Fiction
2014 Random House
Finished on December 23, 2019
Rating: 3/5 (Good)
Publisher's Blurb:
Brilliantly written, deeply moving, fantastically funny, Lucky Us introduces us to Eva and Iris. Disappointed by their families, Iris, the hopeful star, and Eva, the sidekick, journey across 1940s America in search of fame and fortune. Iris's ambitions take them from small-town Ohio to an unexpected and sensuous Hollywood, across the America of Reinvention in a stolen station wagon, to the jazz clubs and golden mansions of Long Island.
With their friends in high and low places, Iris and Eva stumble and shine through a landscape of big dreams, scandals, betrayals, and war. Filled with gorgeous writing, memorable characters, and surprising events, Lucky Us is a thrilling and resonant novel about success and failure, good luck and bad, the creation of a family, and the pleasures and inevitable perils of family life. From Brooklyn's beauty parlors to London's West End, a group of unforgettable people love, lie, cheat, and survive in this story of our fragile, absurd, heroic species.
What an odd story with quirky characters. Lucky Us is the first book I've read by Amy Bloom and I'm not sure I'll read more. Part epistolary, part coming-of-age, I found the writing uneven and the ever-changing cast of characters difficult to keep track of.
I've read a different Amy Bloom book and it didn't really work for me so I think I'll skip this one.
ReplyDeleteI had previously considered reading her most recent book (White Houses), but I've already read Eleanor & Hick (a nonfiction account of that relationship) so I think I'll skip it. After reading your review, it sounds like the transitions in time (or lackthereof) are similar to those in Lucky Us.
DeleteThe premise of the novel is so promising! I love road trip novels/movies. Too bad it didn't live up to the promise. I read something by Amy Bloom several years ago and didn't care for it...I can't even remember what it was, lol.
ReplyDeleteLaurel, I can see from the publisher's blurb that you thought this was a road trip novel, but it really isn't. The characters come together, but scatter apart, near and far. You are the second person to say that they didn't care for another book by Bloom. I doubt I'll try anything else by her.
DeleteI'm intrigued by this one mainly because of the epistolary part and of course I love quirky characters.
ReplyDeleteIliana, it's not a true epistolary, but there are several letters scattered throughout the story. Might be worth borrowing from the library.
DeleteDon't think that would work for me either.
ReplyDeletestacybuckeye
I've already forgotten what it was about. ;)
DeleteWhen I reviewed this one, I talked about how much I enjoyed it but I notice it didn't make my best-of list in 2014 so it must have ended up rating about the same for me as it did for you.
ReplyDeleteLisa, I liked it enough to finish, but it wasn't one I would recommend.
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