Are You Happy?

Ostlund (After the Parade) explores queer identity and complex truths in this piercing collection. The lesbian college senior in “The Bus Driver” unexpectedly reunites with her “unlikely” childhood best friend, Jane, during a visit to her Minnesota hometown. Jane, now a reluctant mother, is saddled with an unsatisfying job at a chicken factory, and the women reflect on the disparate paths they’ve each taken into adulthood. The somber title story explores the bittersweet relationships between several gay men and their lovers. Other standouts include “Clear as Cake,” which puts Ostlund’s talent for crisp, sharply drawn characterization on display; and “The Peeping Toms,” where two lesbians’ lives are upended by a voyeur. Whether with a teacher’s horrific encounter with an unhinged student in “The Stalker” or the lesbian woman’s stressful visit with her unmoored newly widowed mother in “Just Another Family,” Ostlund’s collection coheres with her characters’ shared need for emotional and physical safety and their desire to love and be loved—or simply to be seen. These stories will dazzle readers. Agent: Henry Dunow, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. (May)