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.

The song lyrics present throughout this made me very excited to try this on audio - I think that might be the best way to injest Lucky as I had some difficulties on the page.

Such a hard book to rate. The main character’s life is detailed from childhood to about age 70. She is a singer/songwriter so there is lots of name dropping of performers from the 60s, 70s and 80s. The novel is really the minutiae that makes up her life—as it is for most of us. But the epilogue really surprised and saddened me as the author ventured ahead in time to show what the future holds, not only for her protagonist, but all of mankind.

Thanks to NetGalley and Alfred A Knopf Publishing for the ARC to read and review.

This was not what I was expecting, maybe because I’ve never read Jane Smiley before, maybe because this book was just a bit odd. The meta-narrative was hard to get into, it wasn’t really something that I ever connected with or could get a hang of as far as pacing. The ending of the book also was extremely off-putting to me. I didn’t understand it and didn’t enjoy it. I don’t think I’ll be recommending this one, unfortunately, it just wasn’t my taste at all.

This sounded so promising but was just...not it for me. Reading it was an uphill battle and I was confused as hell at the top. The ache that is familiar in Jane Smiley novels is present in glimpses, but otherwise it did not read much like a Jane Smiley to me at all.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was drawn to this book because it was about a young woman coming of age in the United States in the 1960s, a very turbulent time in our country’s history. The music scene back then was very diverse and the main character’s involvement in it were interesting.

I do think too much time was spent with the backstory. It was almost 20% into the book before Lucky gets involved in music professionally, but as we find out, even music is not the endgame of this book. The best way to describe this book is as women’s historical fiction because it’s not a mystery, or dual timelines. We simply travel along with Lucky as she grows up and ages, taking us through the decades, dealing with the extraordinary or the mundane. I loved the references to pop culture, from books to music and TV shows; it helped me as a reader get in the mindset of Lucky. Sometimes, I wondered where the book was going, if it was going anywhere at all. When I got to the end, it made sense to me in that sometimes a book’s objective is just to tell a person’s story, and that’s what Lucky does beautifully.

I thought the twist at the end was excellent, and it definitely made me think about the book as a whole. I won’t spoil it for you but suffice it to say that the end of the book could be the start of a whole different type of fiction book.

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley and Knopf Books. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Received this book as an ARC through NetGalley. I have read previous books by this author and enjoyed them. While this book was ok, it took me a long time to finish it. Parts were captivating while other parts seemed more like filler.

I found this book to be a bit straightforward and boring - the writing didn’t come to life for me, and the characters seemed flat. The ending is a bit bonkers though, and weirdly saved the book for me a bit, but it just wasn’t for me on the whole.

A boomer baby takes us through a first person stroll of her life as an almost famous folk singer from the 1960's onward. Jodie Rattler dubs herself as Lucky due to an early experience at a race track with her Uncle. The theme of her luck follows her throughout the book.
Lucky she is that a family member set it up that her finances are never an issue; Jodie goes where she wants, when she wants. That detail made it seem all to easy to breeze through the social turmoil of the 60's forward and never experiencing life in a way that is realistic for most.
Interestingly, never wanting to be tied down, she returns to her family home to help her elderly parents face their final years. This is where the book is the best to me, where the most real and relatable parts are located.


Lucky wasn't quite what I was hoping for but interesting nonetheless.

I wanted to love this, but it was more of a miss for me. The writing seemed all over the place, for lack of a better term, and I never felt invested enough in the story to make up for that.

We meet Jodie Rattler at the age of six when she accompanies her Uncle Drew to the race track. He has her circle the numbers she likes, and you guessed it, they win big! Jodie thinks herself lucky and throughout her life she holds on to the roll of two dollar bills her Uncle Drew gave her from their winnings, as a lucky charm. We watch the child Jodie grow up during the ‘60’s in her St Louis home where she lives with her single mom, and we get to know her tight knit family. We watch as she lives her ordinary day-to-day existence through the stages of her life - high school, college, breaking into the music industry as a folk musician, obtaining a modicum of success, numerous romantic entanglements which she never commits to, travels, historic events, and caring for her ill and aging mother. We watch as Jodie becomes her own person, free, independent, someone who sets her own course, but seems to be missing something from her life.

Lucky is structured uniquely and cleverly with a big reveal in the Epilogue. Readers will either love Smiley’s twist or want to throw their book across the room. It is this very meta-meta structure that Smiley creates that both makes Lucky genius and mundane. The author seems to be saying a lot about ones prosaic life and the things that truly matter. The ways we fail to connect, misunderstand and misjudge one another, the missed opportunities, the forces that compel us even when we feel we are acting freely, and the even greater forces over which we have no real control. Unfortunately, I fear many will give up before the pay off because they will find it indeed TOO ordinary. Smiley appears to be inviting us not to take life to seriously, while also not taking it for granted. After all, luck isn’t everything.

Many thanks to the author Jane Smiley, @AAKnopf and @NetGalley for the pleasure of reading this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Described as "...a souring, soulful novel about a folk musician [Jodie Rattler] who rises to fame across our changing times." Much about St, Louis, where Jodie grew up [with many details about neighborhoods] but also New York City, the Catskills, the UK, and her various travels around the U.S. and abroad.

I like Jane Smiley and have been a fan since Ordinary Love and Good Will [1989]--my favorite--others, not so much. But.

The story starts wtih six-year-old Jodie winning money--at the race track with her Uncle Drew, She keeps her lucky roll of $2 dollar bills throughout her life and her feeling lucky is often mentioned. Jodie is financially independent as Drew invested her money and she also was quite frugal.

Jodie's mother is a single mom; her dad [who left them when she was two] is noted, but not a part of their lives. Pretty much a loner, she has a loving family in St, Louis--aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousin Brucie.

I slogged through this book and pushed myself to finish it finding it flat and caring for no one. I was bored and hugely disappointed. Sometimes I liked the descriptions of the music scene [she was on the outskirts/semi-famous/sometimes recognized]--successful in her own way. Pretty much a loner who kept track of her numerous [!==25+?] affairs--some detailed.

Later on in the story, I found the references to her Smiley's own titles self-indulgent/disconcerting/an oddity/a bit of a disconnect.

Covering more than 50 years the parts I "enjoyed" [?] the most were the descriptions/the relationship between mother and daughter in the last year of her mother's life, and her 50th high school reunion [I could relate].

The sections on politics/climate change seemed to come out of the blue. And the epilogue--out of left field--scary but will not spoil.

2.5 but rounding up probably because it's Jane Smiley.

Lucky is the latest novel from the prolific, Pulitzer-prize winning author, Jane Smiley. It tells the story of Jodie Rattler, a young girl growing up in St. Louis.

The first part of the novel was my favorite - a coming of age story of a young singer. The entire novel was very detailed and in this part much of the detail dealt with Jodie’s song writing process. However, for me, the character of Jodie seemed a bit unrealistic as she seemed to glide through life.

It isn’t until the Epilogue that certain things makes sense. I don’t want to reveal any details but while it brought the novel together, it was such a drastic ending that it was just too far-fetched for me. Overall, I enjoyed the writing and will continue to read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Alfred A Knopf for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.