A certain demographic will never have heard of Jenny Mustard, while among another set, she is certified famous. The Swedish, London-based YouTuber and podcaster with nearly half a million followers can now add novelist to her multi-hyphen title.
While heralded novels by influencers-turned-authors can often be little more than a cynical ploy to cash in on a ready-made audience, Mustard’s debut is a charming indie love story with a highly contemporary message at its heart.
The book is told from the alternating perspectives of Sam and Lucas. Sam is Swedish with Romanian heritage and is spending her summer working at an agency in London. When she meets Lucas at a party, the pair rekindle a brief romance they had 10 years earlier. When the summer ends and Sam returns to her life in Stockholm, the couple’s plan to end things swiftly and cleanly doesn’t quite work out.
Okay Days is a perfect Millennial love story to be filed alongside Sally Rooney and Naoise Dolan
The first half of the book counts us down in days to “Day 0″, when an event forces Sam and Lucas to take stock of their relationship. The second half of the book reverses the trick, and counts up the days until another event happens, ending the book. This count-down/count-up device is a neat trick that gives the book both a momentum of its own and a sense of tension and satisfying denouement.
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The narrative is made all the more enjoyable for Mustard’s cool, droll voice, her witty observations about being an outsider in London, and an undercurrent of social and status anxiety. We also get a full supporting cast of friends, parents, cousins and work colleagues who are all distinctively drawn and used discerningly throughout the story.
The main spotlight remains (justifiably) on the romantic fates of Sam and Lucas. At its heart, the book questions accepted ideals of love, and asks what a relationship might look like if we asked ourselves what we really wanted instead of what we think we should want.
Okay Days is a perfect Millennial love story to be filed alongside Sally Rooney and Naoise Dolan. This is romance with a sharp dash of bitters. And with its acidic dialogue and languid sex scenes, I wouldn’t be surprised to see it adapted for the screen. A charming and clever romance, a perfect summer read.
