steffi_r's review against another edition
4.0
Ich liebe Kurzgeschichten. Weil gute Kurzgeschichten echte Kunstwerke sind. Auch handwerklich bzw. schriftstellerisch. Und natürlich ist immer alles subjektiv - aber Jamel Brinkley schreibt gute Kurzgeschichten!
carmenere's review
4.0
A Lucky Man has earned a place on the National Book Award (2018) Short List and it is clear why it was chosen.
Brinkley's short story compilation includes nine short stories which are filled with memorable characters in extraordinary circumstances. All seem to explore relationships in all their many configurations; man to woman, man to man, boys to boys, men/boys to father and mothers and also their relationship to the world around them.
The stories take you to a place unknown to many a reader but from the comfort of your easy chair you can travel to uncomfortable situations and humans which garner your empathy.
Brinkley's short story compilation includes nine short stories which are filled with memorable characters in extraordinary circumstances. All seem to explore relationships in all their many configurations; man to woman, man to man, boys to boys, men/boys to father and mothers and also their relationship to the world around them.
The stories take you to a place unknown to many a reader but from the comfort of your easy chair you can travel to uncomfortable situations and humans which garner your empathy.
myrrhley's review against another edition
2.0
2.5
There are some beautifully nuanced stories in here. Unfortunately, almost every one of them relegates women to the role of stiffly furthering the narrative. I'd love to read more about Sadie.
There are some beautifully nuanced stories in here. Unfortunately, almost every one of them relegates women to the role of stiffly furthering the narrative. I'd love to read more about Sadie.
itsvikiduh's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
afdzg's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
not_mike's review
5.0
ARC.
Jamel Brinkley can write damn well. He capitalizes on the short story's constrained amount of space by making every sentence vivid, clear, and universal in its meaning. Take your time with his words. Looking forward to future work by this author.
To re-read again for lessons: No More Than a Bubble, A Lucky Man, Wolf and Rhonda.
Jamel Brinkley can write damn well. He capitalizes on the short story's constrained amount of space by making every sentence vivid, clear, and universal in its meaning. Take your time with his words. Looking forward to future work by this author.
To re-read again for lessons: No More Than a Bubble, A Lucky Man, Wolf and Rhonda.
milesjmoran's review against another edition
3.0
For most people there is a gap, for some a chasm, between the way they dream themselves and the way they are seen by others. That gap might be the truest measure of one's loneliness.
A Lucky Man looks at Black masculinity, the relationships and experiences that ground and bind them, and there is something truly special about Brinkley's writing. His prose is beautiful - not in a heavy handed, overtly flowery way but it's as light as a butterfly wing. The language and imagery he uses is just gorgeous and I can't fault it.
It has been that way with people in my life, with people I have loved: a fine dispersal, a rupture as quiet as two lips parting, a change so sudden one morning, so slight, you wonder if they had ever been beautiful at all.
Nothing happened. It all remained still. He walked around the room, sensing something invisible. But there was only a creepy sensation, like feathers all over his body.
So, why only 3 stars? Out of the 9 stories in this collection, I only truly loved 4 of them: J'ouvert, 1996, I Happy Am, Everything the Mouth Eats and Clifton's Place. The others just didn't speak to me as much, and I found some of the stories just uncomfortable. In one story, the main character is an older man who takes photographs of young women that he sees on public transport or just out and about in the city. Brinkley doesn't condemn or excuse this character, which is good writing, but the story didn't shift my initial feelings - I just remained consistently uncomfortable and I couldn't work out what Brinkley was trying to say here. I also found the way women were discussed in these stories off-putting, especially the character of Rhonda in the story Fat Rhonda. A lot of them didn't feel like people, just silhouettes who are props for their male counterparts to react to and interact with, usually in a sexual or violent way.
Overall, I loved those 4 stories intensely, especially I Happy Am, which I believe is the best and most poignant in the collection. Brinkley is a stunning writer but the other 5 stories left me feeling a bit cold.
A Lucky Man looks at Black masculinity, the relationships and experiences that ground and bind them, and there is something truly special about Brinkley's writing. His prose is beautiful - not in a heavy handed, overtly flowery way but it's as light as a butterfly wing. The language and imagery he uses is just gorgeous and I can't fault it.
It has been that way with people in my life, with people I have loved: a fine dispersal, a rupture as quiet as two lips parting, a change so sudden one morning, so slight, you wonder if they had ever been beautiful at all.
Nothing happened. It all remained still. He walked around the room, sensing something invisible. But there was only a creepy sensation, like feathers all over his body.
So, why only 3 stars? Out of the 9 stories in this collection, I only truly loved 4 of them: J'ouvert, 1996, I Happy Am, Everything the Mouth Eats and Clifton's Place. The others just didn't speak to me as much, and I found some of the stories just uncomfortable. In one story, the main character is an older man who takes photographs of young women that he sees on public transport or just out and about in the city. Brinkley doesn't condemn or excuse this character, which is good writing, but the story didn't shift my initial feelings - I just remained consistently uncomfortable and I couldn't work out what Brinkley was trying to say here. I also found the way women were discussed in these stories off-putting, especially the character of Rhonda in the story Fat Rhonda. A lot of them didn't feel like people, just silhouettes who are props for their male counterparts to react to and interact with, usually in a sexual or violent way.
Overall, I loved those 4 stories intensely, especially I Happy Am, which I believe is the best and most poignant in the collection. Brinkley is a stunning writer but the other 5 stories left me feeling a bit cold.