Al Riske’s Then We’d Be Happy sneaks up on you. Going in, I knew the writing style would be spare, but it turns out, Then We’d Be Happy is a two-for-one deal. It’s billed as a novel, but it’s also series of vignettes. Some are funny, some poignant, some seem to be random passing thoughts.
Then We’d Be Happy is a little like reading a love letter years later: you smile at the memories and a second later you think, god, was it really like that? It’ll simultaneously make you miss and so-not-miss your 20s and the odd assortment of people who pass through your life.
Main character Luke is a college grad who’s been trying to get a job as a teacher, but with the market being what it is, he’s making ends meet through a series of retail and restaurant jobs. He’s surrounded by a crew that includes an ex, a couple of friends, a hookup, and one really bad roommate. An episode of Friends, this is not.
One of the things that makes Then We’d Be Happy remarkable is that it’s not a commentary on Millennials, instead it hits on the universal experience of “What the hell am I doing with my life?” In that way, it feels almost timeless. Yes, fine, ok, if we’re being sticklers about it, there are markers you can use to try to pinpoint its place in time, but it’s almost beside the point. And just to throw you off, Riske throws a Scirocco in there. When’s the last time you saw a Scirocco on the road?!
Then We’d Be Happy is a fast read, but it’s one that sticks with you after you finish the last page. I found myself wondering if this crew actually found their happy. I think I know the answer. Maybe.
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