Happy Hour: A Novel

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There seems to have emerged this trend of putting unlikeable characters in relatable, everyday situations and call it societal criticism. It's occasionally done successfully (think My Year of Rest and Relaxation), but the line to Gossip Girl and Sex and the City is thin. Reading this book is like watching a video from the party last night and wishing you'd been there. Mariah Kreutter, Soft Punk Byron’s tale examines grief, blame and forgiveness, reclusiveness and loneliness, and does it with humour and sensitivity. Her characters have depth and appeal, displaying very human flaws and, in Franny’s case, occasionally disappointing the reader with poor behaviour. Her inner monologue is often darkly funny. Profound ... At their core, books are about the beautiful, but here we have a book where our narrator is not only an observer of beauty but in possession of that beauty too. Ellen O'Donohue Oddy, Radical Art Review

When we were younger, everything for the first timealways felt the best, or at least the Most, and sometimes getting older feels like striking the same chord and it sounding different. Marlowe Granados writes with a delicious joy and confidence. She conveys frivolity without being frivolous, and describes the adventures and degradations of the lives of her characters with an intelligent distance and effervescence that is such a pleasure to read. Sheila Heti Gala described it as a glittery sheath and said of whomever it was from, ‘They know your favourite colour is sequins.’” While I loved this book on its own merits, I do have a secret weapon that helped power my reaction, and it is that Anita Loos’ Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: The Intimate Diary of a Professional Lady is a favorite novel of mine.

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Marlowe Granados writes with a delicious joy and confidence. She conveys frivolity without being frivolous, and describes the adventures and degradations of the lives of her characters with an intelligent distance and effervescence that is such a pleasure to read.” But here I am AGAIN talking about this book like its sole merit is its meaningful literary heritage! The other thing is just that I enjoyed it, and the writing, so damn much! I’ve put some random quotes at the end of this so that you can get an idea of the Humour and the Tone. A dreamy account of one heady summer, Marlowe Granados's début is a dispatch from another land; not only New York City, but youth itself. Happy Hour is aptly titled - it's an intoxicating book, at once heartbreaking and joyful. Rumaan Alam, author of Leave the World Behind, Rich and Pretty, and That Kind of Mother

Byron puts her characters in difficult situations that make the reader stop and think about their own reaction to these situations.Anyway, I know that not everyone who has tried to read Loos’ novel recently has loved it - but hear me out! Even if you don’t legitimately think it’s still funny today (and I do), I’d urge you to appreciate its uniqueness and innovation within the context of its time and as a critical part of a long and illustrious history of women being funny, and writing funny, when women have been historically and strenuously discouraged both from being funny and from writing. The taller one gestured towards me before sitting down, asking me, ‘Are you from Mauritius?’ I said, ‘No, but I can spell it.’” Refreshing and wry in equal measure, Happy Hour is an intoxicating novel of youth well spent. Isa Epley is all of twenty-one years old, and already wise enough to understand that the purpose of life is the pursuit of pleasure. After a sojourn across the pond, she arrives in New York City for a summer of adventure with her best friend, one newly blond Gala Novak. They have little money, but that’s hardly going to stop them from having a good time.