Jem Calder's debut novel, I Want You to Be Happy, has been one of the most talked-about books of the year, with a cover featuring modern slang like 'slack', 'voice note', and 'WFH'. The book explores the pressures of contemporary life, where communication is instant and culture is driven by algorithms.
The novel follows Chuck, a copywriter in his mid-thirties who has just ended a long-term relationship, and Joey, a 23-year-old aspiring poet working in a coffee shop. Their lives in London are marked by an endless quest for optimisation, with characters grappling with loneliness and the emptiness of modern conveniences.
Calder, 34, did not study creative writing but learned by closely reading authors like Richard Yates and Elizabeth Taylor. He currently works an office job, with colleagues unaware of his literary success. The novel has received an enthusiastic blurb from Sally Rooney, who said she 'couldn't stop reading'.
The book has been described as a millennial novel of the summer, prompting debates about its characters and themes. Calder's pared-back prose captures the experience of being young in a city where everything is expensive and people are constantly on their phones, highlighting the tension between creative aspirations and digital distractions.
