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I Want You to Be Happy by Jem Calder

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I Want You to Be Happy by Jem Calder

Named a "Best Book of 2026 So Far" by The New Yorker

A tender, witty, and sharp debut novel about the passions and peculiarities of modern love, by "an extraordinarily gifted writer" (Sally Rooney).

Chuck and Joey meet in a bar. He's in his mid-thirties; she's twelve years younger. He long ago abandoned his ambition of being a novelist and works as a copywriter at a big ad agency. "Lead copywriter," he corrects himself. Joey is living paycheck to paycheck on her barista wages and privately dreams of making it as a poet. They go back to Chuck's luxury flat--a world away from Joey's cramped house-share, the crumbs in her bed. Soon, Joey is imagining a future between them and Chuck is moving on from a mistake in his recent past. Amazing, how meeting a new person can make you feel so new.

Funny, excruciating, and true, Jem Calder's I Want You to Be Happy is a sharp-eyed tale of two people searching for meaning and connection in modern times, missing the mark maybe, but still trying.

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SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780374620554
ISBN 10 0374620555
Title I Want You to Be Happy
Author Jem Calder
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Hardback
Publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Year published 2026-07-14
Number of pages 272
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.

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