*real rating 3.5 stars*
this book has (unfortunately) fallen victim to the curse of "this would have been better if i didn't take a month and a half to read it". this was definitely a "it's not you, it's me" moment because i totally could have and should have finished this without taking a ginormous break but unfortunately exam season reared its ugly head and made me give up on reading for a bit.

this book made me feel scared, uncomfortable, and very sad. i really like lori ostlund's writing style and the themes that she chose to write about in these short stories. some had more of an impact on me than others, particularly The Gap Year, The Stalker and A Little Customer Service. the language ostlund uses throughout is really emotive and hits hard. knowing that some of these stories are almost 15 years old is important context for reading this collection.

3.25 ✨

Emotional and deep short stories wrapped in depressing dark humor ✨ I love short story collections, however they are always difficult to rate and I probably should've kept a record of individual ratings for each story — well, that's a reread pile problem.

The Bus Driver, Clear as Cake and The Stalker are perhaps two of my favourites from this collection, and the former has such potential as a full fledged novel or movie adaptation 👀

The representation of queer struggles & feminism throughout these tales has been beautiful — in a tragic, unsettling, realistic way, in a way that doesn't feel like fiction. It's almost as if you're not reading but experiencing someone else's life.

Some of the tales were a little slow-paced/mundane/too open-ended for my taste, however readers who revel in that sort of stuff will enjoy this anthology <3

This book was somewhat creepy, somewhat confusing, and blessedly short. I got 70% of the way through the ebook, only reading that far because I received a free copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
The first story changed perspective so often it was hard to tell what actually happened.
A story about a writing class made me realize the author must have taken a lot of these classes. I took a creative writing class in high school, and the author reminded me a lot of my fellow writing class students—earnest, self-impressed, and ultimately boring as hell.
There were stories (multiple) about stalkers and peeping toms, and none of it went anywhere.
Really, skip this book. I’ve read a lot of books from NetGalley over the years and some have been great and others not so much. This was definitely one of the worst. How did the author win a prize for short fiction??

I received an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A pretty classic set of short stories—plainly written melancholy realism that I thought was just okay, but I am sure other people will connect!

I loved these stories, funny and heartbreaking, always a surprise.

Lori Ostlund is the real deal. I look forward to reading whatever she does next.

Thanks to the publisher for the e-galley.

ARE YOU HAPPY? By Lori Ostlund is a collection of nine short stories that revolve around the lives of families living their semi-regular life with humor and devastation weaved throughout. The queer stories and relationships provided unique and deeply true themes of longing, connection, loneliness, undoing and love. There was such an immense feeling of being unsettled, in the best way (The Stalker would like a word).

My favorite collections wrap you into each unique story but still fit into a larger moment, and this one did just that. My favorites were Just Another Family, The Bus Driver, The Stalker and A Little Customer Service!

Thank you NetGalley and Astra House for the digital ARC! The cover of this book had me drooling as well. I may have to grab a copy when it comes out next year just to have on my shelf!

OMG. Loved loved loved this collection of short stories. As someone who grew-up on the short stories of Alice Munro, this collection of stories was an absolute gift.

I really loved this collection. I think they’re weird in a way that resonated so well with me. The final story of the family with so much chaos was possibly my favorite out of all of them. I loved the characters in this one and especially loved how relatable they were even in a short story. This one covered so much life in just a few pages I could have read an entire book about Sybil and Rachel and the glass in the steaks. Thanks to Netgally for the ARC.

This book was a hard one for me, I really enjoyed the first story the bus driver, if the author was to write a whole book on that I’d 100% read it as I thought it was great but the rest just wasn’t for me.

I’ve realised I’m not a huge short stories fan so please take my review with a pinch of salt, a few of them it just felt like something was missing

Lori Ostlund has been a favorite ever since After the Parade, my introduction to her style and themes, a novel although she is categorized as a short story author. Well, these stories more than bolster that description. There's not a clinker in the bunch, and to define one or more as weaker than others is not a criticism since her weakest stories are stronger than those considered strong by other authors. She has a definite niche, in that she depicts the lives of women in couples and their experiences with others many times facing discrimination, also the effect that may have on their relationship. Several have cats named Gertrude, most are in long term relationships, many are college educators either adjunct or full, all instructors of writing usually of adult students. And yet every central figure is realistically limned and fully characterized. Her choice of geography could almost be called metaphoric -- many live in Albuquerque but are not from there originally. In fact, one narrator originally from Minnesota remarks "...best way to keep our relationship sound was to live a plane flight away from our families." If pressured to choose a favorite, I would have to choose Just Another Family, which contains most of her favored themes.

Lori Ostland's latest story collection ARE YOU HAPPY? is a fantastic book, from the multi-dimensional characters to the themes of writing and education to the zip of plot in each selection. I really enjoyed the cohesiveness of the collection; the stories seemed part of a bigger but single whole. Ostland's writing is meticulous with detail and emotion throughout, clearly a very talented author. This is the first book of hers I've read, so I'll definitely go back and read her others. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to see this early!

I really loved ARE YOU HAPPY? Lori Ostlund's writing, as always, is smart and insightful. I particularly admire how the stories in this collection are peopled with intriguing characters, each of whom I felt privileged to spend time with. Ostlund is masterful at character development. The collection also feels like a cohesive whole, which can be hard to do with story collections. It's not an exaggeration to say this will rank in my top 10 books of the year.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-galley; all opinions in my review are 100% my own.

This collection of short stories was dark, weird, and captivating. If you are a fan of well-timed dark humor this book is for you. I was hooked from the first story. The laser crafted details of the characters created an immersive experience and made it a balancing act of not devouring the entire collection in one sitting and spacing out reading it to savor each story.

“She understood that an uneventful day was, in fact, the sum of the many moments that could have veered toward tragedy – but did not.”

It has been a while since I read a collection of short stories and I’m not sure I’ve ever read a collection in which I’m completely engrossed in all of them. An easy 5* if there ever was one.

Exceptionally vivid, seamless time jumps and well-rounded characters despite the fact that they are individuals. Although many stories end in ‘cliff-hanger’-esque ways, none felt despairingly unfinished.

With themes floating through each and connections linking back to one another (somehow! As they were written at different times and published across many years and publications), Lori’s characterisation, confoundment, collaboration and matter-of-fact points of view leaves the reader wanting more and more and more.

A personal favourite of mine was the intent to include education and writing as a motif throughout the series – as we are, at home, readers and writers celebrating readers and writers – even through the mundanity of life.

Thank you for letting me read this as my first ARC through Netgalley – I can’t wait to add more Lori Ostlund to my reading list.

(Shared with Goodreads and will share on Instagram shortly)

This a book told in many stories. Lori Ostlund tells us about people who try to find happiness and often fail in this pursuit. This is a great look in a different perspective about out pursuit of happiness and how it can become all consuming.

The overall sense of unease across these stories started to seem a bit too repetitive for me by the time I got to “Just Another Family.” Some had some brightness through out but there was a thread of darkness through all of them that I wanted some variety from.Though the threads Ostlund wove through the 9 short stories was a nice way to make the collection more cohesive. 

I liked the style of writing throughout all nine. Ostlund’s voice was there along with the different voices of the characters. ‘The Stalker’ was one that really stood out for me.

Interested to see what this author does next.

Shoutout to NetGalley for the ARC.

I always find it somewhat difficult to review a set of short stories as I find it hard not to look at each story as a separate entity. However, this particular collection has a cohesion to it that while each story can stand on its own, together they paint a broader picture.

These are stories of relationships in tension due to circumstance. All sorts of relationships are represented, ex-best friends, lovers, parents etc. The narration and inner dialogue was superb and so intimate at times I felt like I was reading a character’s diary.

I look forward to what this author does in the future.

This collection was such an interesting set of stories. nine stories on a range of topics all leading to a deeper understanding of humans as a whole.

This collection dives deep into an exploration of identity, relationships, and our general place in society. Each story had a subtle undertone of uneasiness that permeated through the characters. Even though the stories were brief, I felt like I could connect with at least one character's struggles in each one. There were certain tropes that I feel like were repeated and thus left a bit redundant since nothing new was added each time (ex: small town girl dating a big city girl that doesn't understand their small town ways of thinking). Some stories also felt a bit out of place tone wise--"The Peeping Toms" and "The Stalker", though two of my favourites, read more like they belonged in a collection of horror/thriller stories while the others had a more docile family drama tone. Overall, the writing was captivating and each story leaves the reader with something to think about beyond the confines of the pages--something I always look for in a good narrative.

A series of short stories from the Teacher with an unsettling student, a peeping tom and an elderly aunt, an adopted daughter. I enjoyed each of these as it was a different reading experience every time and could get my teeth into them even if there was rarely a conclusive ending, something that wasn’t essential to the story itself.

I have one question though, why were all the cats called Gertrude…

Thank you for this ARC.