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A review by booksrachelreads
A Lucky Man by Jamel Brinkley
3.0
This is impressive as a debut short story collection. I can tell the author gave everything to this book and cares so deeply for these characters to be given a voice
Jamel is AMAZING at writing intense and real main characters in each of these stories. The male leads were so descriptive and fully human. You could tell he put his whole heart into them and wasn’t trying to make them likeable or unlikeable, but was just trying to write them authentically. I was very impressed with that and the way that he showcased the complicated relationships that existed for them as they were coming into their own identity
That being said, I felt like each of these stories was building towards something that never got there for me. There was suspense and anticipation in each one but it felt like nothing happened and they ended abruptly. I can’t applaud his writing and creation of characters enough but that didn’t translate well to the plot of these stories from my perspective
Also, I understand that this is a collection based on the experience and development of black masculinity, but the female characters mostly felt shallow and under-developed to me. They were often described in over-sexualized and almost carnal ways which didn’t sit well with me and affected my overall experience
I don’t have a ton of history reading short stories, so I think my brain is still learning how to appreciate them for what they are. I would recommend this if you enjoy collections that are very character driven with strongly written leads and gorgeous prose
Jamel is AMAZING at writing intense and real main characters in each of these stories. The male leads were so descriptive and fully human. You could tell he put his whole heart into them and wasn’t trying to make them likeable or unlikeable, but was just trying to write them authentically. I was very impressed with that and the way that he showcased the complicated relationships that existed for them as they were coming into their own identity
That being said, I felt like each of these stories was building towards something that never got there for me. There was suspense and anticipation in each one but it felt like nothing happened and they ended abruptly. I can’t applaud his writing and creation of characters enough but that didn’t translate well to the plot of these stories from my perspective
Also, I understand that this is a collection based on the experience and development of black masculinity, but the female characters mostly felt shallow and under-developed to me. They were often described in over-sexualized and almost carnal ways which didn’t sit well with me and affected my overall experience
I don’t have a ton of history reading short stories, so I think my brain is still learning how to appreciate them for what they are. I would recommend this if you enjoy collections that are very character driven with strongly written leads and gorgeous prose