{"id":16214,"date":"2018-02-17T08:05:58","date_gmt":"2018-02-17T16:05:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailywaffle.com\/stage1\/?p=16214"},"modified":"2018-02-17T08:05:58","modified_gmt":"2018-02-17T16:05:58","slug":"then-wed-be-happy-al-riske","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailywaffle.com\/stage1\/then-wed-be-happy-al-riske\/","title":{"rendered":"THEN WE’D BE HAPPY by Al Riske | 4 star Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"then<\/p>\n

Copy provided by the author for review<\/i><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Al Riske\u2019s Then We\u2019d Be Happy<\/a> sneaks up on you. Going in, I knew the writing style would be spare, but it turns out, Then We\u2019d Be Happy<\/a> is a two-for-one deal. It\u2019s billed as a novel, but it\u2019s also series of vignettes. Some are funny, some poignant, some seem to be random passing thoughts.<\/p>\n

Then We\u2019d Be Happy<\/a> 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\u2019ll simultaneously make you miss and so-not-miss<\/i> your 20s and the odd assortment of people who pass through your life.<\/p>\n

Main character Luke is a college grad who\u2019s been trying to get a job as a teacher, but with the market being what it is, he\u2019s making ends meet through a series of retail and restaurant jobs. He\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

One of the things that makes Then We\u2019d Be Happy<\/a> remarkable is that it\u2019s not a commentary on Millennials, instead it hits on the universal experience of \u201cWhat the hell am I doing with my life?\u201d In that way, it feels almost timeless. Yes, fine, ok, if we\u2019re being sticklers about it, there are markers you can use to try to pinpoint its place in time, but it\u2019s almost beside the point. And just to throw you off, Riske throws a Scirocco in there. When\u2019s the last time you saw a Scirocco on the road?!<\/p>\n

Then We\u2019d Be Happy<\/a> is a fast read, but it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

View all my reviews on Goodreads.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>

<\/div>
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Copy provided by the author for review Al Riske\u2019s Then We\u2019d Be Happy sneaks up on you. Going in, I knew the writing style would be spare, but it turns out, Then We\u2019d Be Happy is a two-for-one deal. It\u2019s billed as a novel, but it\u2019s also series of vignettes. Some are funny, some poignant,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[149],"tags":[1926,604,1135,1928,1925,1927,1517,1929,1924],"class_list":["post-16214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-reviews","tag-al-riske","tag-bay-area","tag-fiction","tag-friends","tag-literary-fiction","tag-luminis-books","tag-novel","tag-silicon-valley","tag-then-wed-be-happy"],"yoast_head":"\nTHEN WE'D BE HAPPY by Al Riske | 4 star Review - DailyWaffle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Then We\u2019d 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?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michelle\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailywaffle.com\/stage1\/then-wed-be-happy-al-riske\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailywaffle.com\/stage1\/then-wed-be-happy-al-riske\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michelle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailywaffle.com\/stage1\/#\/schema\/person\/699f5bbc3243018b1b4177972fd4c932\"},\"headline\":\"THEN WE’D BE HAPPY by Al Riske | 4 star Review\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-02-17T16:05:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailywaffle.com\/stage1\/then-wed-be-happy-al-riske\/\"},\"wordCount\":345,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailywaffle.com\/stage1\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailywaffle.com\/stage1\/then-wed-be-happy-al-riske\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dailywaffle.com\/stage1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Then-Wed-Be-Happy.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"al riske\",\"bay area\",\"fiction\",\"friends\",\"literary fiction\",\"luminis books\",\"novel\",\"Silicon Valley\",\"then we'd be happy\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Book Reviews\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dailywaffle.com\/stage1\/then-wed-be-happy-al-riske\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailywaffle.com\/stage1\/then-wed-be-happy-al-riske\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dailywaffle.com\/stage1\/then-wed-be-happy-al-riske\/\",\"name\":\"THEN WE'D BE HAPPY by Al Riske | 4 star Review - 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