Tom Newlands's second novel, Something Like Happiness, follows Frazer and Caitlin, a Scottish couple in their mid-20s caring for their five-year-old autistic son, Jamie. The couple have been together since schooldays but now face mounting pressure in a decaying flat in a Scottish new town, with scarce jobs and a silent child.
A relationship under strain
Caitlin is described as "beautiful and driven" but prone to rage, ranging from irritation to violence. She is furious that Frazer refuses to move from their mould-infested block to a new council house, as Apex Court holds memories of his dead parents and is the only home Jamie has known. Caitlin's mother Janetta also blames Frazer and schemes to separate him from Jamie.
The novel focuses on Frazer's dazed perspective, leaving readers to question why he stays. The plot centres on the aftermath of a punch from Cait that fells Frazer during a vicious row.
A thinner texture than the debut
Compared to Newlands's exuberant 2024 debut Only Here, Only Now, this novel feels thinner, leaving motivation largely to inference. Frazer's grief and indecision could point to PTSD or a variant of autism, while Caitlin's fury might stem from a violent father and her amateur boxing bouts. The couple's devotion to Jamie is heartrending, but their protectiveness raises questions about his integration with peers.
Hints of softer connection come through their childhood pets – Frazer's budgie Sequin and Caitlin's iguana Natasha – though their significance is unexplained. Frazer resists seeking help until near breakdown, with one contact noting that one in six domestic abuse cases involve a female perpetrator and male victim.
Bleak poetry in the estate
Newlands conjures a bleak poetry in descriptions of the estate, such as: "The wind had changed, and rain was drifting through the gap in the breezeblocks now. Over on Donaldson Drive someone was dragging a wheelie bin with a broken wheel." Whether the couple's relationship will ever amount to "something like happiness" is left for the reader to decide.
Something Like Happiness by Tom Newlands is published by Phoenix (£20).
