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Jane Smiley
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Lucky: A novel Paperback – Large Print, April 23, 2024

by Jane Smiley (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars 341 ratings
Editors' pick Best Literature & Fiction
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From the best-selling, Pulitzer Prize–winning writer, a soaring, soulful novel about a folk musician who rises to fame across our changing times.

Before Jodie Rattler became a star, she was a girl growing up in St. Louis. One day in 1955, when she was just six years old, her Uncle Drew took her to the racetrack, where she got lucky—and that roll of two-dollar bills she won has never since left her side. Jodie thrived in the warmth of her extended family, and then—through a combination of hard work and serendipity—started a singing career, which catapulted her from St. Louis to New York City, from the English countryside to the tropical beaches of St. Thomas, from Cleveland to Los Angeles, and back again. Jodie comes of age in recording studios, backstage, and on tour, and tries to hold her own in the wake of Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, and Joni Mitchell. Yet it feels like something is missing. Could it be true love? Or is that not actually what Jodie is looking for?

Full of atmosphere, shot through with longing and exuberance, romance and rock'n'roll, Lucky is a story of chance and grit and the glitter of real talent, a colorful portrait of one woman's journey in search of herself.
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  1. Print length
    560 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Random House Large Print
  4. Publication date
    April 23, 2024
  5. Dimensions
    6.08 x 1.16 x 9.19 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0593862775
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0593862773
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Lucky is framed as a rock’n’roll novel, but it’s a tricky and surprising one. Smiley seems determined to upend the conventions of the genre . . . What emerges instead in Lucky is a simple yet provocative idea—what if a woman protagonist were allowed to live independently on her own terms, not tied down by typically novelistic men or the bad blood that infects family life? . . . The novel’s title, upbeat on the surface, is darkened by the notion of how rare such a character is . . . Life and death flow in and out, and Smiley observes it clearly but empathetically. (Not for nothing is Dickens among her favorite writers.) . . . There’s no signal that Lucky is Smiley’s final book, but if it were, it would make for an admirable summing up—the story of a well-traveled, keen-eyed writer who’s spent decades making sense of the world in words, and taking pleasure in it for its own sake. A lucky way to make a living.” —Mark Athitakis, Los Angeles Times
 
“A robust, atmospheric coming-of-age story.” —People

“I suspect Lucky will be polarizing, which may well make it the book club pick of the year.” —Maren Longbella, Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
“A delightful trip through the 20th century’s greatest hits . . . This is life as a lesson in how to live, for which you must write your own instructions as you go along . . . Luckily, this is Jane Smiley, so the details, the insights, the songs—those she writes, and the dizzying assortment she mentions—are entertaining.” —Ellen Akins, Washington Post

“Spellbinding . . . Smiley neatly reverses the usual story of a 1970s singer [and then] orchestrates a seismic twist of staggering magnitude . . . Every novel by Smiley is a surprise.” —Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred)

About the Author

JANE SMILEY is the author of numerous novels, including A Thousand Acres, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, and the Last Hundred Years Trilogy: Some Luck, Early Warning, and Golden Age. She is the author as well of several works of nonfiction and books for young adults. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, she has also received the PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature. She lives in Northern California.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Random House Large Print; Large type / Large print edition (April 23, 2024)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 560 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593862775
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593862773
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.08 x 1.16 x 9.19 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.6 out of 5 stars 341 ratings

About the author

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Jane Smiley

Jane Smiley

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Jane Smiley (born September 26, 1949) is an American novelist. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1992 for her novel A Thousand Acres (1991). Born in Los Angeles, California, Smiley grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, and graduated from Community School and from John Burroughs School. She obtained a BA in literature at Vassar College (1971), then earned an MA (1975), MFA (1976), and PhD (1978) from the University of Iowa. While working towards her doctorate, she also spent a year studying in Iceland as a Fulbright Scholar. From 1981 to 1996 she was a Professor of English at Iowa State University, teaching undergraduate and graduate creative writing workshops, and continuing to teach there even after relocating to California.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Customer reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars
341 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers praise the author's writing style. However, the pacing receives mixed reactions, with several customers finding the book slow at first. The plot length also gets mixed feedback, with one customer appreciating its non-formulaic nature while another finds it overly long.

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6 customers mention "Writer style"6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the author's writing style, with one describing it as engaging.

"...It is clever and well-written. It's a story about a woman upon whom fortune has smiled...." Read more

"Jane Smiley has an engaging prose that leads a woman through a “lucky” life, using her vocal and guitar skills...." Read more

"I've always found Jane Smiley to be a terrific writer. My favorite book is Horse Heaven...." Read more

"...related to Jodie as she grew up in my era. The authors style of writing is interesting...." Read more

10 customers mention "Plot length"4 positive6 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the plot length of the book, with some finding it interesting, while others describe it as overly long and boring.

"...I have to say the epilogue took me by surprise. Let’s hope she is wrong!" Read more

"...Right up my alley. And the story is an interesting, almost conflict-free story of said songwriter’s life...." Read more

"...But any message is limited to the last chapter, and the point of the novel was never clear." Read more

"Was long and slow but surprise ending was worth it." Read more

6 customers mention "Pacing"0 positive6 negative

Customers find the pacing of the book unsatisfactory, with several noting it was slow at first, and one customer describing it as boring.

"...I thought the book was a little slow at first but then warmed up to it. I have to say the epilogue took me by surprise. Let’s hope she is wrong!" Read more

"...Very disappointing. It was terrible. Really boring...." Read more

"...The ending was so very disappointing. I wish I hadn't read it but I still gave it five stars." Read more

"...Wish I had just waited for the library book. Dragged many times and I didn’t want to finish except for the great expense" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Jo Ellen Cohen
    4.0 out of 5 stars STL!
    Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I was born the same year as Jane Smiley in St. Louis. I grew up in the same neighborhood where she went to school. I thought the book was a little slow at first but then warmed up to it. I have to say the epilogue took me by surprise.
    Let’s hope she is wrong!
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  • Suz
    5.0 out of 5 stars This one will stay with me...
    Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This book is a wild ride that raises so many questions. While some reviewers have criticized the story arc as "boring," I found it anything but. It is clever and well-written. It's a story about a woman upon whom fortune has smiled. Not fortune in the Hollywood glitz and glitter way, but as a middle-of-the-pack folk musician who made a living doing what she loved. I found the meat of the story smooth and comforting in a good way, but not boring. But I don't think the title "Lucky" is about Jody's career. This is a book about aging, and how some people may be more lucky in how they age than others. It's a book about passion, and how people get to experience it in their life's work, and others don't. This is a book about love, and how some people may be more lucky in love than others. And, it's a book that questions whether the Boomer generation is our last lucky generation. If you read this expecting a glitzy story about a musician, you will be disappointed. There are a couple of deep twists late in the book that made me realize that the biggest message it contains is that we all should consider ourselves lucky for what we have, while we have it. I measure a book by how much I think about it after I've closed the covers (I mean this metaphorically, I listened to the audio version), and whether I want to tell people about it. This is a book that will stay with me for a long time.
    15 people found this helpful
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  • Edward Aycock
    3.0 out of 5 stars Wait… what?? That ending, though.
    Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    3.5 stars because I liked 99.999999% of it.

    Rarely does a book interfere with my sleep. This one didn’t either but I did find myself thinking about it and feeling really disturbed by it after I finished it. The finale of the book threw such a curveball that I was upset and angry and all kinds of adjectives.

    But most of this book was enjoyable. A novel about a singer-songwriter? Right up my alley. And the story is an interesting, almost conflict-free story of said songwriter’s life. We watch her grow, her relationships, her family, her surroundings.

    What I really liked was how much of the story is a love letter to St. Louis. I have only heard bad things about the city and it’s nice to see it from such a positive perspective. I have never even been near the city so it was cool to learn about it.

    And then the story at the very end started becoming very meta and I realized that the author herself was inserted into the narrative. And that was fine until the Margaret Atwood-like epilogue that violated everything that came before.

    I don’t know what Smiley was thinking with the epilogue but it sank the book for me on a very sour note. And I am still thinking on it. I wish there’d been no epilogue at all.

    That all said, this book is a nice physical specimen. The cover is reminiscent of a 70s album cover and the paper stock used is really heavy and nice.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Haley Burke
    2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
    Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I got to page 267 yesterday and turned to the back of Lucky and read the epilogue. I thought I'd go back and finish it but instead started another book. The bottom line is I just got bored which was disappointing since I've loved most of Jane Smiley's other books. This one just didn't do it.

    I love books about people and their lives but Jodie's life just went on and on and on. There was nothing that grabbed me; nothing that made me want to know what happens next; nothing that made me even like her. Even the song lyrics scattered throughout the book were so-so, and I ended up skipping over them for the most part.

    Maybe this will suit your tastes, but if you're expecting what you've read by Ms. Smiley in the past, you might be disappointed.
    9 people found this helpful
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  • Elizabeth Ann Wagar
    4.0 out of 5 stars Music in the 60’s and 70’s….and More
    Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Jane Smiley has an engaging prose that leads a woman through a “lucky” life, using her vocal and guitar skills. The flow feels similar to how we all experience life, with notable events intermixed with quieter but still significant years.

    Playing in front bands and singing around the family piano, Jodi comes to recognize her skill level. Her uncle, who is credited with starting her on a lucky life, wisely invests her earnings.

    At some point, the novel begins to feel autobiographical, as pieces of Jane Smiley’s life begin to align with Jodi’s experiences. A puzzle seems to be unraveling, Who is this person really? Until in a whiplash ending, all assumptions dissolve. The reader is left thinking about their own lives and the meaning of luck.

    This novel is an easy read. I gave it 4 stars because it sometimes seemed to meander. However the closing impact really pushed it closer to 4.5 stars.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Lydia Fazio Theys
    5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable Experience with a Powerful Surprise and Ending
    Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This book blew my mind a little bit. I don't want to give anything away, so I'll be careful about what I say. The straight up part of the story is thoroughly engaging. I found, oddly given what comes at the end, how many little details matched important things in my life, from our family's first Toyota Corona (yes, that is a Corona) around 1970 when I was 18, to the appearance of the Old Songs festival, a staple of our family in the 90s when our kids were young. I loved the main character. Not all her life choices would be mine, but her approach to life and how much we are allowed to hear what's in her head really hooked me into the book. The surprise that comes somewhat later was a delight and the ending--well, that's how I see it, too. Thank you, Jane Smiley, for a book that was truly an unforgettable experience. And the whole thing written in her clean style that stays out of your way yet keeps you in her wholly in her spell.
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  • Patricia
    1.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing book
    Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2024
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    I was so excited tho learn there was a new Jane Smiley book out. Very disappointing. It was terrible. Really boring. I didn’t care about a single character, least of all the main character, who was completely flat.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Naomi in Canberra
    3.0 out of 5 stars Tracing our lives across the decades
    Reviewed in Australia on July 4, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I really wanted to love this book, but somehow I failed to do so. I began reading with great anticipation of following a life that would have played out in parallel to my own, given that I am just a couple years younger than the narrator. And although I now live in Australia, most of my younger years were spent in various parts of the United States and Europe, in some of the same locales she describes. Occasionally, something that she related would truly resonate, but more often I was bogged down in the minutiae of what she was eating or some similar triviality. Few of her relationships seemed to be inspired by a depth of feeling, in spite of the fact that she worked them into her songs. And so, as she was summing up her life toward the end of the book, I was left thinking it had not amounted to much. I did find the "surprise ending" thought-provoking, topical and as unsettling as the times we are living in right now. So, I would recommend the book, although with the suggestion that if you want to skip ahead a bit, you probably won't be missing much. Such is life, I guess.
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