Are You Ready to Be Lucky?

by Rosemary Nixon

Are You Ready To Be Lucky? If so, meet Roslyn, a spirited divorcée eager for new beginnings. Meet Duncan, a British conman with a penchant for collecting ex-wives. Meet Floyd, a hard-living contractor who can fix anyone’s house but his own. Irritating, vulnerable, hopeful, they ricochet off one another, trailing a mess of family and friends, all of them trying to beat the odds and find happiness. With razor-sharp wit, Rosemary Nixon takes on the chaos and absurdity of friendship, marriage, divorce, and betrayal—and the heart-pounding, breathtaking, always astonishing complexities of luck and love.

“Hilarious, charging, gorgeous. There is so much to admire in a Rosemary Nixon story it’s hard to know where to begin.” – Lisa Moore, author of Caught and February

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

232 pages, Paperback

First published August 27, 2013

Reviews

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rosemary Nixon is a brilliant writer. Our main character of Are You Ready to Be Lucky? is Roslyn, who has always played it safe--married at 19, baby at 20, finds herself divorced at 42. No longer willing to leave her happiness to chance, she's determined to find it for herself--to MAKE it for herself. And along the way we get glimpses into the lives of everyone around her--in their own way, everyone is trying to do the same thing, to be lucky, to be happy, to keep playing the game. These characters don't allow themselves regret; they need to move on in relentless, reckless pursuit--of something that could be just over the next horizon.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Are You Ready to be Lucky' by Rosemary Nixon follows a number of characters through their experience with relationships, divorce, dating, marriage, and finding themselves. Roslyn is the most consistent character and she pretty much explores all five themes! The book is well written and the characters quirky. Some characters the reader will connect with and others they may wish fictional harm to! Nixon paints a realistic portrait of love...not everyone wins, even if they are hoping to be lucky. This book is not your typical romance, so if that is what you are hoping for you are likely to be disappointed. Alternatively, if you are looking for something a little more life-like and quirky try adding 'Are You Ready to be Lucky' to your bookshelf.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my favorite book of the summer! I liked Ms. Nixon's narrative style. Her vivid prose, which details scenes that are both key to moving the narrative along and part of a well designed background, shifts quickly from scene to scene allowing the reader to fill in the missing pieces. The characters are revealed slowly, over time and in different relationships. It is a realistic and believable story with an unexpected but, on reflection, not surprising ending. Thoroughly enjoyable and very well written.

[Gisela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book and admired the way the author refused to oversimplify the realities of life in all its complexities, absurdities, and unexpected detours. At its core, it's a story about various characters' pursuit of happiness along an unknown and winding road -- but none of those characters have anything even resembling a road map to help them along the way, so they often find themselves in a place they never expected to be. A funny, sad, yet somehow hopeful book -- very memorable!

[Suwelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I loved the main character and her willingness to find happiness in a way it was kind off inspirational to me. Great work to the author.

[Julienne]

Look for my upcoming review in The Winnipeg Review online.

[Lise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moments of brilliance yet I am not eagerly looking for another book by this author.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting format to this book -- a novel told through a series of connected short stories. Not 100% my thing, but very good for people more into literary-type stuff.