Luck: A Novel [Paperback]

Joan Barfoot (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 14, 2006

One woman is an ex-beauty-queen, one is a recovering addict to virtue, and one is an artist. The man of the big old house on the hill, Philip Lawrence, is suddenly dead and his departure is bound to have dramatic effects. The abruptly widowed Nora, whose recent works of biblical art have caused a fundamentalist furor in their town, is unexpectedly confronted by solo life in a place she despises. Beth, her wispy, beautiful model, faces losing a haven from her own eerie history, while housekeeper Sophie, a former overseas aid volunteer shattered by trauma, will have to find new ways to resist old compulsions. Luck follows the three days after Philip's death as the women careen through circumstances none of them could ever have imagined. 3 days, 3 women. The big question is 'What's next?'

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Canadian novelist Barfoot (Dancing in the Dark) may finally get the recognition she deserves for this brilliantly conceived, masterfully realized 10th novel. Nora, a successful sculptor in her late 30s, wakes up one morning to find her custom furniture-designer husband, Philip Lawrence, 46, dead beside her. The rest of the novel simply follows her and the rest of the household, verité-style, as they make decisions and try to internalize what has happened over the course of that day and the two that follow. The rest of the household consists of Beth, a wispy former model who moved in to serve as Nora's muse over the past few years, and Sophie, a fleshy economist who burned out as an aid worker, and has been holed up with the other three as caretaker and financial manager. Barfoot makes the most of this uncomfortable ménage without overplaying her hand a single time: yes, Philip and Sophie were sleeping together, and yes, it's even possible that Beth poisoned Philip in order to get with Nora. Barfoot alternates among the three women's points of view with comic but never trivializing adroitness, and expertly spins out their backstories and recent lives together. The book is set in an English West Country town (with flashbacks to London), and there's a nice subplot concerning Nora's controversial use of religious imagery. But the real fireworks are in the minute explorations of this closed set of unorthodox relationships, all brought to a finish in a short coda set a year after Philip's death. Coming upon this novel is a fine piece of luck indeed. (Mar.)
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From Booklist

"What?" and "Now what?" are the fundamental questions the protagonists in Barfoot's novel ask themselves--again and again. Philip Lawrence "has the misfortune to die," and his wife, Nora, a sculptor, has the equal misfortune (or is it?) to wake up one morning to discover that Philip, lying beside her, has died during the night. Enter Beth, Nora's artist's model, and Sophie, the housekeeper; emotions among the women are high and run the gamut, and readers will quickly find themselves as shocked as Nora, Beth, and Sophie--after all, Philip always looked the picture of health and vitality. The narrative follows the three days immediately after Philip's death. Nora, Beth, and Sophie are a family of sorts, both before Philip's death and certainly after, and so this is very much a novel about family and home as well as death. It is at times disappointing; the basic story line is somewhat thin. But readers interested in a quick read, with its share of real life and real death, will find the book satisfying. Sarah Watstein
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf; Ex-Library edition (February 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786716460
• ISBN-13: 978-0786716463
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,044,137 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark and Memorable, January 14, 2007

By 

Jenny - See all my reviews

This review is from: Luck: A Novel (Paperback)

I really loved this book. Barfoot's prose really captivated me from the first sentence. I found her rhythm and cleverness continually engaging. I also liked how she treated each of the three women individually as characters, so that I got to fully experience each.

If the first sentence draws you in as much as it did me, I hope you read this satisfying novel.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I really wanted to like this book, August 12, 2006

By 

Melanie (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Luck: A Novel (Paperback)

I wanted to like this book, but I didn't. It was just too tedious. There was far too much attention to the colour of someone's skin and not enough attention to establishing a depth of character in the 3 women and 1 man that make up the main characters in the book. The women seemed shallow and the plot was flat and unexciting. Right from the start, the book seems poised to distance the reader from the character of Philip which is unusual. The distance and borderline dislike I felt for Philip was problematic because since I didn't relate to him or care for his character all that much, I also didn't understand why any woman would want to share a life with him and I lacked sympathy towarads his grieving wife. The 2 females that were employed by Philip and his wife were portrayed as simple cardboard cut-outs of people and also lacked emotional depth. The observations all 3 women made always seemed selfish or petty.

The ending seemed wrong too, although I won't go into detail about that because I don't want to spoil it for anyone who still wants to read this book.

Maybe the next one she writes will be more enjoyable. The potential is there in the writing, so I'll check in later and see what Joan Barfoot comes out with next.