A review by pkhodak
The Biology of Luck by Jacob M. Appel
3.0
While I have read books featuring alternating chapters with parallel story lines I have never quite read anything like this book. The Biology of Luck is a quirky, interesting and captivating novel about the more than ordinary Larry Bloom.
Larry works as a NYC tour guide and has fallen in love with the odd, beautiful, and unconventional Starshine. Starshine does not want a job in which they will not hire her if she is barefoot. She rides a bike, lives with a roommate named Eucalyptus, has two lovers, and desires to be famous. Larry, feeling his ordinary appearance and personality are no match for Starshine decides to write a novel about the day that Larry professes his love to her. The Biology of Luck alternates between the novel that Larry wrote for Starshine and Larry's day before he has his date with her.
To be honest, it took me a little while to really get into the book. The dense and overly descriptive language often rants on and drags for a while and dampens climactic moments. However, there is a hugely poetic quality to the work. I find it clever and funny that while Larry is writing a novel about Starshine's day before their date we as the reader are reading a novel about Larry's day before his date. It brings up the question if Starshine is even real or a figment of Larry's imagination. Did he conjure her up in his novel and want her to be real? We never get to experience the world from Starshine's perspective except for the chapters from Larry's novel so we have no way of really knowing. Even the novel and Larry's day begin to blur together as details, events, and people cross over from one "world" to the next.
Overall, it makes for a captivating and unique read. The plot is interesting and creative. While the language used in the book is sometimes a barrier to understanding, it is often beautiful at times giving insight into characters and helping to uniquely capture the beauty and dirt of NYC. The characters are extremely well developed and feel like complete, and real people to me. Even the minor characters have their own plausible backstories and lives. Though the author claims they are not based on real people, it would not shock me if any of the characters really are people living in NYC. Their quirks and details just help to add to the character of the novel and of New York. I feel like I could be a part of Larry's tour around the city, potentially running into some of these people. The book also deals with serious themes such as beauty and weight problems, suicide, death, being forgotten. The characters seem more real when they have their own serious issues to deal with.
The Biology of Luck is unlike any other book I have read. Its unique writing style, plot, and almost poetic feel make it a dense, but great read. I enjoyed the story and getting to know the characters and living a day in the life of Larry/Starshine.
Larry works as a NYC tour guide and has fallen in love with the odd, beautiful, and unconventional Starshine. Starshine does not want a job in which they will not hire her if she is barefoot. She rides a bike, lives with a roommate named Eucalyptus, has two lovers, and desires to be famous. Larry, feeling his ordinary appearance and personality are no match for Starshine decides to write a novel about the day that Larry professes his love to her. The Biology of Luck alternates between the novel that Larry wrote for Starshine and Larry's day before he has his date with her.
To be honest, it took me a little while to really get into the book. The dense and overly descriptive language often rants on and drags for a while and dampens climactic moments. However, there is a hugely poetic quality to the work. I find it clever and funny that while Larry is writing a novel about Starshine's day before their date we as the reader are reading a novel about Larry's day before his date. It brings up the question if Starshine is even real or a figment of Larry's imagination. Did he conjure her up in his novel and want her to be real? We never get to experience the world from Starshine's perspective except for the chapters from Larry's novel so we have no way of really knowing. Even the novel and Larry's day begin to blur together as details, events, and people cross over from one "world" to the next.
Overall, it makes for a captivating and unique read. The plot is interesting and creative. While the language used in the book is sometimes a barrier to understanding, it is often beautiful at times giving insight into characters and helping to uniquely capture the beauty and dirt of NYC. The characters are extremely well developed and feel like complete, and real people to me. Even the minor characters have their own plausible backstories and lives. Though the author claims they are not based on real people, it would not shock me if any of the characters really are people living in NYC. Their quirks and details just help to add to the character of the novel and of New York. I feel like I could be a part of Larry's tour around the city, potentially running into some of these people. The book also deals with serious themes such as beauty and weight problems, suicide, death, being forgotten. The characters seem more real when they have their own serious issues to deal with.
The Biology of Luck is unlike any other book I have read. Its unique writing style, plot, and almost poetic feel make it a dense, but great read. I enjoyed the story and getting to know the characters and living a day in the life of Larry/Starshine.