This is the second book that I have had the pleasure of reading by Victor Lodato. As expected, it is an engaging, thrilling read that one can barely put down. What makes Lodarto interesting is that he expertly plumbs the depths of tragedy, sorrow, and loss without making it feel too heavy or trite. He delves into these dark places with a measure of hope that makes it all bearable. It reminds me a little of the book "The Dark Nights of the Soul", but laden with a cast of unique and magical characters. Thanks Victor Lodarto!

Edgar and Lucy is about a family who endures some of the worst luck you could have. The story is dark and broken. Every dream turns into a nightmare, and while the family are repelling, they also drew me in, and had me wanting to find out more about them.this is very character driven and compelling!

I'm slow to catch up on some of the books I got in 2017 but this was truly excellent. Well crafted, well told, character driven. Really impressive novel, solid 4.5 stars.

Lovely prose, quirky characters and a strong, heartfelt story, although it may have lost its way at some points. Lengthy but worth the read if you find this character-driven story compelling.

Victor Lodato is a master of literature! "Edgar and Lucy" touches on so many emotions and reaches so many depths that it becomes difficult to put into words. I cried. I laughed. I cussed. I was drained, yet I wanted more.
Can I give it more than five stars? Please!

I ended up buying a physical copy bc I loved this book so much! Probably my favorite of 2017 so far. So many different perspectives, even a page is written from the vantage point of the dog! I couldn't put it down.

5 Stars .
This was my first Victor Lodato book, and upon finishing this went, I need to go buy myself a copy! aAlso would love to check out some more of his work like Mathilda Savitch and Jack, July. His writing is absolute perfection. This book was so full of magic and so vivid, that I at times felt right there in the story. When I requested this, I will be honest, I did not know really what to expect; however, I am so glad I read this! Even though this was a longer than a normal book for me to read, it was so dark and creepy-was worth reading every page. And the ending, seriously was amazing. I kept hoping towards the end he wouldn't go in the direction I thought he might, and thank goodness he didn't -was more of a surprise ending then I thought. Loved it. Plus, the cover is stunning as well.
I would highly recommend this book, especially to those who enjoy contemporary and coming of age stories.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest opinion. My thanks to Victor Lodato and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was a slow burn sort of book. I wasn't sure about it during the first quarter of the book but was bereft when it ended. The characters will get you, and it won't be an easy ride, but it is a good read.

I read to the end of chapter 12, around page 118. Gritty, even sordid. I had no stomach to stick around for what the author was plainly setting the stage: the sexual abuse of the central child character, Edgar, by a pedophile. Just not my cup of tea.

You know that friend you have that you love and has interesting stories but talks and talks and talks around the story and sometimes goes off and tells you about this other friend, or jumps to a story from 8 years ago before getting to the original story? That's this book. I wanted to like this so much, but in the end it was too cumbersome. Too wordy even when the words were poetic.
I am drawn to books about mental illness and this gave me just enough to keep me reading, but overall, it's a strange book and I can't recommend it to anyone.

What an interesting addition to the genre of child struggling with mom who has problems. Lodato has created a truly unique character in Edgar. He's also created and carefully plotted out an array of relationships that Edgar uses to move forward in life. The kidnapping took this out of where I expected the novel to go. This is a very long book (longer than I generally like for Kindle) but it moves briskly in part because the reader becomes invested in the characters. I understand why this was touted as one of the best books of the year although I'd quibble that it might have benefited from some judicious editing to tighten parts where the language got a little more lush than I liked. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Try this one for a big good read with heart.

Edgar has a tragic past but he is unaware of most of it until he is taken from his home and he has to learn what's real and what isn't. Edgar quickly learns that's not an easy thing to do.The book starts slowly setting up Edgar's world with insight about Edgar, his mother and his grandmother. It isn't until one of the main characters dies that the story begins to progress.
The story is compelling because you get the insight of a captive and how, especially at a young age, their view an become distorted. But any attempt at making his captor sympatric fails. While I liked that the captor had a back story (I am always interested in what drives people), he's sttil just another child abductor who should have gotten help instead of lashing out.
What I would have liked to see more of is the idea of the ghosts and the afterlife. There are small sections about this that are added to explain the ending and could have been expanded deepening the story and meaning. But I did love Lucy's character. She was so real. The author depicts her grief with depth and truth. I saw a lot of people I know in Lucy.
Edgar and Lucy is an interesting look into the psychology of people and it's heir motivation that keeps this novel's plot moving.

This is a long but well-written book dealing with complicated relationships, death, and grieving. Lucy is not a very good mother but she has a wonderful child in Edgar. When the writing is from Edgar's viewpoint, we can feel his sorrow, pain, and happiness.

This is a book that will stay with the reader a long, long time.

Really struggled with this and only got as far as 10%. It is well written so far but very slow. Unfortunately i was unable to get back into it.

This was another book that I so wanted to enjoy and a book that I had heard so much about and loved.

Unfortunately, the beginning of the book was slow for me. I didn't love it. I didn't love hearing about Lucy and not seeing her connected to Edgar. I didn't like how Edgar seemed so lost and unsure and incapable of being independent at all. I didn't like how he felt the need to leave.

And the beginning of his time with Conrad was odd. It was something that made me wish it had all been a little bit different (and maybe that's the point).

The book gets an extra half a star because at the end, it picked up and I really wanted to keep reading - to hear about what happened, to follow Edgar's journey, to see how he did and what he did and how he ended up.

Overall, a good book, but not my favorite and a little slow going. That being said, I'm glad I didn't give up on it.

Edgar and Lucy by Victor Lodato was not really t o my liking; that is not to say it is a bad book, perhaps it is even a great book, just not for me.

It's long and I kept waiting for it to go somewhere but I felt like it never really went anywhere. It is a dark and somewhat strange book. The relationships are well developed and the writing is lyrically beautiful. Maybe at another time, in another mood, in another phase of life this book would appeal to me more.

This is the book you would get if you crossed Wally Lamb with Joshilyn Jackson. Beautiful, tragic, humorous, and bright!

I'm so sorry but every so often I end up with a book that just isn't right for me to review. This is one of those books. I couldn't finish it and I don't want to mislead anyone by offering up a star rating on 30% of the book.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC of this book.

What a splendid novel! Two days after finishing, it is still with me. The writing is lyrical, the characters well developed, the story intense and emotional. A long book that tended to be less
well pulled together about 60% in but which then came back together by the end. The synopsis at the end felt too rushed when compared to the rest of the book but it did provide necessary resolution.
4.5 stars.