I was a bit disappointed by this one. It positions itself as a story of an unhinged queer obsession but in reality it’s just an account of relatively straightforward therapy sessions.

The main character Sylvie is obsessed with her therapist. She lives alone with her brain damaged dog in a seaside town and works as a vet tech. She’s been in some very unhealthy and controlling relationships and is working to figure out who she is in her 30s.

I loved Big Swiss so I was hoping it would be similar to that, but it unfortunately didn’t really deliver on the obsession or weirdness, and it wasn’t really gay, despite being a story of same-sex obsession.

It reminded me more so of Emily Austin’s writing in terms of being a very interior story of a deeply neurotic individual.

I think what really bugged me beyond the fact that nothing really happened is that all of Sylvie’s relationships seem to exist to talk about her therapist. So she’s in therapy, thinking about therapy, and then she meets her friends and only talks about therapy. It gets really repetitive, and we don’t get to actually know anything about her friends because the relationship is completely one sided.

The writing itself was fine, and I’m sure some people will really resonate with it, but it just wasn’t for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for this advance reader copy, in exchange for an honest review. I was not sure what to expect when I started this book but, it was so much better than I could have hoped. This is a book that, at surface level, is about a woman who is obsessed with her therapist. However, as we come to uncover as we experience in these therapy sessions and in the rest of Sylvie’s life, is about so much more.

To be clear, Sylvie is obsessed with her therapist but, there is a lot underneath that and I found the exploration of these emotions and experience so intriguing. The therapy sessions with the unnamed therapist were wonderfully written; some of what Sylvie said was so unhinged and truly pushing boundaries but, the therapist never let it throw her off and instead, focused on what this could help Sylvie learn about herself. Through this, the message that I took away was that despite how much darkness or self doubt we might feel, it does not mean we are a bad person (at least, probably in most cases) and we all deserve to experience happiness.

This book was definitely more character driven than plot driven and we spend a lot of time with Sylvie, in an introspective sense. I don’t always enjoy this type of book but, this one really worked for me. There were a lot of heavy topics covered in the book, like abusive relationships and self destructive thoughts, but, despite this, the author did a good job at leaving the reader feeling hopeful; the book never felt overly morose and the experiences covered just felt true to life. There were a few times throughout the book where I feel like I didn’t “get” what the author was saying but, hopefully that will be a good excuse for me to go back to this in the future. Overall, I very much enjoyed this book and thought that it was an excellent debut. I would definitely recommend this book to literary fiction fans and readers who appreciate/enjoy books about mental health and self-discovery/growth.

A warmly off-kilter novel about Sylvie, a vet tech who develops a romantic obsession with her elegant therapist. The protagonist is dealing with the fallout of a former relationship, which was controlling and abusive, and is reassessing what she wants her life to be and who she wants to be in it. I thought it was lovely how the protagonist can so easily access happiness and hope, and how attentive and honest she is about their different registers.

Definitely in the vein of Elif Batuman and Sheila Heti, but a unique and particular perspective that includes meditations on Pierrot the clown, putting dogs down, and making friends as an adult.

Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook. Sylvie is obsessed with her therapist. The therapist tries to show her that she just has a case of transference as Sylvie still mourns one perfect boyfriend who died young and is still reeling from the last boyfriend who was so controlling that he completely broke her spirit. And now she just wants to sit in an office with a woman who will listen to whatever she has to say. As you run through the pages, it all seems to make sense, but, as you pull back, you realize this is rather disturbing. A funny and touching debut novel.

HAPPINESS FOREVER is a wild, hilarious novel. I was gripped by the voice. Adelaide Faith is the real deal. The novel tracks the protagonists---who works at a vet hospital---obsession with her therapist. And then there's Chloe, who arrives one day, a new friend. I won't say much more, but this is a gem of a novel.

Thanks to the publisher for the e-galley!