Lucky by Jane Smiley is a polarizing literary novel which covers decades in the life of a folk musician. It is recommended; highly for the right reader.

Jodie Rattler grew up in St. Louis with her mother and near her extended family. She first discovered she was lucky in 1955 when she was six years old and her uncle Drew took her to the racetrack. A roll of two-dollar bills were the physical representation of that luck and she keeps them near her and hidden for years. Jodie always had a love of music along with her family. When she is studying at Penn State in the 1969, her singing career takes off after one of her songs becomes a surprise hit. She does well in royalties and even better after her uncle Drew handles the investment of her windfall. This allows her to travel and even spend time abroad.

Many successful musicians of the time periods involved are mentioned throughout the novel. It is sort of a musical coming of age novel through the 70's and 80's (and on) pop culture, but the plot also focuses on Jodie's relationship with her family. There are a lot of lyrics for the songs Jodie writes included in the narrative and the impetus for the lyrics is part of the story. The actual quality/credibility of the lyrics is debatable. Along the way there are several times Jodie sees a high school classmate she refers to only as the "gawky girl." (It is later clearly revealed that the gawky girl is a stand-in for Smiley.) Jodie does settle down back in St. Louis to care for her mother and grandparents.

The writing is excellent and I was really enjoying this story of a woman's life. Sure, as a character Jodi can be a little self-involved and the plot does move slowly in parts, but there is also a nostalgic element to the narrative as it list musicians for years past that is appealing.

What totally changes everything is the abrupt change in structure, tone, and voice in the final epilogue. How do you rate a book that abruptly changes directions to a stupefying ending? I keep stalling on writing a review, flipping back and forth on how I feel, and that is not a satisfying reading experience so I need to go with a neutral rating. Thanks to Knopf Doubleday for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2024/04/lucky.html ( )

Thanks to #NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this ARC.

The title of this not only should be Lucky but “Traveling Musician,” even though she didn't travel as a musician most of the time but did write songs when she was in high school and when she got older and traveled around Europe, she wrote a lot too. She was in a few bands too as a substitute. She really didn't have a job per se but settled in NY and made videos for MTV and stayed active in the music scene it seems. I loved the setting of the 60s because of the music and artists she loved back then and I so do I. ides her writing songs and performing with bands once in a while. She never seemed to be doing anything permanently besides writing songs and getting people once in a while to record her music even at 47 old and singing at small concerts and gigs.

The book was first person and it was set in the present but looked back at her life. I loved the family aspect of it with her aunts and uncles living in St. Louis where she ended up mostly and her mom.

The epilogue was set in the way future it seems and it was definitely interesting. ( )

To be honest, in order to be a writer you have to be an avid spy

from Lucky by Jane Smiley
Jodie Rattler tells her life story, how lucky she has been. Her pregnant, unwed mother wanted her. Her uncle took her to the racetrack and she won $82 lucky dollars that she never parts with. By chance, she saw the college she knew she wanted to attend. She walked away from the love of her life to claim her own career and life. She made enough money as a singer/songwriter to never have to worry.

Jodie grows up, takes lovers, sings her music, buys a cabin in the woods and a house in her hometown of St. Louis, learns how to connect with family and make friends, experiences the end of life of her grandparents and mother.

Jodie talks about the events and times of my own life: the Cuban Missile Crisis bookended by climate change angst; “Sing Along with Mitch” and folk music; 77 Sunset Strip; concerns about rising American fascism.

It is a full life, simply presented.

But the novel isn’t what it seems. And in the Epilogue, Jamie Ring reveals the identity of the ‘gawky girl’ who haunts her life like a ghost, and we learn something about art and how writers transform life into fiction, and questions the very concept of luck.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book. ( )