tech
'I don’t know what could top that': debut author Jem Calder on being discovered by Sally Rooney
His first story collection, Reward System, was a cult hit. Now comes a novel that’s a bleakly funny appraisal of millennial relationships, technology and ennui. He talks about love, precarity and being called the ‘voice of a generation’
TL;DR
- Jem Calder's writing career began when Sally Rooney emailed him after reading a short story he submitted to a literary magazine she was editing.
- His debut novel, 'I Want You to Be Happy,' explores themes of modern love, millennial ennui, consumer culture, technology, and existential doom, following a 23-year-old named Joey and a 35-year-old named Chuck.
- The novel critiques commitmentphobia and addiction, linking them to economic instability and the lack of future prospects for younger generations, who resort to hedonism as a coping mechanism.
- Calder's characters, like Joey the barista and Chuck the copywriter, reflect his own experiences and observations, with the novel alternating between their points of view.
- The book also touches on the dynamic of older men feeling challenged or usurped by younger, talented women, a theme Calder sees playing out in various professions, including the arts.
- Calder cites Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Yates as significant literary influences and notes the novel's blurry locations, hinting at east London, and subtle references to consumer brands.
- He describes his characters' addictions to instant gratification as a way to ward off the world's horrors, reflecting what he sees as the 'modern condition' of ubiquitous, addict-like behavior.
- Calder is grouped with a cohort of young novelists critiquing capitalism's impact on young lives but states his goal is to write realistically about how life feels, not to explicitly push political views.