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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Feb 2014, 304 pages
Paperback:
Feb 2015, 304 pages
Book Reviewed by:
Donna Chavez
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A funny and tender story about family, friendship, grief, acceptance, and Richard Gere—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.
Excerpt
The Good Luck Of Right Now
Dear Mr. Richard Gere,
In Mom's underwear drawer—as I was separating her "personal" clothes from the "lightly used" articles I could donate to the local thrift shop—I found a letter you wrote.
As you will recall, your letter was about the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing, China—you were advocating for a boycott because of the crimes and atrocities the Chinese government committed against Tibet.
Don't worry.
I'm not one of those "crazy types."
I immediately realized that this was a form letter you sent out to millions of people through your charitable organization, but Mom was a good enough pretender to believe you had personally signed the letter specifically to her, which is most likely why she saved it—believing you had touched the paper with your hands, licked the envelope with your tongue—imagining the paper represented a tangible link to you . . . that maybe a few of your cells, microscopic bits...
The self-awareness, the humanness of these flawed but beautiful characters makes them just as important to the world as Type A overachievers and we ought to learn to appreciate them. This, plus Quick's lovely, sharp, funny prose, is what makes The Good Luck of Right Now a very worthwhile read...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by Donna Chavez).
Garth Stein, author of The Art of Racing in the Rain
Funny, touching, wise, and ultimately life-affirming, The Good Luck of Right Now is quite possibly the greatest feel-good misfit-road story I've had the good luck to read. If you loved The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, this book is for you. Wally Lamb, author of We are Water and Wishin' and Hopin
I loved this novel from its quirky and unconventional opening to its poignant, tear-inducing conclusion.
In The Good Luck of Right Now, the priest, Father McNamee, is bipolar and chooses to live with it free of medication. "You know Jesus was most likely bipolar...what if Jesus had been medicated?" he says.
According the National Institute of Health (NIH), Mental Health website, "Bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic-depression, is a serious brain illness. People with bipolar disorder go through unusual mood changes. Sometimes they feel very happy and "up," and are much more active than usual. This is called mania. Other times they will feel very sad and "down," and are much less active - depression.
According to the NIH, people with bipolar disorder are often very hard to diagnose since they exhibit other health issues such as drug...
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