Title: The Good Luck of Right Now
Release Date: February 11/2014
Adquired: Print ARC provided by publisher
Goodreads: ADD
Purchase: Amazon/Indigo/Book Depository
Call it fate. Call it synchronicity. Call it an act of God. Call it . . . The Good Luck of Right Now. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook comes an entertaining and inspiring tale that will leave you pondering the rhythms of the universe and marveling at the power of kindness and love.
For thirty-eight years, Bartholomew Neil has lived with his mother. When she gets sick and dies, he has no idea how to be on his own. His redheaded grief counselor, Wendy, says he needs to find his flock and leave the nest. But how does a man whose whole life has been grounded in his mom, Saturday mass, and the library learn how to fly?
Bartholomew thinks he’s found a clue when he discovers a “Free Tibet” letter from Richard Gere hidden in his mother’s underwear drawer. In her final days, mom called him Richard—there must be a cosmic connection. Believing that the actor is meant to help him, Bartholomew awkwardly starts his new life, writing Richard Gere a series of highly intimate letters. Jung and the Dalai Lama, philosophy and faith, alien abduction and cat telepathy, the Catholic Church and the mystery of women are all explored in his soul-baring epistles. But mostly the letters reveal one man’s heartbreakingly earnest attempt to assemble a family of his own.
A struggling priest, a “Girlbrarian,” her feline-loving, foul-mouthed brother, and the spirit of Richard Gere join the quest to help Bartholomew. In a rented Ford Focus, they travel to Canada to see the cat Parliament and find his biological father . . . and discover so much more.
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This is a ridiculous statement, because I've not yet had the pleasure of reading EVERY fiction book on the planet (nor..will I ever), but sometimes I feel like every book I read could very well be an extension of another. A completely different author, and even a different genre, there are times when I read two books back to back, and it's as though I never even finished the first one: fiction formulas are hard to step out of. But The Good Luck of Right Now..OH The Good Luck of Right Now. Matthew Quick broke molds, he stepped WAY outside of boxes, and before I stop myself from speaking too soon: has now become one of my top 10 favourite authors.
I want to pretend for a second that I've heard absolutely NOTHING about The Silver Linings Playbook, because I want to keep this experience new. I want to pretend that I have never heard of this author, that his work HASN'T gone on to receive a RIDICULOUS amount of awards for it's film adaptation (click here to see, seriously..SO many awards). NO, I want to pretend that I read the synopsis for The Good Luck of Right Now, picked it up, and hoped on wispy dandelions seeds that it would be good: IT WAS GOOD. It was more than just good, I read this book in 3 hours, and refused to believe that I was turning the last page when I got to the end.
Bartholomew Neil (really, that name though..amazing), has recently lost his mother. His life now consisting of going to Saturday mass, staring at a extremely precise girl at his local library-whom he affectionately nicknames his "Girlbrarian"-and writing personal, diary style, letters to actor Richard Gere. But Bartholomew has new life goals, and with some persuasion from his grief counselor, Wendy, he sets out to discover exactly what he's capable of. Along the way, and through what he coins as "synchronicity," his life becomes intermingled with a whole cast of other characters, who, in additionto reaching for their own life goals, unknowingly set Bartholomew on the exact paths to achieving his own. And of course, there was Richard Gere, the ever-present entity.
The Good Luck of Right Now was a 281 page feat of LIFE, and what it means to live in a world that is constantly testing your strength, questioning your beliefs, and encouraging you to fail. Bartholomew's character was written as such, that many readers would find it difficult not to pity him. But despite his differences, or what the world would deem as "mental challenges," he was a representation of every single person I know: he was unsure of himself. A secluded life with his mother was all he knew for 38 years, and at 39, found that he knew nothing of living independently. I loved the layout of these chapters, with it's profound, and hilarious, titles: "SADLY, I DO NOT THINK I AM TELEPATHIC"-it was foreshadowing at it's absolute best. I've never experienced a cast of characters like I did in this book, who were broken in the most odd ways. One character was disturbingly distraught and obsessed about the loss of his cat, and then, cats in general. I didn't know HOW to feel about anything while reading The Good Luck of Right Now, and in the end, decided that I felt EVERYTHING.
This book referenced the most random of things, and threw a spin on "finding yourself" like I've never experienced before. It was quirky, and heart-warming, and soul-squeezing, and intensely, intensely fascinating. Honestly, and sadly, I don't think that this book is for everyone, on account of how completely different the narrative is, and topics touched on that many will find inappropriate or perplexing. But I encourage you to read it anyway, because we all NEED a break from routine-from life's routine, and especially from books that don't have the courage to be something more than it could be.
The Good Luck of Right Now OWNED that courage, and I couldn't be more glad that I am now a part of it, and it, a part of me.
Recommended for Fans of: Contemporary, quirky fiction, Jonathan Safran Foer, Mark Haddon, Lisa O'Donnell.
Challenges: Goodreads 100 Book Goal
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Matthew Quick (aka Q) is the New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, which was made into an Oscar-winning film. His work has been translated into twenty-eight languages and has received a PEN/Hemingway Award Honorable Mention, among other accolades. Q lives with his wife, novelist/pianist Alicia Bessette.
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Thank-you to Trish from TLC Book Tours for hosting this tour, and to Harper Collins for sending me a print copy to review!
"Matthew Quick broke molds, he stepped WAY outside of boxes, and before I stop myself from speaking too soon: has now become one of my top 10 favourite authors." I love this! It is fantastic when an author can be so original and do it so well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being on the tour!
I was surprised to find that I really enjoy quirky books! I think this book sounds great and right up my alley!
ReplyDelete