Lucky Us

At it's most basic level, Lucky Us is the story of two half sisters, Iris and Eva, who meet as adolescents in the midst of rather awkward circumstances. Iris's mother has just died and Eva's has left her abruptly with her father, Edgar. With World War II as a backdrop, Iris and Eva hightail it out of Ohio and away from Edgar and to Hollywood where Iris's fate is heartbreak and disillusionment.

This is a book that starts a bit slowly, and is told through letters - both sent and unsent -  memories, and multiple perspectives. For that reason, the story itself sometimes feels a bit disjointed, sometimes flowing smoothly and sometimes moving in fits and starts. Even so, it is a beautifully written story. Amy Bloom has created an entire cast of memorable characters, each with their own personalities, quirks, and, perhaps most importantly, flaws. And she has done this using some of the most beautiful prose I have read in a long time.

"The wicked people of the world are not supposed to be calm and composed," Eva muses at one point, and with that one sentence I am transported into my own musings on wickedness and human nature. When Clara tries to help Eva understand her aversion to religion, Bloom writes, "she absolutely did not believe that a white man was going to come back from his own lynching to help out Clara Williams or take her hand or be her friend." These are words that reach into the reader's mind, create strong imagery, and pull the story - and the reader - along.

None of the characters is who they seem initially and all make questionable decisions. I was reminded more than once of When the World Was Young (another mid-century historical fiction which sees a young girl settle into life without her mother). And while Lucky Us is a coming of a age story, I would argue that it is really about decisions and consequences, the shades of gray surrounding "truth," the meaning of family - those we are born to and those we choose, and not least what it means to forgive - or not.