📖 Overview
Happy Hour follows 21-year-old Isa and her best friend Gala through a summer in New York City in 2013. The pair navigate the city's social scene with minimal funds but maximum charm, attending parties and making connections while pursuing various gigs and opportunities.
The protagonists bounce between temp jobs, art gallery openings, and late-night adventures as they piece together a living in the unforgiving metropolis. Their exploits are chronicled in Isa's diary entries, which document their strategies for survival and social climbing in a city that rewards both beauty and cunning.
The narrative captures a specific moment in New York's cultural landscape, when social media was ascendant but had not yet transformed society. Through Isa's observations, the novel examines class, friendship, and the intersection of ambition and authenticity in modern urban life.
👀 Reviews
Readers describe Happy Hour as a light, plotless novel that captures a summer of youth in New York City. Many compare it to a diary or Instagram feed.
Positive reviews highlight:
- The breezy, observant writing style
- Authentic portrayal of female friendship
- Details about fashion, parties, and NYC scenes
- The main character's carefree yet calculating personality
Common criticisms:
- Lack of meaningful plot or character development
- Privileged, superficial perspective
- Too many meandering conversations
- Writing can feel repetitive
As one Goodreads reviewer notes: "Like having a gossipy brunch with your most fabulous friend who notices everything." Another writes: "Nothing happens except rich people going to parties."
Ratings:
Goodreads: 3.5/5 (7,000+ ratings)
Amazon: 3.7/5 (300+ ratings)
LibraryThing: 3.4/5 (100+ ratings)
StoryGraph: 3.48/5 (1,000+ ratings)
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Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid A young Black woman who works as a babysitter becomes entangled in the lives of a wealthy white family, exposing the complexities of privilege, race, and modern relationships.
Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler A small-town transplant arrives in New York City and enters the high-stakes world of fine dining, where she encounters food, wine, love, and the intricacies of restaurant culture.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath A young woman's internship at a New York magazine leads to a spiral of self-discovery and mental health struggles in 1950s America.
The Idiot by Elif Batuman A Turkish-American freshman at Harvard experiences the uncertainties of college life, email correspondence, and first love during the 1990s.
🤔 Interesting facts
🍸 The novel's protagonist, Isa Epley, was inspired by both Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's and Lorelei Lee from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
📝 Author Marlowe Granados wrote the first draft of Happy Hour when she was just 21 years old, drawing from her own experiences as a young woman in New York City.
🗽 The book captures a specific moment in New York City's history—the summer of 2013—marking the end of an era before social media drastically changed how young people navigate urban social life.
✨ Granados self-published the novel in Canada before it was picked up by Verso Books for international distribution, where it became an unexpected hit among millennial and Gen Z readers.
🎬 The novel's sharp observations about class and privilege were influenced by Whit Stillman films, particularly Metropolitan and The Last Days of Disco, which explore similar themes in New York society.