From Product Description:

In the hands of a different kind of writer, this tale of a husband's suicide at a Valentine's Day party could have been melodramatic, over-the-top, snarky or any of a number of approaches that wouldn't do the "incident" (as the young widow calls comes to call it) justice. <br /> <br />Katherine Shonk has written a deeply thoughtful, and at times dryly funny, story of a woman grieving and coming to terms with her husband's shocking decision, born of depression. She imagines all the small daily scenes Claire must face, the awkward interactions with friends and family, her paralyzing ennui and her gradual re-entry into the world. <br /> <br />In the same weekend, I read You Lost Me There by Rosencranz Baldwin, another novel about a spouse's death. It's no contest. Ms. Shonk's book has a ring of authenticity that is utterly lacking in Mr. Baldwin's book. None of his characters seemed like people to me (La LouLou?). Ms. Shonk's characters are believable (well, except maybe the father who keeps silent vigils in his car)-- they have their good moments and their bad moments. They're endearing and they have affection for each other, even when they can't understand or have run out of patience for each other. You feel like you know, or could know, them. I would have liked to go through Claire's therapy sessions with her, just to know that it all turns out okay for her in the end. When you like someone, you just want to be sure!

I thought this book was wonderfully written. Witty in all sorts of unexpected moments and authentic about how real people feel, act, and react. I truly cared for each character ... each was human, flawed, and likable. I'm not a literary expert but something about this book reminded me of Ann Patchett's novels, whose work I also really love and admire. Hard to believe this is Shonk's first novel and looking forward to what comes next.

Short story writer Katherine Shonk's first novel is titled Happy Now? and in it she presents a well-developed character, Claire Kessler, in the months following the Valentine's Day suicide of her husband, Jay. Claire's confusion, shock and disorientation become supported by the cast of characters who try to provide her with support as she searches for understanding and some way to live again. While few readers face such dramatic tragedy in our own lives, the way in which Shonk presents family relationships will resonate with most readers, and the fine writing encourages readers to empathize with Claire and with those who are proving her support in her grief. <br /> <br />Rating: Three-star (Recommended) <br />

Shonk provides an amazing character in Claire, and captures us with her understanding of the complexities facing Claire after her husband's suicide. Her ability to capture characters, the nature of professors, and the (thinly disguised) Northwestern University campus are very impressive. Shonk's penetrating understanding of the psychology of her characters makesthis a wonderful book.

For me, when writing is great, it illuminates the human condition. Yes, it can change us, yes it can transport us, yes it can get us to consider what we may have been ignoring or denying. <br /> <br />But first and foremost, beyond all of the above, beyond its entertainment value (though sometimes hand-in-hand with it), great writing illuminates...then leaves it to the reader to make of that illumination what they will. (The unspoken notion of the writer-reader collaboration in full-effect.) <br /> <br />'Happy Now?' illuminates wonderfully. Wonderfully, effectively, with vim and vigor, with wryness, with a certain picante style that's endemic to chick-lit, with a great writer's ability to take you by the hand and tell you a story in a way that you're caught up in it (and I'm not referring to the 'things that happen' here, I'm talking about the writer's 'oomph') so much that the the pleasures of being told a story in this way, the stuff of the story itself and the illumination it all provides is exceedingly enjoyable. <br /> <br />Ms Shonk accomplishes all this with her novel about a woman who is left behind when her husband takes his life on Valentine's Day. <br /> <br />She also accomplishes something quite admirable: she gets inside the mind of a depressive, someone who commits suicide, and presents their reality not only convincingly, but authentically. Additionally, the insight provided by how other characters respond was brilliant, illustrating just how little we understand about someone battling depression, how the suicidal mind works, and how applying the expectations of a 'rational' person's behaviour is the saddest variety of lunacy imaginable. So kudos for her on these counts, as well. <br /> <br />Finally, I want to applaud the author for maintaining her approach throughout the novel. One of simplicity, one of a pared-down vista...seeing things through a pin-hole, if you will. This is Claire's story, nobody else's, not the husband who makes such a violent exit, not the two fractured families she is left with, not even the therapists involved, nor the orphaned cat, Fang. Ms Shonk maintained her focus, her scope, hardly ever veering from her very specific path, and thereby creating an enormously more impactful story for us to read, rather than the one that would have resulted had she gotten off-track. <br /> <br />Don't be fooled by the tone of 'Happy Now?', which is chock-full of 'wry' and 'gently acerbic' and 'glib'. There's an enormous amount of illumination of the human condition going on. I consider myself fortunate to have been witness to it, to have come across this novel. I look forward to her next with no small amount of anticipation. <br /> <br />Personal rating: 9/10