Lucky is a typical Jane Smiley book in that it encompasses a wide span of American history and a lot of characters.
The main character, Jodie, is fairly nondescript.
What I liked about the novel is the backdrop, from the 1950s to present day. I liked reading about all the things I remember from those decades so it’s a walk back into time.

Thank you Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Knopf for allowing me to read and review Lucky on NetGalley.

Published: 04/23/24

Stars: 2

Nothing.

There is no need for me to drag out my thoughts. The book was slow and incredibly monotonous. My struggle is real; the synopsis is accurate to a fault. This is a book that promises a story and the story never appears. There are a lot of words spewed over 562 pages and I'm left wondering why?

I was bored from the beginning, went into part two hopeful for a revolution, and into part three sickened by the knowledge there was an epilogue.

Jodie’s story starts out with a cute anecdote from her childhood. Her uncle took her to the race track where she won a lot of money, and she kept this lucky roll of $2.00 bills with her. Then we learn many details of her life in the first person narrative— growing up fatherless in St. Louis; college life at Penn State; her many liaisons with anyone she fancies, single or married; her music gigs and songwriting. The story ends with her 50th high school reunion, and chatting with someone she referred to as "the gawky girl."

Then there's an epilogue set in an apocalyptic future of a monstrously fascist America. The "real Jodie" disavows the fiction of the book, ostensibly written with some true information gleaned by "the gawky girl" as they conversed after the reunion.

I chose this book to read because I was interested in reading about a woman coming of age during the 1960's. I was very disappointed--sadly after awhile I didn't even care about (either) Jodie. To anyone who wants to read excellent historical fiction set in this time period, I recommend Sister Stardust by Jane Green, and The Women by Kristin Hannah. I received an advance copy of this novel from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Well, this is a slow burn of an emotional wallop, and I say that in only the best of ways. Jane Smiley knows how to weave a narrative so it's not too fast and not too slow, and because of that, the reader finds themselves incredibly invested when they can finally lift their head from the page.

"Lucky" is not a fast paced book, but it's one you can find yourself lost in for pages and chapters at a time. And just when you think you know what to expect, she smacks you in the face with an ending worthy of a Pulitzer.

Lucky was another great novel from Jane Smiley. I liked the character study over a long period of time, as well as the musical element to the story.

The usually reliable Jane Smiley jumps into the nostalgic trend, penning a coming of age story about a young girl who becomes a famous folk singer in the 1960s. Her uncle tells her she's 'lucky' after taking her to a horse race where she wins big. She keeps the roll of $2 bills with her throughout the story as a reminder of her good fortune. Her career earns her a comfortable income that allows her to live life on her terms, which the author shares in tedious detail. I know it's Jane Smiley and all, but a good editor could have helped tighten up the story a bit. And then there's that weird twist of an ending...

Author Jane Smiley has written a tale that is almost autobiographical, with a protagonist as a classmate that interacts with herself from a distance. LUCKY is both a stream of consciousness and a life story about this classmate, as she meanders from the 1960s through a dark future 2030-something. It’s not an uplifting story. I’m not even sure it’s a story that provides much insight about this age cohort. The ten years ahead is really dark, so reader beware. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Jodie Rattler is lucky. Although fatherless (her father was married to someone other than her mother and his family prevailed on him to return to his wife), Jodie enjoyed the warmth of her extended family all who were settled in the suburbs of St. Louis. Her Uncle Drew took her to the racetrack when she was 6 years old and she won eighty-six dollars that her Uncle rolled into a tight bundle of two-dollar bills that served as her talisman, accompanying her throughout her travels.

Jodie attends Penn State and, through a combination of talent and serendipity, achieves modest professional success as a folk rock singer/songwriter, influenced by her contemporaries, such as Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, Judy Collins, and Joan Baez. She tours with a band throughout the Midwest and serves as the opening act for Blood, Sweat & Tears. Performing at a festival in England at Glastonbury, Jodie decides to take a career break and use her money, which her Uncle Drew wisely invested, to satisfy her wanderlust.

There are more travels, many brief affairs, and a return home to look after her aging family, but Jodie lacks the energy to nurture her musical career. The novel ponderously records Jodie’s tedious quest to find herself. Worse is an epilogue that features an odd and unsatisfying change in narrative voice and will undoubtedly be highly polarizing for readers. It pains me to be critical of Jane Smiley because I am such a fan, but this novel was a miss. Thank you Alfred A Knopf and Net Galley for an advanced copy of Jane Smiley’s latest novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book.

Jodie Rattler is a lucky girl. Not lucky as we often think of it, but lucky in that she has a large close-knit family who loves her, a good voice, and the ability to put words together to make a song. She is almost exactly my age, born a few months before me, so I could identify with the music and the culture in which she grew up and thrived.

She first realizes her luck when her uncle takes her as a 6-year-old to the racetrack and she picks the winning horses. The portion of the money he secretly gives her she keeps hidden away for the rest of her life and believes that is where her luck lies. The roll of two dollar bills accompanies her all over the world as she becomes a success as a songwriter and singer. She is also lucky in love, but never commits to one love, just keeps watching for more.

Her family surrounds her with love and support and she learns to lean on them in hard times and be there to help them in the bad times. She lives in New York City, a small cabin in the woods of upper New York state, and St Louis, sometimes having houses in all at the same time. She travels as a musician and sometimes just for fun and sees a lot of the world, but eventually returns to St Louis and her family.

I really liked about 80% of the book, until the author decided to get VERY political and alarmist, which didn't fit with the story. The epilogue was a completely different story which, I must admit, I didn't get.

Another family saga from Jane Smiley. Is this part of the trilogy she began with Some Luck? I can't find anything that says it is but it seems like it should be with its emphasis on 'luck.'

This is a good read as we watch one life unfold. Jodie Rattler grows up in St Louis, Mo, in the 1950s, in the bosom of a warm, loving extended family, the only child of an unwed mother. She has talent as a singer, songwriter and guitar player and finds some success. As a songwriter, she spends a great of time observing people--their feelings and their actions. From them, she learns how to make friends, but although she has many affairs, she never allows Love to get in the way of her career.

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates said as he declared the essence of a good life. Jodie has an epiphany when she thinks that maybe the purpose of religion is to ask oneself: 'Who am I and what is my reason for living?'

The span of Jodie's lifetime has been my own lifetime experience so I identified with the world events as they were happening. I was also a little surprised about what wasn't mentioned. St Louis is lovingly depicted--a place I've been to a few times myself but just as a tourist.

My favorite part 0f the book is actually the epilogue where we learn the truth about the story and get a glimpse of a possible future for all of us.

Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this new novel via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

I really liked 95% of this book. Slow but thoughtful. I love in depth character studies and this book provided that. I liked the theories on luck and what makes someone lucky. However, the last 5% (the epilogue) went bonkers. The ending completely changed the entire book and it just wasn't necessary. It felt deceitful to the reader and I didn't appreciate it.

When she was six years old, Jodie Rattler’s uncle takes her to the horse track and has her pick three numbers. They turn out to be winners and her uncle gives her a cut of the winnings. That roll of forty-three $2 bills becomes her lucky charm and goes everywhere with her.
Good, but a slow read at times. Told in the first-person narrative style; it reads like an autobiography. Jodie is a remarkable character, probably the best I’ve come across in a while. She’s into music and exploring so there are quite a few song lyrics and lots of walking. Part love letter to St. Louis, it’s a story about family and following your dreams. There is some romance too. Some people may see it as being political. I didn’t. She’s just telling it like it is. I thought it a very contemplative story. Readers will be totally taken by surprise by the ending. There is a twist no one will see coming, though looking back there were a few hints. 4.25 stars

I'd very much looked forward to this latest from Smiley but regrettably, as seems to be a pattern with her, it was a miss for me after her last, which I'd greatly enjoyed. This tale of Jodie Rattler felt like a race of words, a stream of consciousness that was more a list of things and events than the emotional story it could have been. The conceit that it's actually written by the "gawky" girl, while interesting, didn't work for me. And the epilogue! No comments no spoilers but golly it's odd. There are interesting tidbits but those sank under the torrent of words. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'm sure there are others out there who will enjoy this more than I did.

I had so much trouble getting through this book. The bulk of the book is about a folk singer looking back on her career, her family and her affairs. It is like a memoir, but I did not really care about every single detail of this fictional character’s life in St. Louis, England, the Catskills, etc. The very end of the novel becomes a completely different book and things go off the rails in a way that came out of nowhere. I should have stopped reading this one.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers in exchange for my honest review of Lucky. Sigh. I really wanted to like this book more but ultimately it fell flat. There’s this trap that some sprawling historical books fall into where they glaze over periods of time and it feels surface level and this book sadly felt that way. I like my historical fiction meatier. I’ve heard really good things about this author‘s A Thousand Acres and Some Luck trilogy and see that the former won the Pulitzer, so I’m going to give those a chance. I see glimmers of what she could do here, but again, it just felt surface level to me.

An ambitious book that follows the life of a woman who is somewhat involved in the music industry from St. Louis from her childhood through her 50 year high school reunion. Although overall it was interesting, it could have benefited greatly from better editing. At times I was skimming rather than reading. The epilogue was unexpected and is worth discussion.

Jodie Rattler was a 60s-70s folk singer growing up in the 50s and 60s in St Louis in a close knit family with a single mom. After high school she moved to England and New York and floats through life and love affairs, always sort of existing and falling into lucky breaks. After a semi successful career she realizes her family needs her back in St Louis and she moves back to help them.

This character driven novel doesn’t have much plot and I could have really been fine with it except there was this underlying weird second politically driven story that sort of comes out of nowhere at the end and is jarring for the reader (well, at least this reader). The main character is frustrating because she never commits to anything or anyone and as a reader I kept wanting more from her. I listened to the audio as well as read the novel and I think the narrator did an excellent job but she was a bit flat in her narration (but I think that was just how Jodie is so she was speaking based on the character so I do not blame the narrator for that). And for anyone hoping there are songs on the audio, there aren’t, just lyrics.

I would have rated this book higher (I’m ok with character driven novels) but the ending honestly ruined the novel for me. I’ve liked Jane Smiley’s book in the past but this one was just not for me.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC to review

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

In "Lucky," Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley presents a rich tapestry of American life through the eyes of Jodie Rattler, a folk musician whose life is as captivating as her music. The novel, set against the backdrop of the changing American landscape, takes us from the bustling streets of St. Louis to the vibrant heart of New York City, and across the pond to the English countryside.

However, I found this a departure from Smiley's typical fare....

Jodie's story begins in 1955, with a lucky break at the racetrack that sets the tone for her life's journey. Smiley weaves a narrative that is both intimate and expansive, exploring the nuances of family, fortune, and fame. Jodie's musical career, sparked by a novelty Christmas hit, unfolds with a sense of ease that belies the hard work and serendipity behind her success.

Smiley's prose is imbued with a Midwestern humor that is dry yet affectionate, bringing to life the extended family that supports Jodie's single mother. The novel's realism is punctuated by Jodie's candid reflections on her career, her 23 lovers, and the art of songwriting, reminiscent of Smiley's own dissection of fiction writing in "13 Ways of Looking at the Novel."

The setting of St. Louis, Smiley's own hometown, is rendered with love and care, grounding the most poignant scenes of the novel. However, as the story progresses, the locales become more generic, and the insertion of current events feels like a mere chronological anchor rather than a deep engagement with the era.

"Lucky" takes a surprising turn towards the end, leaping into an apocalyptic near future that contrasts sharply with the rest of the narrative. This jarring shift is perhaps a commentary on the extremes that have come to define our times, from climate to politics. While this may unsettle some readers, it is a testament to Smiley's willingness to take risks and challenge expectations.

Overall, "Lucky" is a soulful novel that resonates with the glitter of real talent and the search for self, set to the soundtrack of a nation's history.

Auto-fiction about just an ordinary girl growing up in St Louis in the 1960s who goes on to become a superstar singer. If you grew up in USA in the 1960s, you will love this story. There are so many references to pop culture, tv shows and generally all things that were the thing in those years. There is a whole lot of description about the mundane but the author does it beautifully so that it does not feel jarring. It is like reading Jodi Rattler's diary. There are references to various historical events like the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam war and the politics of the time. At the heart this is a story about family and community, love and relationships, ambition and contentment. The story could have been a little shorter but that's probably me because I wasn't a sixties kid. This is my first Jane Smiley and I definitely like her writing style. I'm thinking this will sound even better on audio particularly because of the song lyrics. I'm wondering if the narrator is going to sing them to a tune.

Thank you Netgalley, Knopf Publishing and Jane Smiley for the ARC.

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.

The review will be published on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.