Jem Calder's writing career got off to a fairytale start. Sally Rooney emailed him after being impressed by a short story he'd submitted to the literary magazine she was editing, shortly after Conversations with Friends came out. It was the first story he'd ever finished. Calder was already "a huge fan" of Rooney's, so the whole thing felt surreal, he tells me. "I can't really imagine what could top that, to be honest."
That story eventually ended up in Reward System, Calder's 2022 collection of six interconnected tales about a group of sad young people living in an unnamed city. It was praised as a book of the year; a review in this paper called Calder one of "the most talented young writers of fiction at work today." Now, his debut novel, I Want You to Be Happy, picks up some of the same themes: the struggles of modern love, millennial boredom, consumer culture, technology, and political and ecological despair. It already has some famous fans: David Szalay has praised it, and Andrew O'Hagan says Calder is his "new favourite writer."
At the start of the novel, 23-year-old Joey meets 35-year-old Chuck at a bar. They sleep together and begin what could be described as a situationship from hell: Joey falls hard, but Chuck isn't over his ex-fiancée. Joey seems to spend her whole life waiting for a text back. Like Reward System, the novel is fast-paced and sharp; its 34-year-old author's bleak take on young people's lives today is spot on. But in both books, the tough cynicism is balanced by a hidden sense that something better is coming, and the endings turn out to be oddly uplifting. It also helps that Calder is funny.
It soon becomes clear that Joey and Chuck are not on the same page. In modern dating terms, Chuck might be called "avoidant": he left his fiancée and then regretted it; he likes being around Joey but doesn't want to be with her. She "pretty much wants a boyfriend, and he wants someone to take him out of himself," says Calder.
Chuck feels like a symbol of a widespread fear of commitment, which Calder links to an "unstable and unpleasant" economic reality forced on his generation. "You can't afford to own a house, it's very hard to have a family" – things that were often "a given in previous relationships." These limits "show up on an emotional level" as avoidance, or staying in casual relationships instead of settling down. There's a hedonism to it: because "there's realistically no actual hope for the future, the younger generation has to make do with messing around." But this "ends up being a really shallow way to live your life" – a lesson his characters "have to try and wrap their heads around."
"I'm aware that I'm only one bad novel away from being the guy who's aged out of being cool."
While the world looks relatively shiny from Joey's perspective, Chuck is deeply disillusioned. Calder says he is "haunted" by Chuck types – men in their 30s or 40s who have "aged out of being cool," are dealing with some kind of creative or professional disappointment (maybe they were in a band and almost made it) – generally, life hasn't turned out how they imagined. "I'm always aware that I'm only one bad draft of a novel away from being in that place," he says.
Calder grew up in Cambridge, studied English at Leeds, and has since worked a variety of jobs alongside writing, including the same ones as his main characters – Joey is a barista, and Chuck is a copywriter. He says he "truly can't relate" to authors who complain about writer's block – having to work a day job "gives me such motivation to get back to it and force myself to deal with something difficult." In my writing. The novel, which took three years to write, shifts between the perspectives of Joey and Chuck. Both write alongside their day jobs, and the book is partly about two literary types falling in love—sharing poems by Louise Glück and Frank O’Hara, showing each other their work. Their relationship fuels their creativity, something Calder has experienced himself: he started writing the novel early in his relationship with his girlfriend, allowing him to “transcribe some of what was literally going through my head.”
The power dynamic between Chuck and Joey—he’s older and wealthier—becomes more intriguing as we realize she’s the talented one. I Want You to Be Happy expands on the opening story in Reward System, where a young woman, Julia, dates her older colleague. Both Joey and Julia “actually do seem to have some kind of purpose,” and both men “feel usurped by this younger woman,” Calder says. These dynamics reflect a broader drama playing out across many fields, including the arts—older men feeling replaced by young, smart women. “It’s really funny to me, people trying to resist something that’s well under way.”
Just before starting to write, Calder binge-read the works of Elizabeth Taylor. “She’s probably my favorite writer,” he says—with a “cutthroat level of concision that absolutely breaks your heart sometimes, the emotional brutality she can inflict in a couple of lines.” Richard Yates was also a big influence for I Want You to Be Happy.
In the novel, the locations are vague, though Calder slowly drops clues that we’re in east London (with its odd rental setups—one character lives in a “warehouse conversion with nine housemates and two bathrooms”). Similarly, he mentions consumer brands without naming them—“aspirational-brand handsoap,” a “coral-coloured” debit card—which has a double effect on the reader: it’s satisfying to recognize the references (Aesop, Monzo), until you realize that means you’re as brand-obsessed as Chuck and Joey.
Calder’s characters are hooked on instant gratification—buying things, social media, vaping, porn—anything to escape the world’s horrors (at one point, Chuck reads a Guardian article about climate change, which he’d “forgotten to feel anxious about yet today, but now was”). Chuck could be called an alcoholic, but one of the book’s big questions is what addiction really means, now that addict-like behavior is so common. The “threshold for addiction has almost lowered,” says Calder. It’s “the modern condition, to some extent.” And he knows his readers are affected too, that he’s fighting an “uphill struggle” against screens for their attention.
Calder could be grouped with a wave of young novelists—like Rooney, OisĂn McKenna, Madeleine Gray—who are often labeled the “voice of a generation,” writers focused on how a bleak economic climate shapes young lives. How does Calder feel about that label? It “isn’t something I consciously pursue at all,” he says. “It’s unavoidable not to critique capitalism in some way if you’re trying to address the absurdities of how we live now, but I also don’t care about putting my political views in my fiction. The goal is always to just write realistically about how life feels.” I Want You to Be Happy by Jem Calder is published by Faber on 21 May (ÂŁ14.99). To support the Guardian, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs based on the topic of Jem Calder being discovered by Sally Rooney
1 Who is Jem Calder
Jem Calder is a debut author whose short story collection was recently published He gained attention after being discovered and championed by the famous novelist Sally Rooney
2 What does being discovered by Sally Rooney mean
It means that Sally Rooney read his work liked it and then used her public platform to praise it This endorsement helped his book get noticed by publishers critics and readers
3 How did Sally Rooney actually find Jem Calder
According to reports Rooney read one of Calders short stories in a literary magazine She was so impressed that she reached out to him and later provided a blurb for his book
4 What is Jem Calders book called
His debut book is a collection of short stories titled Reward System
5 Why did Jem Calder say I dont know what could top that
He said this because being praised by an author he admires felt like a career high point He meant that its hard to imagine a bigger or more meaningful professional milestone
6 Is this just a publicity stunt
No it appears genuine Sally Rooney is known for being selective with her endorsements and Calders work was published in a respected literary journal before she ever noticed it
7 What kind of stories does Jem Calder write
His stories focus on modern life relationships and the anxieties of young people in their 20s and 30s Critics often compare his style to Sally Rooneys as both write sharp emotional stories about everyday life
8 Does Jem Calder write like Sally Rooney
There are similaritiesboth write about contemporary relationships with precise observant language However Calders work is more experimental in structure and slightly darker in tone
9 What should I read first if I want to check out his work
Start with his short story collection Reward System If you want a free sample look for his story Future Me in The Stinging Fly magazine archives
