They're lonesome, for sure . . . But they're also hilarious.\" --Charles Arrowsmith, \u003ci\u003e The Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"These nine startling stories capture the subtleties of feeling--and being made to feel--out of place . . .. Ostlund proves herself a master of the form.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review) \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNine exquisite stories that explore class, desire, identity, and the specter of violence that looms daily over women and the LGBTQ+ community. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAn aspiring veterinarian survives a plane crash and starts life over in California. A woman mourns the loss of her childhood friend's innocence and rethinks justice. A queer teacher's sense of safety in the classroom is destroyed. With settings ranging from small-town Minnesota to New Mexico, from bars and bedrooms to a furniture store and a community college, Are You Happy? casts a spotlight on people who try--and often fail--to make peace with their pasts while navigating their present relationships and notions of self. In prose that is evocative and restrained, unpredictable and masterful, Lori Ostlund offers a darkly humorous and compassionate examination of America's preoccupation with loneliness, happiness, guns, and violence.","brand":"Lori Ostlund","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53330351260012,"sku":"9781662603020","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0912\/7985\/1884\/files\/9781662603020-us.jpg?v=1773759208","url":"https:\/\/commercestreetbooks.com\/products\/are-you-happy-stories","provider":"Commerce Street Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}