I've always been a wallflower at social gatherings, but while reading Happy Hour, it was easy to imagine a younger version of myself on the periphery of Isa's nightly exploits. All in all, Granados smartly captures the glamour and grit-and, in Isa's case, grief (I won't spoil anything more here)-that can fuel young adulthood. With Isa's sharp, diaristic narration, readers observe how certain relationship dynamics provoke larger reflections on class, privilege, performance, race, and friendship. Yet even when Granados renders vibrant vignettes of gallery-going, bar hopping escapades, these moments quietly build towards something beyond aesthetic pleasures.
WHITE PAGES NEW YORK GRANADOS SERIES
They would add, 'Do you have internships at magazines?'" (Day-to-day, the duo barely makes ends meet through a series of odd jobs, from running a clothing stall to modeling gigs and more.)Įver the girls about town, Isa and Gala are a delight on the page. "When Gala told them we were doing 'absolutely nothing,' she was met with raised eyebrows.
"Everyone kept asking us what we were doing in New York, what we were working on, and what our general story was," Granados writes. On the surface, Isa and Gala's primary pursuit is aspiration rather than ambition-their work is motivated by (life) experiences. The novel begins in late May of 2013, and readers immediately feel the casual tone of the book evidenced by the girls' actions (or, in some cases, inaction). In Happy Hour, we meet twenty-one-year-old Isa Epley and her best friend Gala as they arrive in New York City for the summer. Recently, I picked up Marlowe Granados' debut novel Happy Hour, and I was reaffirmed of the nuanced role style can play in someone's life-and how it can quietly transform their story. These days, my reading habit has shifted how I understand aesthetics (both on and off the page). More to see (and more opportunities to be seen). And for a while, the story went like this: As a twenty-something in New York City, there was always more to wear. Clothing was a way to tell a story I felt too shy to say out loud. It seemed to me that style was less of a habit and more of an expectation. When I was younger, my sartorial inclinations weren't motivated by much else other than the desire to check a box. In the ninth installment of this series, Rachel reflects on Happy Hourby Marlowe Granados. Ordinary Story is a monthly series by Rachel Schwartzmann that features musings and conversations on one of our favorite ordinary habits: reading.
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