Lucky Us by Amy Bloom. Random House. July 2014
“My father’s wife died. My mother said we should drive down to his place and see what might be in it for us,” opens Amy Bloom’s new novel, Lucky Us. Following her father’s death, Eva is left on the doorstep of her father’s other (and more prosperous) family. She is first nemesis and then sidekick to her half- sister Iris. This stinted coming-of-age plumbs the dysfunction of Eva and Iris’ codependent relationship in World War II America. As Iris pursues her acting career in Hollywood, Eva keeps the home fires burning, scrounging for money, and assisting Iris in all of her hair-brained schemes. Amy Bloom’s snapshot style is well- suited to her portrayal of two sisters, their cast of friends, and their failed attempts to do the right thing.
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell.
David Mitchell’s The Bone Clocks is everything we expect from David Mitchell—a globetrotting epic that transcends time, characters alive both on and off the page, and a masterful blend of science fiction and literary fiction. Told in parts, The Bone Clock follows Holly Sykes from her teenage punk years to well into her old age. Over the course of six decades, the universe’s underlying order—or disorder—breach reality long enough for Holly to discover that she is embroiled in a labyrinthine mystery that has been unraveling since before her birth. The Bone Clocks is a welcome addition to Mitchell’s oevre.
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