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The Biology of Luck
Odd-job queen Starshine Hart is about to go on somebody else’s perfect date. At 29, the usually carefree Starshine has realized that it is easier to start sleeping with a man than to stop. Her lovers include one of the last underground members of the Weathermen and the dilettante heir to a lawn chair magnate. Both men have staked their romantic future on her. Her only respite is her impending dinner with the nonthreatening but unattractive tour guide Larry Bloom. But Larry, too, has a stake in her future. He has written a book about their impending dinner in which he fantasizes about Starshine’s life on the day he wins her heart. Juxtaposing moments from Larry’s guided tour of New York City on the June day of his “dream date” with excerpts from the novel in which he imagines Starshine’s concurrent escapades, this inventive structure weaves a highly imaginative love story across all five boroughs. Provocative, funny, and keenly observed, an imagined pilgrimage through the underbelly of Gotham becomes a bold new voice in contemporary American fiction.
220 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
56 people are currently reading
6558 people want to read
About the author
Jacob M. Appel
36 books1,593 followers**Please note: A limited number of complimentary electronic copies of several of my books are available for review. Please email me directly if you are interested**
Jacob M. Appel's first novel, The Man Who Wouldn't Stand Up, won the Dundee International Book Award in 2012. His short story collection, Scouting for the Reaper, won the 2012 Hudson Prize. He has published short fiction in more than two hundred literary journals including Agni, Conjunctions, Gettysburg Review, Southwest Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, and West Branch. His work has been short listed for the O. Henry Award (2001), Best American Short Stories (2007, 2008), Best American Essays (2011, 2012), and received "special mention" for the Pushcart Prize in 2006, 2007, 2011 and 2013.
Jacob holds a B.A. and an M.A. from Brown University, an M.A. and an M.Phil. from Columbia University, an M.S. in bioethics from the Alden March Bioethics Institute of Albany Medical College, an M.D. from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, an M.F.A. in creative writing from New York University, an M.F.A. in playwriting from Queens College, an M.P.H. from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He currently practices psychiatry in New York City.
Jacob M. Appel's first novel, The Man Who Wouldn't Stand Up, won the Dundee International Book Award in 2012. His short story collection, Scouting for the Reaper, won the 2012 Hudson Prize. He has published short fiction in more than two hundred literary journals including Agni, Conjunctions, Gettysburg Review, Southwest Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, and West Branch. His work has been short listed for the O. Henry Award (2001), Best American Short Stories (2007, 2008), Best American Essays (2011, 2012), and received "special mention" for the Pushcart Prize in 2006, 2007, 2011 and 2013.
Jacob holds a B.A. and an M.A. from Brown University, an M.A. and an M.Phil. from Columbia University, an M.S. in bioethics from the Alden March Bioethics Institute of Albany Medical College, an M.D. from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, an M.F.A. in creative writing from New York University, an M.F.A. in playwriting from Queens College, an M.P.H. from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He currently practices psychiatry in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 487 reviews
January 19, 2014
A fun, quick read which grew on me after initial impressions of being too clever for its own good. We are treated to the independent adventures of a man and a woman on a single Spring day in New York who are to meet for a dinner date in the evening. They are self-centered and shallow in many ways, but they have enough verve and impulses toward kindness that I was eager to participate in their evolution.
Leo Bloom is a homely, awkward tour guide who has taken an obsessive fancy for lovely Starshine and schemes how to win her heart through success with his first novel. The young lady of his dreams thrives on marginal jobs and creative approaches for warding off all the men drawn like moths to her flame. She seeks respect and fame, not money or status, and though she has a lot of empathy for the downtrodden and her ailing demented aunt, she is not above using her looks to gain favors.
There are such delightful slices of life and hope in this story, as expressed here with Bloom setting out on his day:
…it’s a beautiful Harlem morning scented with maple blossoms and exotic fruit, and he is happy, happy in the way he knows he knows he can be if he wills away the inevitable and succors himself with the remotest of hopes. That is the purpose of his book, that is the subject of his book. That is the reason that the city rises from its slumber.
The challenge a reader faces is what to make of the structure. The Bloom parts are from an omniscient narrator, while the alternating chapters on Starshine’s day are from Bloom’s manuscript novel. A novel within a novel which Bloom has been working on for two years. We have no choice but to accept that Starshine keeps two dates with her existing lovers on the fateful day we are in with the main narrative on Bloom, one a lawn chair magnate’s heir and the other an aging Weatherman. They are colorful and lively characters, as are many of the minor cast members of this comic and satirical romance. We have no window into inevitable discrepancies between what is made up in Bloom’s novel and their veracity from the perspective in the “true” narrative. The exception is the Armenian florist known to both Bloom and Starshine, the character who espouses the theory of the “biology of luck.” Some may take the book’s structure as gratuitous pomo mind bending. I took Appel’s writing tactic as a source of good dose of whimsy that kept the sappiness quotient down.
A day in the life of a tour guide was a cool way to swim through the five boroughs of New York and get a slice of the paradox of an unsustainable city sustaining itself so well over history. In an interview at the end of the book the author shares how his experience as a tour guide informs his coverage of the subject. There he admits to paying some homage to Joyce’s portrayal of a day in Leopold Bloom’s life in “Ulysses.” He also explains that he made frequent reference to Whitman because he is “the patron saint of New York, of hopeless romance, and of wandering—all of which are at the core of this novel.” When asked why he called the book a postmodern love story, Appel admits a debt to Barthelme and Barth, but notes that mainly “I meant that love itself is ‘postmodern’—hyperaware, ambivalent, fragmented. That’s the world of romance that we live in today.”
The humor in the book never went over the top enough to make me laugh out loud, and the romance and pathos of the story didn’t wrench my emotions extensively. Still it was a playful romp and, by the end of the book, I found I had marked a dozen or so passages for their kernels of truth and beauty. Enough to make me hold good expectations for future books.
This book was provided by the publisher as part of the Goodreads Giveaway program.
Leo Bloom is a homely, awkward tour guide who has taken an obsessive fancy for lovely Starshine and schemes how to win her heart through success with his first novel. The young lady of his dreams thrives on marginal jobs and creative approaches for warding off all the men drawn like moths to her flame. She seeks respect and fame, not money or status, and though she has a lot of empathy for the downtrodden and her ailing demented aunt, she is not above using her looks to gain favors.
There are such delightful slices of life and hope in this story, as expressed here with Bloom setting out on his day:
…it’s a beautiful Harlem morning scented with maple blossoms and exotic fruit, and he is happy, happy in the way he knows he knows he can be if he wills away the inevitable and succors himself with the remotest of hopes. That is the purpose of his book, that is the subject of his book. That is the reason that the city rises from its slumber.
The challenge a reader faces is what to make of the structure. The Bloom parts are from an omniscient narrator, while the alternating chapters on Starshine’s day are from Bloom’s manuscript novel. A novel within a novel which Bloom has been working on for two years. We have no choice but to accept that Starshine keeps two dates with her existing lovers on the fateful day we are in with the main narrative on Bloom, one a lawn chair magnate’s heir and the other an aging Weatherman. They are colorful and lively characters, as are many of the minor cast members of this comic and satirical romance. We have no window into inevitable discrepancies between what is made up in Bloom’s novel and their veracity from the perspective in the “true” narrative. The exception is the Armenian florist known to both Bloom and Starshine, the character who espouses the theory of the “biology of luck.” Some may take the book’s structure as gratuitous pomo mind bending. I took Appel’s writing tactic as a source of good dose of whimsy that kept the sappiness quotient down.
A day in the life of a tour guide was a cool way to swim through the five boroughs of New York and get a slice of the paradox of an unsustainable city sustaining itself so well over history. In an interview at the end of the book the author shares how his experience as a tour guide informs his coverage of the subject. There he admits to paying some homage to Joyce’s portrayal of a day in Leopold Bloom’s life in “Ulysses.” He also explains that he made frequent reference to Whitman because he is “the patron saint of New York, of hopeless romance, and of wandering—all of which are at the core of this novel.” When asked why he called the book a postmodern love story, Appel admits a debt to Barthelme and Barth, but notes that mainly “I meant that love itself is ‘postmodern’—hyperaware, ambivalent, fragmented. That’s the world of romance that we live in today.”
The humor in the book never went over the top enough to make me laugh out loud, and the romance and pathos of the story didn’t wrench my emotions extensively. Still it was a playful romp and, by the end of the book, I found I had marked a dozen or so passages for their kernels of truth and beauty. Enough to make me hold good expectations for future books.
This book was provided by the publisher as part of the Goodreads Giveaway program.
October 14, 2017
I absolutely, without a doubt, wasted my time with this read. I could try to argue with myself that it wasn’t a complete loss because I was able to reduce my to-read list by removing this author’s other books from it, but no, that is a weak ass excuse. It took me a week to get through it (attention span blown about twenty pages in) and I have nothing to show for it except a chuckle at my own expense.
A book has to have one of two things to win my favor, strong characters or a clear voice. I’m not asking for a voice to be like one that I have heard before or for the characters to always be lovable; I am asking for a writing style that pulls me in and doesn’t jerk me along and characters that feel like real people that are standing right in front of me. I just want a story that that removes me from my current reality like magic, I don’t want to see who or what is behind the current pulling the strings.
The writing style for this one was adjective heavy and the words used tended to be from the large and/or rarely used list. An obscure word here and there and I am totally willing to look them up to learn more; when every other sentence is plagued by them then my mind says skim right on by. It didn’t help that there were also a lot of points where random meandering descriptions were inserted for what I assumed to be points of reflection. It’s like the book was trying way too hard to be something that it wasn’t and didn’t need to be.
The character situation was a complete bust. I was unable to accurately picture them in my mind and I did not like a single one. Liking them of course isn't a necessity, but if they have nothing else to offer then it only causes more aggravation. They all came across as melodramatic asses that I chose to honor with a random jerk off motion when the mood suited me. One character in particular absolutely drove me nuts. In fact, I couldn’t even remember her name most of the time so I alternated between Starship and Starshit (I believe her name was Starshine). Between her and Ol’ Plain Jane Larry, I had my fill real quick. So two-dimensional, so annoying, so just teeth grindingly awful. As for the rest, I don’t know how many times I had to back read to see if they had already been introduced and if so, how it all connected to their recent introduction.
I should have quit it at the very beginning and filed it away as a DNF. Looking back now I realize that it was a classic “will they or won’t they” that hooked me and then led me on. SHAME. ON. ME. I’m a grown ass woman who should know better than that. When a guy walks up to you at a bar and asks, “Did you wash those jeans in Windex?” The response is never, ever, “Sure, and now I’m going to hang around to see how this night will end.”
A book has to have one of two things to win my favor, strong characters or a clear voice. I’m not asking for a voice to be like one that I have heard before or for the characters to always be lovable; I am asking for a writing style that pulls me in and doesn’t jerk me along and characters that feel like real people that are standing right in front of me. I just want a story that that removes me from my current reality like magic, I don’t want to see who or what is behind the current pulling the strings.
The writing style for this one was adjective heavy and the words used tended to be from the large and/or rarely used list. An obscure word here and there and I am totally willing to look them up to learn more; when every other sentence is plagued by them then my mind says skim right on by. It didn’t help that there were also a lot of points where random meandering descriptions were inserted for what I assumed to be points of reflection. It’s like the book was trying way too hard to be something that it wasn’t and didn’t need to be.
The character situation was a complete bust. I was unable to accurately picture them in my mind and I did not like a single one. Liking them of course isn't a necessity, but if they have nothing else to offer then it only causes more aggravation. They all came across as melodramatic asses that I chose to honor with a random jerk off motion when the mood suited me. One character in particular absolutely drove me nuts. In fact, I couldn’t even remember her name most of the time so I alternated between Starship and Starshit (I believe her name was Starshine). Between her and Ol’ Plain Jane Larry, I had my fill real quick. So two-dimensional, so annoying, so just teeth grindingly awful. As for the rest, I don’t know how many times I had to back read to see if they had already been introduced and if so, how it all connected to their recent introduction.
I should have quit it at the very beginning and filed it away as a DNF. Looking back now I realize that it was a classic “will they or won’t they” that hooked me and then led me on. SHAME. ON. ME. I’m a grown ass woman who should know better than that. When a guy walks up to you at a bar and asks, “Did you wash those jeans in Windex?” The response is never, ever, “Sure, and now I’m going to hang around to see how this night will end.”
November 17, 2013
This is a very, very good book about two characters who are annoying as hell.
First we have Larry Bloom, a self-described "unattractive man." He will spend his day shepherding a group of Dutch tourists around Manhattan, pointing out the sights, wishing he were elsewhere. His goal is to survive until the evening when his reward will be a date with the luminous Starshine Hart, a woman about whom Bloom has written a novel. She indeed does possess a face that launches ships and inspires fiction. Her day is spent flitting about, hoping that no one will molest her because of her amazing beauty, while also using her looks to exploit the kindness of strange men. (Exceedingly strange men...)
There you have it - basically the things I hate most about both sexes. Women who think that their looks should be enough, and average-looking men who refuse to settle for average-looking women.
Characters do not have to be LIKEABLE, but they do have to be INTERESTING, and despite my wanting to smack them both, Larry and Starshine definitely kept me turning the pages. The fact that the book features wonderful writing had something to do with that as well...
Heads turn as she weaves her way south through Williamsburg. There are the approving smiles of the elderly Italian men playing chess outside their social clubs, the ambivalent leers of the caftaned Hasids returning from their morning prayers. Packs of junior high playboys shower her in catcalls. Papaya vendors whistle under their breaths. From the open window of striped Dodge Darts and glaring purple Chevelles float offers of easy sex, unparalleled sex, of midnight trysts and moonlight weddings and even cold, hard cash. Compliment and insult fuse to the obscene rhythms of longing and lust. In Starshine's wake, ancient women adjust their lipstick in pocket mirrors, young mother's grope for the arms of their male companions, the middle-class white kids who panhandle in herds simulate lovemaking on the street corners. All pay tribute to life's sole universal truth: A beautiful girl on a bicycle is communal property.
I urge you to spend one day in the lives of these two people as they interact with the oddball characters that surround them. Take a whirlwind tour of an amazing city. You may not like the company, but it's a trip you won't soon forget.
First we have Larry Bloom, a self-described "unattractive man." He will spend his day shepherding a group of Dutch tourists around Manhattan, pointing out the sights, wishing he were elsewhere. His goal is to survive until the evening when his reward will be a date with the luminous Starshine Hart, a woman about whom Bloom has written a novel. She indeed does possess a face that launches ships and inspires fiction. Her day is spent flitting about, hoping that no one will molest her because of her amazing beauty, while also using her looks to exploit the kindness of strange men. (Exceedingly strange men...)
There you have it - basically the things I hate most about both sexes. Women who think that their looks should be enough, and average-looking men who refuse to settle for average-looking women.
Characters do not have to be LIKEABLE, but they do have to be INTERESTING, and despite my wanting to smack them both, Larry and Starshine definitely kept me turning the pages. The fact that the book features wonderful writing had something to do with that as well...
Heads turn as she weaves her way south through Williamsburg. There are the approving smiles of the elderly Italian men playing chess outside their social clubs, the ambivalent leers of the caftaned Hasids returning from their morning prayers. Packs of junior high playboys shower her in catcalls. Papaya vendors whistle under their breaths. From the open window of striped Dodge Darts and glaring purple Chevelles float offers of easy sex, unparalleled sex, of midnight trysts and moonlight weddings and even cold, hard cash. Compliment and insult fuse to the obscene rhythms of longing and lust. In Starshine's wake, ancient women adjust their lipstick in pocket mirrors, young mother's grope for the arms of their male companions, the middle-class white kids who panhandle in herds simulate lovemaking on the street corners. All pay tribute to life's sole universal truth: A beautiful girl on a bicycle is communal property.
I urge you to spend one day in the lives of these two people as they interact with the oddball characters that surround them. Take a whirlwind tour of an amazing city. You may not like the company, but it's a trip you won't soon forget.
November 18, 2013
Received through a Goodreads Giveaway
When reading literary fiction it is either hit-or-miss for me. Luckily (no pun intended) The Biology of Luck by Jacob M. Appel was a definite hit and I'm sure nothing I can write in this review will suffice. But... I must try and throw my views on this novel into the fray.
Larry Bloom is in love with Starshine Hart and to prove that love has written a manuscript detailing her day up until the moment they have dinner. This dinner is not like any other because this is the one where he's determined to profess his love for her. And hopefully in return she will do the same. No Larry is not charismatic, memorable, good looking, or rich. He's a man who hopes that the letter he holds in his pocket from the publishing company Stroop & Stone, will seal the deal with Starshine.
The Biology of Luck cleverly alternates between Larry's reality and the fiction of Starshine's life by using situations in his own life to fill in the gaps that he couldn't possibly know unless having been told. The fiction of Starshine's life, Larry's manuscript, is named The Biology of Luck. It is where we are fall victim to the beauty that is Starshine and are introduced to all the people she's left in her wake.
Starshine is a beautiful, bike riding, odd-job queen, who has hopes and dreams of becoming any sort of star (still no pun intended). Aware of her ability to melt hearts, often using it to her advantage when asking money for the Cambodian Children's Fund, also fears the impending doom of those powers fading. I'm never sure I actually like Starshine most of the novel, but I too was drawn to her like every person in this novel seemed to be.
What's most fascinating about this novel is the level of depth given to each character. The characters Larry and Starshine encounter are real and they seem as interesting as our leads. From the insane landlord Bone to the dilettante Colby Parker, Appel seems to have produced a character study on the moving parts of New York. Their interactions and happenings eventually come full circle in both novels culminating in a hilarious scene that is just too good to believe and very romance movie-ish. Among these characters is also an Armenian florist who can determine someone's level of luck in their biology just by looking at them. I would love to hear what my biology says of my luck. Please introduce me to that guy.
Amidst all the chaos that does happen on the day that Larry hopes to win Starshine's heart, is the vivid picture painted of New York by Jacob M. Appel. Larry is a tour guide so this detail could not be ignored. I felt that I came alive just as the patrons of Harlem did in the opening chapter. I have never been to New York but The Biology of Luck restores the incessant need to see its architecture for myself. To encounter the crazies roaming the streets. To have a conversation with people who are the embodiment of unique.
Thank you Jacob M. Appel for writing such an interesting, multilayered novel that does end without resolution. The Biology of Luck leaves a HUGE unanswered question in the end but I'm hoping his next novel (feauturing these characters) will answer it for me. After reading The Biology of Luck I am certain the need to hold on to hope in matters of love and life are what gets us up in the morning. Also, I should really acquaint myself with the poetry of Walt Whitman.
When reading literary fiction it is either hit-or-miss for me. Luckily (no pun intended) The Biology of Luck by Jacob M. Appel was a definite hit and I'm sure nothing I can write in this review will suffice. But... I must try and throw my views on this novel into the fray.
Larry Bloom is in love with Starshine Hart and to prove that love has written a manuscript detailing her day up until the moment they have dinner. This dinner is not like any other because this is the one where he's determined to profess his love for her. And hopefully in return she will do the same. No Larry is not charismatic, memorable, good looking, or rich. He's a man who hopes that the letter he holds in his pocket from the publishing company Stroop & Stone, will seal the deal with Starshine.
The Biology of Luck cleverly alternates between Larry's reality and the fiction of Starshine's life by using situations in his own life to fill in the gaps that he couldn't possibly know unless having been told. The fiction of Starshine's life, Larry's manuscript, is named The Biology of Luck. It is where we are fall victim to the beauty that is Starshine and are introduced to all the people she's left in her wake.
Starshine is a beautiful, bike riding, odd-job queen, who has hopes and dreams of becoming any sort of star (still no pun intended). Aware of her ability to melt hearts, often using it to her advantage when asking money for the Cambodian Children's Fund, also fears the impending doom of those powers fading. I'm never sure I actually like Starshine most of the novel, but I too was drawn to her like every person in this novel seemed to be.
What's most fascinating about this novel is the level of depth given to each character. The characters Larry and Starshine encounter are real and they seem as interesting as our leads. From the insane landlord Bone to the dilettante Colby Parker, Appel seems to have produced a character study on the moving parts of New York. Their interactions and happenings eventually come full circle in both novels culminating in a hilarious scene that is just too good to believe and very romance movie-ish. Among these characters is also an Armenian florist who can determine someone's level of luck in their biology just by looking at them. I would love to hear what my biology says of my luck. Please introduce me to that guy.
Amidst all the chaos that does happen on the day that Larry hopes to win Starshine's heart, is the vivid picture painted of New York by Jacob M. Appel. Larry is a tour guide so this detail could not be ignored. I felt that I came alive just as the patrons of Harlem did in the opening chapter. I have never been to New York but The Biology of Luck restores the incessant need to see its architecture for myself. To encounter the crazies roaming the streets. To have a conversation with people who are the embodiment of unique.
Thank you Jacob M. Appel for writing such an interesting, multilayered novel that does end without resolution. The Biology of Luck leaves a HUGE unanswered question in the end but I'm hoping his next novel (feauturing these characters) will answer it for me. After reading The Biology of Luck I am certain the need to hold on to hope in matters of love and life are what gets us up in the morning. Also, I should really acquaint myself with the poetry of Walt Whitman.
May 19, 2015
"The Biology of Luck" is the 3rd book I've read by Jacob M, Appel.
Jacob must be one of the youngest 'triple-threat-plus'-talents, living in our country today.
Doctor/Lawyer/Writer/New York City certified-professional tour guide...etc etc.
This is a colorful story - with whimsical- characters- which all takes place during 1 ordinary day in New York City.
Are some people born being more lucky than others? Hm???
Turns out, not only is Jacob M. Appel a masterful storyteller.., but seems, his buddy, 'Larry Bloom, ( a star character), doesn't do so bad himself.....
See, they alternate telling stories.... both weaving their storytelling about NYC. beautifully together.
Middle-age-'ordinary' Larry Bloom, leads a Dutch group throughout the city.
That's not all he does... At night he's been writing a novel about the women he is madly in love with. He plans to give her the novel -this same day- during their dinner date. It's a novel about 'her'.
Starshine, (thinking of the play, HAIR, during the 70's), considers Larry her 'pal'-her nerdy friend. She already has at least two other men she loves... Plus, on the drop of a dime, she can use her charm to get men to usually do anything she wants.
She is not expecting Larry to drop the L word to her at dinner.
Larry is a little neurotic...while Starshine a little too overconfident.
.....PERFECT MATCH? Hm?? What will Starshine say to Larry when he spills his heart???
The minor characters are odd... hilarious ..and add richness to this novel--(anti-novel), in the same way a Kosher style delicatessen adds flavor to New York City.
You'll meet Bone, one arm superintendent who can fix anything or get anything done.
Eucalyptus is Starshine's, ivory carving roommate
Ziggy Borasch is a failed writer and mentor
Kalkhazian, the Armenian Florist, ... With very strong opinions.
Peter Smythe. Colby Parker, A Bishop, Jack, etc...
Visit museums, synagogues, gorge on pan-fried blintzes and pierogis, visit the Brooklyn Bridge,
New Amsterdam, Greenwich Village, etc.
Diversity...complexity...art...beauty, love: welcome to NEW YORK CITY!
This one ordinary day--- A little kooky ---is a delightful story...
And a little bit brilliant!!!
Jacob must be one of the youngest 'triple-threat-plus'-talents, living in our country today.
Doctor/Lawyer/Writer/New York City certified-professional tour guide...etc etc.
This is a colorful story - with whimsical- characters- which all takes place during 1 ordinary day in New York City.
Are some people born being more lucky than others? Hm???
Turns out, not only is Jacob M. Appel a masterful storyteller.., but seems, his buddy, 'Larry Bloom, ( a star character), doesn't do so bad himself.....
See, they alternate telling stories.... both weaving their storytelling about NYC. beautifully together.
Middle-age-'ordinary' Larry Bloom, leads a Dutch group throughout the city.
That's not all he does... At night he's been writing a novel about the women he is madly in love with. He plans to give her the novel -this same day- during their dinner date. It's a novel about 'her'.
Starshine, (thinking of the play, HAIR, during the 70's), considers Larry her 'pal'-her nerdy friend. She already has at least two other men she loves... Plus, on the drop of a dime, she can use her charm to get men to usually do anything she wants.
She is not expecting Larry to drop the L word to her at dinner.
Larry is a little neurotic...while Starshine a little too overconfident.
.....PERFECT MATCH? Hm?? What will Starshine say to Larry when he spills his heart???
The minor characters are odd... hilarious ..and add richness to this novel--(anti-novel), in the same way a Kosher style delicatessen adds flavor to New York City.
You'll meet Bone, one arm superintendent who can fix anything or get anything done.
Eucalyptus is Starshine's, ivory carving roommate
Ziggy Borasch is a failed writer and mentor
Kalkhazian, the Armenian Florist, ... With very strong opinions.
Peter Smythe. Colby Parker, A Bishop, Jack, etc...
Visit museums, synagogues, gorge on pan-fried blintzes and pierogis, visit the Brooklyn Bridge,
New Amsterdam, Greenwich Village, etc.
Diversity...complexity...art...beauty, love: welcome to NEW YORK CITY!
This one ordinary day--- A little kooky ---is a delightful story...
And a little bit brilliant!!!
January 23, 2015
“Marriage is like a series of opposing reflections, inverse images getting ever smaller like nesting dolls, each one of your trying to squeeze yourself smaller to fit inside the hopes of the other, until one of you cracks or stops existing.”
----Jacob M. Appel
I don't why I'm so much drawn to marriage quotes which are dark and justifying- not the sugar-coated ones! (PS: I'm not married!) Jacob M. Appel's remarkable quoted from the book, The Biology of Luck delves into the world of a hopeless-romantic tour guide's debut novel that is written about his lady love. Yes, you read it right- a novel inside a novel! And I don't know why, this very idea of novel inside a novel set across all the 5 boroughs of New York reminds of David Gilbert's & Sons ! But every novel has its own story, likewise, Appel's novel thrushes us inside the life of a promiscuous and egotistic woman.
Synopsis:
Odd-job queen Starshine Hart is about to go on somebody else’s perfect date. At 29, the usually carefree Starshine has realized that it is easier to start sleeping with a man than to stop. Her lovers include one of the last underground members of the Weathermen and the dilettante heir to a lawn chair magnate. Both men have staked their romantic future on her. Her only respite is her impending dinner with the nonthreatening but unattractive tour guide Larry Bloom. But Larry, too, has a stake in her future. He has written a book about their impending dinner in which he fantasizes about Starshine’s life on the day he wins her heart. Juxtaposing moments from Larry’s guided tour of New York City on the June day of his “dream date” with excerpts from the novel in which he imagines Starshine’s concurrent escapades, this inventive structure weaves a highly imaginative love story across all five boroughs. Provocative, funny, and keenly observed, an imagined pilgrimage through the underbelly of Gotham becomes a bold new voice in contemporary American fiction.
Starshine is the most beautiful and the most heartless woman who needed a man's company to hear his praises on her looks. But this is not about Starshine's beauty, but it's a comical and scornful love-story of a tour-guide, Larry Bloom, who hated his job and loved his new found love- Starshine and to prove his love for her- he wrote a novel and Appel writes it into two different tone to tell us both the stories- one is his own story and another is Larry's fictional account of his love-story with Starshine.
Honestly, speaking, neither I could relate to Starshine's justifications using her beauty to get money from men nor her ego. Hence, this is the character, I hated the most, but the author, Appel through Bloom's words made me fall for her exquisite beauty. Whereas, on the other hand, Larry is neither handsome, nor someone very striking, but he has a heart of gold and fills his sad yet bright life with stories of Starshine in his manuscript and prays that just like his novel, he too hopes to achieve a happy ending with Starshine, but despite of Bloom's flaws, I liked him with all my heart and at times felt pity for his misery!
The other characters apart from Starshine and Bloom from Starshine's lovers to their crazy landlord to artsy fartsy man to strange-cigarette-love aunt to a super-talented florist to each and every character that Bloom and Starshine encounter in Bloom's fictional novel, are all very much funny, bright and full-of-life. Recently, I heard from one of my close friend, that New York is city where you'll find all kinds of people from funny to dark, and where you'll find lively characters for your novel. Similarly, Appel too captured those strange, satirical and comic ones onto his book to make it humorous and at times, I was laughing out so hard that my stomach started hurting because of those character's demeanor. About the florist- he happens to be the key character in the book- a man who can determine anyone's level of luck in their biology simply by looking at their face.
Larry is a tour guide- so you simply can't those surprising and lesser known tid-bits of the New York City and like me, if you have also never been to The Big Apple, then I assure you that The Biology of Luck will be your best guide in that matter. Appel captures The Big Appel vividly with his evocative words and while reading I felt myself transported to the land of opportunities and hope. Larry felt his job was boring but he describes the NY city so gallantly, that it simply kept me hooked on to this story.
But the book had it's own flaws. The author not only painted the plot in a complex way but also it demands a sharp mind to understand it's multi-layered plot. Hence it's not for everyone, and if you're looking something difficult and takes a longer time to absorb into the essence of the story, then go for this book. The pace is very slow due to it's complicated prose. Yes, the prose is not very simple and is ornate. But it's unusual and quirkiness captivated me till it's very end.
Verdict: If you are a big fan of James Joyce's Ulysses, then you'll love this unusual love-story.
Courtesy: I'm very thankful to the author, for giving me an opportunity to read and review his novel.
----Jacob M. Appel
I don't why I'm so much drawn to marriage quotes which are dark and justifying- not the sugar-coated ones! (PS: I'm not married!) Jacob M. Appel's remarkable quoted from the book, The Biology of Luck delves into the world of a hopeless-romantic tour guide's debut novel that is written about his lady love. Yes, you read it right- a novel inside a novel! And I don't know why, this very idea of novel inside a novel set across all the 5 boroughs of New York reminds of David Gilbert's & Sons ! But every novel has its own story, likewise, Appel's novel thrushes us inside the life of a promiscuous and egotistic woman.
Synopsis:
Odd-job queen Starshine Hart is about to go on somebody else’s perfect date. At 29, the usually carefree Starshine has realized that it is easier to start sleeping with a man than to stop. Her lovers include one of the last underground members of the Weathermen and the dilettante heir to a lawn chair magnate. Both men have staked their romantic future on her. Her only respite is her impending dinner with the nonthreatening but unattractive tour guide Larry Bloom. But Larry, too, has a stake in her future. He has written a book about their impending dinner in which he fantasizes about Starshine’s life on the day he wins her heart. Juxtaposing moments from Larry’s guided tour of New York City on the June day of his “dream date” with excerpts from the novel in which he imagines Starshine’s concurrent escapades, this inventive structure weaves a highly imaginative love story across all five boroughs. Provocative, funny, and keenly observed, an imagined pilgrimage through the underbelly of Gotham becomes a bold new voice in contemporary American fiction.
Starshine is the most beautiful and the most heartless woman who needed a man's company to hear his praises on her looks. But this is not about Starshine's beauty, but it's a comical and scornful love-story of a tour-guide, Larry Bloom, who hated his job and loved his new found love- Starshine and to prove his love for her- he wrote a novel and Appel writes it into two different tone to tell us both the stories- one is his own story and another is Larry's fictional account of his love-story with Starshine.
Honestly, speaking, neither I could relate to Starshine's justifications using her beauty to get money from men nor her ego. Hence, this is the character, I hated the most, but the author, Appel through Bloom's words made me fall for her exquisite beauty. Whereas, on the other hand, Larry is neither handsome, nor someone very striking, but he has a heart of gold and fills his sad yet bright life with stories of Starshine in his manuscript and prays that just like his novel, he too hopes to achieve a happy ending with Starshine, but despite of Bloom's flaws, I liked him with all my heart and at times felt pity for his misery!
The other characters apart from Starshine and Bloom from Starshine's lovers to their crazy landlord to artsy fartsy man to strange-cigarette-love aunt to a super-talented florist to each and every character that Bloom and Starshine encounter in Bloom's fictional novel, are all very much funny, bright and full-of-life. Recently, I heard from one of my close friend, that New York is city where you'll find all kinds of people from funny to dark, and where you'll find lively characters for your novel. Similarly, Appel too captured those strange, satirical and comic ones onto his book to make it humorous and at times, I was laughing out so hard that my stomach started hurting because of those character's demeanor. About the florist- he happens to be the key character in the book- a man who can determine anyone's level of luck in their biology simply by looking at their face.
Larry is a tour guide- so you simply can't those surprising and lesser known tid-bits of the New York City and like me, if you have also never been to The Big Apple, then I assure you that The Biology of Luck will be your best guide in that matter. Appel captures The Big Appel vividly with his evocative words and while reading I felt myself transported to the land of opportunities and hope. Larry felt his job was boring but he describes the NY city so gallantly, that it simply kept me hooked on to this story.
But the book had it's own flaws. The author not only painted the plot in a complex way but also it demands a sharp mind to understand it's multi-layered plot. Hence it's not for everyone, and if you're looking something difficult and takes a longer time to absorb into the essence of the story, then go for this book. The pace is very slow due to it's complicated prose. Yes, the prose is not very simple and is ornate. But it's unusual and quirkiness captivated me till it's very end.
Verdict: If you are a big fan of James Joyce's Ulysses, then you'll love this unusual love-story.
Courtesy: I'm very thankful to the author, for giving me an opportunity to read and review his novel.
December 29, 2013
3.5 Larry is the kind of guy that is easy to overlook, maybe a little nerdy, not very attractive the kind of guy that is often "just a friend." Starshine is in her twenties, bubbly, attractive and has had a multitude of different jobs, her problem, unlike Larry's, is too many men.
Things get complicated though when Larry stakes his entire life on winning Starshine, writing a book that he hopes will win her love.
This novel alternates between chapters of the book, and Larry's quest through New York on the day of his date with Starshine. This is where the dark humor comes in as Larry negotiates the city and its myriad of strange and thought provoking people, its neighborhoods and buildings.. What a wonderful tour of New York this was, and what a interesting literary love story. So different and fun to read. A smart story about relationships and the many strange facets they can take. Does the guy get the girl?
Will just have to read this for yourself to find out.
Things get complicated though when Larry stakes his entire life on winning Starshine, writing a book that he hopes will win her love.
This novel alternates between chapters of the book, and Larry's quest through New York on the day of his date with Starshine. This is where the dark humor comes in as Larry negotiates the city and its myriad of strange and thought provoking people, its neighborhoods and buildings.. What a wonderful tour of New York this was, and what a interesting literary love story. So different and fun to read. A smart story about relationships and the many strange facets they can take. Does the guy get the girl?
Will just have to read this for yourself to find out.
November 11, 2013
What a trip it would be to live in an apartment building with two roomies by the names of Starshine and Eucalyptus. It tends to evoke a certain feel of a time not too many years ago, doesn't it? Throw in a manager by the name of Bone ('not Mr. Bone, not Bone something, just Bone'), the one-armed super of the building who rules with an iron fist, he of the Hawaiian shirts and bolo ties. Starshine is the free spirit who eschews going on any interview requiring that shoes be worn. Eucalyptus dabbles in carving scrimshaw on tusks obtained illegally, and learns history by hoarding death notices of celebrities.
This is the story of Larry Bloom, an older plain-faced man who has set his sights on the effervescent Starshine, with whom he has managed to cadge a dinner date. He means for it to be perfect in every way, making it impossible for her to refuse him. Just friends up to this point, Larry is well aware of the two other men actively vying for Starshine's affections, Colby and Jack (it couldn't have possibly been a coincidence that these are names of cheeses - what fun!). This is to be the day when Starshine will finally look beyond the surface and see Larry's true worth. A NYC tour guide, he is also a budding writer. The novel he has written is interposed with the other chapters of this book and it works beautifully.
The characterizations are striking. Ziggy Borasch and his manic quest to write the Great American Sentence is one. Another is Starshine's Aunt Agatha, resident of a nursing home who insists on hiding cigarettes under her wig and sneaking smokes during the night and who has an affinity for fruit baskets that is different from most folks. From mousy bank officer Hannibal Tuck to P.J. Snipe (great name for a boss!), to the loveless yet aggressive Rita Blatt, to the wonderful all-seeing, all-knowing flower shop owner - each one is a rare treat.
If you value long, lovely sentences full of vivid imagery, you will not be disappointed here. The author had me with the first paragraph. Absolutely loved it and fully intend to read it again. This was a first-reads giveaway, thank you. Excellent work!
This is the story of Larry Bloom, an older plain-faced man who has set his sights on the effervescent Starshine, with whom he has managed to cadge a dinner date. He means for it to be perfect in every way, making it impossible for her to refuse him. Just friends up to this point, Larry is well aware of the two other men actively vying for Starshine's affections, Colby and Jack (it couldn't have possibly been a coincidence that these are names of cheeses - what fun!). This is to be the day when Starshine will finally look beyond the surface and see Larry's true worth. A NYC tour guide, he is also a budding writer. The novel he has written is interposed with the other chapters of this book and it works beautifully.
The characterizations are striking. Ziggy Borasch and his manic quest to write the Great American Sentence is one. Another is Starshine's Aunt Agatha, resident of a nursing home who insists on hiding cigarettes under her wig and sneaking smokes during the night and who has an affinity for fruit baskets that is different from most folks. From mousy bank officer Hannibal Tuck to P.J. Snipe (great name for a boss!), to the loveless yet aggressive Rita Blatt, to the wonderful all-seeing, all-knowing flower shop owner - each one is a rare treat.
If you value long, lovely sentences full of vivid imagery, you will not be disappointed here. The author had me with the first paragraph. Absolutely loved it and fully intend to read it again. This was a first-reads giveaway, thank you. Excellent work!
November 8, 2013
I received this book through the Goodreads contest and I thought it sounded like a very interesting concept, however, I was not a fan of the execution. To be honest, I still don't know if it was the book that was bad or my failure to "get it". I am a pretty simple minded person who likes some fluff to my reads and this just didn't have any to speak of. First of all the language was way to complex, to a point of feeling text book like. The characters were unlikeable, even though I feel like they were written that way, I still like having someone to root for and I felt like New York was more the central character of the book more that any of the people as there was more insight into the city than into Larry or Starshine. The main thing I didn't understand and again it may be my ignorance, the chapters about Larry are supposed to be happening currently, the chapters about Starshine are supposed to be from a novel he has already written and submitted for publishing however all the events coincide with each other the whole time. Is Larry psychic? Did he predict the future? At no point in time does he ever stop and say wow, this is happening exactly like how I have written it. I just didn't get it. The chapters about Starshine I could almost enjoy, the chapters about Larry made me want to bang my head into a wall. Maybe I just need some insight....
October 6, 2014
Quirky and unusual love story with an interesting stylistic twist. The main protagonist of Jacob Appel's The Biology of Luck, Larry Bloom, is your average Joe, the kind of guy women usually friend-zone. Larry's existence is seemingly unremarkable. An aspiring writer trapped in a life of a tour guide for New York City's tourists, Larry dreams of (primarily) two things: getting published and Starshine Hart (an ugly duckling turned swan with some serious commitment issues not just with men and relationships but also with jobs). The Biology of Luck takes us on a (beautifully described) city tour with Larry on the day of his big "date" with Starshine. All of Larry's romantic and writing dreams ride on that dinner date. The story he wrote is an imaginary account of Starshine's day leading up to their date.
I loved the "novel within a novel" format of the book. The adventures of these two oddball characters merge into a coherent narrative, the one in which the reader easily forgets that Starshine they are getting to know is Larry's fictionalized version of her. Larry's New York comes alive in Jacob Appel's descriptions, and it's so easy to imagine yourself taking that tour with him (especially if you've ever been to NYC).
What helped me lose myself even more in this story were the characters that kept showing up in "supporting roles" - Starshine's roommate Eucalyptus, Larry's mentor Ziggy (perpetually on a quest for the perfect American sentence), the menacing omnipotent one-armed super Bone. Yes, it's an army of oddballs, weirdos and maybe even slightly crazy characters. They come together to create a literary space that you become eager to take a tour of.
This book will be pure joy for those readers who have true appreciation of that rare combination of literary talent and memorable (though definitely odd) characters. The Biology of Luck is also a great book club choice - it lends itself beautifully to a number of interesting discussions.
I won a copy of this book through booklikes giveaways (which in no way influenced my experience of reading it).
I loved the "novel within a novel" format of the book. The adventures of these two oddball characters merge into a coherent narrative, the one in which the reader easily forgets that Starshine they are getting to know is Larry's fictionalized version of her. Larry's New York comes alive in Jacob Appel's descriptions, and it's so easy to imagine yourself taking that tour with him (especially if you've ever been to NYC).
What helped me lose myself even more in this story were the characters that kept showing up in "supporting roles" - Starshine's roommate Eucalyptus, Larry's mentor Ziggy (perpetually on a quest for the perfect American sentence), the menacing omnipotent one-armed super Bone. Yes, it's an army of oddballs, weirdos and maybe even slightly crazy characters. They come together to create a literary space that you become eager to take a tour of.
This book will be pure joy for those readers who have true appreciation of that rare combination of literary talent and memorable (though definitely odd) characters. The Biology of Luck is also a great book club choice - it lends itself beautifully to a number of interesting discussions.
I won a copy of this book through booklikes giveaways (which in no way influenced my experience of reading it).
December 9, 2013
Wow, I loved the book. Throughout my reading I thought Holden Caufield meets "Ulysses" and I rather enjoyed this more than Joyce's work! Larry Bloom is a likeable character and the story flowed, I wanted more and the letter? The depictions of NYC in the 70's made me nostalgic for those lost times. Although seedy to say the least, I welcome that over the "Disneyfication" of Times Square! Referencing Bella Abzug and others in that bygone time was genius! The only criticism I have in Mr. Appel's work was the ending, it didn't work for me. Since it was asked in the Afterward, the only ending I was more disappointed by was "The Sopranos!" Book received in "Goodreads Giveaway." I look forward to more books by this author.
April 3, 2014
Ahhh. Literary writing beyond description. The writing is so exceptional, I had to remember to pay attention to the story. This author is a writer's writer. Ordinary people, an ordinary place, a slightly unusual career, and one eventful day, tumbled together with characters and daily ruminations produce a splendid work of art through the amazing creative wordsmith, Jacob Appel.
Quotable lines abound. It is a book within a book, with the main character writing a book about the love of his life in an Indie sort of way. An eventful day interferes with this character's time to plan and daydream about his date at the end of the day. He has two life-critical subjects to broach with his lady.
As the colorful day progresses, relationships and history are revealed, and it appears doubtful any plan by the main characters will come to fruition. The book is delightfully detailed, subtly and boldly by turns, fascinatingly varied.
Jacob, I hope you are working on a sequel because it's unkind to leave us hanging with such a provocative ending. I highly recommend this book to all.
Quotable lines abound. It is a book within a book, with the main character writing a book about the love of his life in an Indie sort of way. An eventful day interferes with this character's time to plan and daydream about his date at the end of the day. He has two life-critical subjects to broach with his lady.
As the colorful day progresses, relationships and history are revealed, and it appears doubtful any plan by the main characters will come to fruition. The book is delightfully detailed, subtly and boldly by turns, fascinatingly varied.
Jacob, I hope you are working on a sequel because it's unkind to leave us hanging with such a provocative ending. I highly recommend this book to all.
November 1, 2013
I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
As a 29-year-old female reading a book (and a book within a book) portraying a complicated 29-year-old female (Starshine) there was definitely part of me that felt a sort of knee-jerk desire to defend Starshine's actions (though to whom I am not sure). And let me say, though, that I think there's a lot to be said for any piece of fiction that elicits strong reactions. My frustrations at/with some of the characters reflect Appel's ability to draw you into the world he creates. This book is meant to be full of very biased impressions of the world. Both Starshine and the male protagonist/author, Larry Bloom, have reflective and self-centered (in the least pejorative sense of the word) narratives paired with the events of the day. [This, in and of itself, I think, is part of the beauty of the book in that it highlights how one person's life-changing moment is but a blip on the radar of the people surrounding them.] In some ways, the map (which I loved- I'm a big fan of maps) is a testament to a pervasive feeling that, regardless of who else occupies the spaces through which we navigate, we live in individual and, at times, seemingly separate worlds. (I lack the eloquence to describe what I'm getting after here- which is one of the reasons I so enjoyed the book.)
This is one of those books that I would certainly recommend and share with friends, especially those who know and love New York (although I do not count myself among this group).
As a 29-year-old female reading a book (and a book within a book) portraying a complicated 29-year-old female (Starshine) there was definitely part of me that felt a sort of knee-jerk desire to defend Starshine's actions (though to whom I am not sure). And let me say, though, that I think there's a lot to be said for any piece of fiction that elicits strong reactions. My frustrations at/with some of the characters reflect Appel's ability to draw you into the world he creates. This book is meant to be full of very biased impressions of the world. Both Starshine and the male protagonist/author, Larry Bloom, have reflective and self-centered (in the least pejorative sense of the word) narratives paired with the events of the day. [This, in and of itself, I think, is part of the beauty of the book in that it highlights how one person's life-changing moment is but a blip on the radar of the people surrounding them.] In some ways, the map (which I loved- I'm a big fan of maps) is a testament to a pervasive feeling that, regardless of who else occupies the spaces through which we navigate, we live in individual and, at times, seemingly separate worlds. (I lack the eloquence to describe what I'm getting after here- which is one of the reasons I so enjoyed the book.)
This is one of those books that I would certainly recommend and share with friends, especially those who know and love New York (although I do not count myself among this group).
November 19, 2013
I wanted to like this book, I really did, but the characters are so wholly unlikable. Larry is a self-centered, whiny and obnoxious jerk, who simultaneously hates himself and thinks he's better than everyone else. While Starshine is a walking contradiction. Just within a few pages she goes from telling us that men are harmless creatures to letting us know how many men have molested her. She doesn't want any attention, she's sick of it, but suddenly she wants it all and uses men to get what she wants. Maybe these characters are so sickening and unappealing because they are too real. When you write about two people with no redeeming qualities, you're either going to receive praise for your ability to capture reality or criticism from the people who want to read books with characters that appear larger than life. This book was just not for me. It's like Teju Cole's "Open City" (brilliant) meshed with Zadie Smith's "White Teeth" (mediocre), but just failing and floundering on so many levels.
September 24, 2013
As usual I received this book free of charge; specifically, through the grace of a LibraryThing monthly giveaway. Despite that kind and frequent consideration, I give my candid opinions below.
"Biology" is an enigmatic little tale of an ugly and unfortunate man. The chapters alternate between the narrative of his real life and chapters from the book he's written, named somewhat concentrically, "The Biology of Luck." His real life is a rather frustrated tale of a man looking for love while book he's written is a highly optimized and optimistic view on the same events.
On the positive side, this book is highly surreal and captures the dichotomy between our real lives and what we would wish them to be. Our main character builds up his book-within-a-book around the life of his prospective lover and an unlikely series of events that it is hoped will bring her ultimately to his arms for good and all. Other reviewers have called this book "funny" but personally I didn't find it funny at all but rather dark and far too easy to relate to. The protagonist is a sad little man who makes one big wish and releases it into the world in book form.
To the negative, I would only warn readers that this is not a typical happy go lucky romance novel. This is very deep, patient and thought provoking work and those looking for fluffy romance or a grand payoff at the end will be disappointed. Read this book when you want to spend a day in contemplation, not for an afternoon by the side of the pool. For some this will be a warning and others a recommendation. I leave it to you to decide which category you fall into.
In summary, this novel is a highly literary and complex tale of love, lust and human desire. It also has a lot to tell us about how we perceive others and exhibits the great talent of the human mind for taking tiny shreds of information about people and weaving them into exorbitant narratives that generally have no relationship whatsoever to reality. Just the sort of book you could read three times and get more and more and more from it on each reading.
"Biology" is an enigmatic little tale of an ugly and unfortunate man. The chapters alternate between the narrative of his real life and chapters from the book he's written, named somewhat concentrically, "The Biology of Luck." His real life is a rather frustrated tale of a man looking for love while book he's written is a highly optimized and optimistic view on the same events.
On the positive side, this book is highly surreal and captures the dichotomy between our real lives and what we would wish them to be. Our main character builds up his book-within-a-book around the life of his prospective lover and an unlikely series of events that it is hoped will bring her ultimately to his arms for good and all. Other reviewers have called this book "funny" but personally I didn't find it funny at all but rather dark and far too easy to relate to. The protagonist is a sad little man who makes one big wish and releases it into the world in book form.
To the negative, I would only warn readers that this is not a typical happy go lucky romance novel. This is very deep, patient and thought provoking work and those looking for fluffy romance or a grand payoff at the end will be disappointed. Read this book when you want to spend a day in contemplation, not for an afternoon by the side of the pool. For some this will be a warning and others a recommendation. I leave it to you to decide which category you fall into.
In summary, this novel is a highly literary and complex tale of love, lust and human desire. It also has a lot to tell us about how we perceive others and exhibits the great talent of the human mind for taking tiny shreds of information about people and weaving them into exorbitant narratives that generally have no relationship whatsoever to reality. Just the sort of book you could read three times and get more and more and more from it on each reading.
November 3, 2013
Larry Bloom is a tour guide by day and a novelist by night. The Biology of Luck switches off chapters between Larry's day as he shepherds tourists around New York and prepares for a date with Starshine Hart that night, and chapters of the novel he's written about Starshine's experience of the same day, preparing for the same date. A sprinkling of magical realism, fueled by Larry's obsession with Starshine, allows the two narratives to bleed into one another, with Larry experiencing the same riots, accidents, and chance encounters he wrote into Starshine's story months before.
What's interesting is how The Biology of Luck plays in the gap between what outsiders know and what those inside truly understand. As Larry roams the city, we get his native New Yorker sense of each neighborhood, the things you only learn from years of living there. We know he's telling the tourists an alternate view of those neighborhoods, canned facts, but we never get to hear his spiel. We get only his intimate, inside view of the city. By contrast, we see Starshine entirely through the novel Larry has written about her and we're left wondering how much of her chapters we can trust, how accurately Larry has portrayed her. Is he the confidante who knows her better than anyone, or the obsessive who worships an image he's built up with little basis in reality? The tension between the two narratives is a reminder that whether we're insiders or outsiders in any given situation, we're only ever able to get half the story.
What's interesting is how The Biology of Luck plays in the gap between what outsiders know and what those inside truly understand. As Larry roams the city, we get his native New Yorker sense of each neighborhood, the things you only learn from years of living there. We know he's telling the tourists an alternate view of those neighborhoods, canned facts, but we never get to hear his spiel. We get only his intimate, inside view of the city. By contrast, we see Starshine entirely through the novel Larry has written about her and we're left wondering how much of her chapters we can trust, how accurately Larry has portrayed her. Is he the confidante who knows her better than anyone, or the obsessive who worships an image he's built up with little basis in reality? The tension between the two narratives is a reminder that whether we're insiders or outsiders in any given situation, we're only ever able to get half the story.
March 26, 2014
This book had potential, but it fell short on keeping my interest. This book is about a guy, Larry, who writes a novel about the woman he's in love with in real life, Starshine. The name Starshine raised a red flag for me, but I tried to ignore that part. Anyway, Larry writes a novel about what he thinks Starshine's life is like based on facts he's learned from being her confidante. Larry is a tour guide in NYC while Starshine is a beautiful, narcissistic woman who attracts men very easily. Each chapter alternates between a day in Larry's life and between chapters in the book he's written about Starshine. It's a book inside of a book. Starshine's fictional life was much more interesting to me than Larry's, so I really only kind of liked half of the book. Larry was kind of a boring guy with a boring job. Starshine was more flawed in her character, but her fictional life and the cast of characters that surround her were much more appealing to me than Larry's story. Appel created interesting characters, but not necessarily likable ones. I think this was part of my dislike of the book. Also, there were too many "big" words. I don't want to have to refer to the dictionary very often while I am reading, it interrupts the story and it's a bit pretentious.
**Spoiler***
The ending was left up to interpretation and I think it's a cop out for authors to do that. It seems like they can't make up their mind on how to end the story and so they take the easy way out. This book would have been much better with a concrete ending.
**Spoiler***
The ending was left up to interpretation and I think it's a cop out for authors to do that. It seems like they can't make up their mind on how to end the story and so they take the easy way out. This book would have been much better with a concrete ending.
March 13, 2015
The Biology of Luck is one of the most joyful books I've read in a long time. By that, I mean that little burst of warmth in your heart you get when reading something truly delightful and enjoyable. I loved every page of this book and couldn't wait to read on, yet also dreaded it coming to an end.
This is an interesting (much abbreviated) modern take on Joyce's Ulysses, with all the action taking place in the course of one day and with the protagonist aptly named 'Bloom'. It manages to turn certain narrative presumptions on their head but still tell the story with exquisitely crafted prose, engaging and endearing characters and a good dose of joie de vivre.
One of the things I loved most about this work was the way the characters were so three-dimensional, believable and so very recognisable that they could easily be you or me. It is that which really draws you into the book right from the first page and holds your attention until the end.
I would reread this book in a heartbeat and would be very keen to read more by this author. This is a stunning work of literary fiction that I can highly recommend.
I received this book as a free review e-copy via the author and publisher.
This is an interesting (much abbreviated) modern take on Joyce's Ulysses, with all the action taking place in the course of one day and with the protagonist aptly named 'Bloom'. It manages to turn certain narrative presumptions on their head but still tell the story with exquisitely crafted prose, engaging and endearing characters and a good dose of joie de vivre.
One of the things I loved most about this work was the way the characters were so three-dimensional, believable and so very recognisable that they could easily be you or me. It is that which really draws you into the book right from the first page and holds your attention until the end.
I would reread this book in a heartbeat and would be very keen to read more by this author. This is a stunning work of literary fiction that I can highly recommend.
I received this book as a free review e-copy via the author and publisher.
October 23, 2013
First I want to thank Mr. Appel for sending me this book through the goodreads giveaway, as well as for writing this novel. I loved every bit of it. Appel's description of New York hit the nail on the head. The literary device of a novel within a novel was brilliant. I spent the entire book dying to read the ending, having this image of starshine in my head built up through Larry Bloom's novel, and eager to see how who she actually was.
Appel's observations on the life of the everyday man, their hopes and aspirations, as well as their downfalls and despairs was spot on.
At first, I merely remarked that it wad a good book, but by the end, I realized how emotionally invested I was in the story of Larry Bloom.
Definitely a recommended read!
Appel's observations on the life of the everyday man, their hopes and aspirations, as well as their downfalls and despairs was spot on.
At first, I merely remarked that it wad a good book, but by the end, I realized how emotionally invested I was in the story of Larry Bloom.
Definitely a recommended read!
January 14, 2014
I won a free copy of The Biology of Luck, but I wish I had bought this book. The Biology of Luck by Jacob Appel is an astounding work of prose that paints a picture of the innate self absorption of the human experience. There are two narratives in this book; the first is a narrative of one day in the life of a tour-guide/aspiring author, Larry Bloom. The second narrative is a novel within a novel about Bloom's love interest, Starshine Hart. Though the characters are drawn as physically very different, their worlds overlap in more than just details; they are both selfish, insecure, socially anxious and unsure of their romantic futures.
Though the characters would be hard put to point out any similarities they share, it is clear that they are less different, intrinsically, than they might suppose. By the end of the book, it is clear that both the protagonist and his love interest feel that they are at the beck and call of every person in their existence, and that they both simply want to be loved and love without giving, relate without being put out. It is hard to tell, however, if Starshine actually feels this way, as it is Bloom who writes her story. It leaves the reader wondering if Bloom is writing himself into her life in an attempt to reveal them similar, and, thus, meant to be.
The day in a life of a self-labeled “homely” tour-guide may not, at first, seem like an entertaining read. And while Bloom is too worried about his chances for literary success and his first date with Starshine to fully process the adventure that Appel creates for him, readers will not miss it and will be irretrievably drawn in. Starshine's story is just as interesting, and made even more complex as it is supposed to be a fictional creation of the self-effacing Bloom. And while Bloom/Appel show an uncanny understanding of what it is to be a beautiful woman, who has the art of getting what she wants with a smile or a tear, but fears the inevitability of age and, with it, natural deterioration, Bloom still throws himself at a woman who he knows is used to people throwing themselves at her, and who tires of it. Her reaction to Bloom's desperate, though beautiful attempt to connect to Starshine can not be controlled by Bloom, though, and will surprise readers.
As you can see from my slightly manic, rambling review, it is hard to put a finger on one aspect, one character, one story that makes this book a fantastic read. And that's because every character, every short story within a story, creates a story that is full of humanity in some of it's most awkward, awful glory. I you have yet to read The Biology of Luck, you are missing out on what is sure to be hailed as the work of the next great American novelist. Read this book, reread this book, and spread the word. Such an aware, wonderfully written text needs a following.
Though the characters would be hard put to point out any similarities they share, it is clear that they are less different, intrinsically, than they might suppose. By the end of the book, it is clear that both the protagonist and his love interest feel that they are at the beck and call of every person in their existence, and that they both simply want to be loved and love without giving, relate without being put out. It is hard to tell, however, if Starshine actually feels this way, as it is Bloom who writes her story. It leaves the reader wondering if Bloom is writing himself into her life in an attempt to reveal them similar, and, thus, meant to be.
The day in a life of a self-labeled “homely” tour-guide may not, at first, seem like an entertaining read. And while Bloom is too worried about his chances for literary success and his first date with Starshine to fully process the adventure that Appel creates for him, readers will not miss it and will be irretrievably drawn in. Starshine's story is just as interesting, and made even more complex as it is supposed to be a fictional creation of the self-effacing Bloom. And while Bloom/Appel show an uncanny understanding of what it is to be a beautiful woman, who has the art of getting what she wants with a smile or a tear, but fears the inevitability of age and, with it, natural deterioration, Bloom still throws himself at a woman who he knows is used to people throwing themselves at her, and who tires of it. Her reaction to Bloom's desperate, though beautiful attempt to connect to Starshine can not be controlled by Bloom, though, and will surprise readers.
As you can see from my slightly manic, rambling review, it is hard to put a finger on one aspect, one character, one story that makes this book a fantastic read. And that's because every character, every short story within a story, creates a story that is full of humanity in some of it's most awkward, awful glory. I you have yet to read The Biology of Luck, you are missing out on what is sure to be hailed as the work of the next great American novelist. Read this book, reread this book, and spread the word. Such an aware, wonderfully written text needs a following.
May 13, 2015
I won this book from a Goodreads giveaway. When I realized that the author and the main character were both New York City tour guides I grew a little skeptical and let the book sit on my shelf for too long. Once I picked it up I had trouble putting it down.
Other reviewers have already sung the book's praises and I won't try to repeat them all. There were a few typos but not enough to be a distraction. Personally I would have preferred a less open ended finish but I see other readers enjoyed it. I was confused by the fact that Starshine's storyline was all "the book within the book". I kept thinking it was really happening in real time. Then near the ending when Larry's life starts intersecting with the characters from his fictionalized version of things.... it gets really confusing. I mean it's cool and all but it's also very messed up. Maybe too much. I think Jacob was trying to do too much here. It was enjoyable and all, but it's a lot to swallow all the what's "real" and what's in "the book within a book" but as long as I didn't try to think too much it was fine.
I have also read Jacob M. Appel's "Phoning Home: Essays" and I will say that I enjoyed "The Biology of Luck" a lot more!
I've put his "Wedding Wipeout" on my "to read" list and I know there are still giveaways for that one. Will be interesting to see how it compares to these 2 titles that I have already read.
Other reviewers have already sung the book's praises and I won't try to repeat them all. There were a few typos but not enough to be a distraction. Personally I would have preferred a less open ended finish but I see other readers enjoyed it. I was confused by the fact that Starshine's storyline was all "the book within the book". I kept thinking it was really happening in real time. Then near the ending when Larry's life starts intersecting with the characters from his fictionalized version of things.... it gets really confusing. I mean it's cool and all but it's also very messed up. Maybe too much. I think Jacob was trying to do too much here. It was enjoyable and all, but it's a lot to swallow all the what's "real" and what's in "the book within a book" but as long as I didn't try to think too much it was fine.
I have also read Jacob M. Appel's "Phoning Home: Essays" and I will say that I enjoyed "The Biology of Luck" a lot more!
I've put his "Wedding Wipeout" on my "to read" list and I know there are still giveaways for that one. Will be interesting to see how it compares to these 2 titles that I have already read.
March 22, 2017
I received this book through a Goodreads Giveaway contest and agreed to give a fair and impartial review.
This book is a love story. Between Larry and Starshine; fictional Starshine and a fictional lawn-chair heir and Starshine and herself. But mostly the love between the author and New York City.
Mr. (Dr. x 2 if you look at the author's many credentials) Appel paints such a wonderful picture of NYC and brings the city to life.
The story takes place over one day and is intertwined with the novel Larry has written in homage to the girl he's obsessed with, Starshine. Larry is told that he has luck in his face yet he does not believe he is lucky at all. Even though the day brings a series of events that spell out Larry's luck to us, the reader, Larry is oblivious to his good fortune.
Starshine skips through life fully aware of how fortunate she is. To the detriment of those around her. We've all had at least one of these in our lives, no?
Because of events happening in my life as I read this, the themes of luck, love and attraction resonated heavily with me. Mr. Appel's writing is lyrical and meaningful. I look forward to reading more of his work.
This book is a love story. Between Larry and Starshine; fictional Starshine and a fictional lawn-chair heir and Starshine and herself. But mostly the love between the author and New York City.
Mr. (Dr. x 2 if you look at the author's many credentials) Appel paints such a wonderful picture of NYC and brings the city to life.
The story takes place over one day and is intertwined with the novel Larry has written in homage to the girl he's obsessed with, Starshine. Larry is told that he has luck in his face yet he does not believe he is lucky at all. Even though the day brings a series of events that spell out Larry's luck to us, the reader, Larry is oblivious to his good fortune.
Starshine skips through life fully aware of how fortunate she is. To the detriment of those around her. We've all had at least one of these in our lives, no?
Because of events happening in my life as I read this, the themes of luck, love and attraction resonated heavily with me. Mr. Appel's writing is lyrical and meaningful. I look forward to reading more of his work.
October 27, 2013
I had the good fortune of receiving this book through a Goodreads giveaway. Guess I must be genotypically homozygous for good luck!!!! It worked on so many levels for me. With "The biology of luck" Jason Appel manages to capture the pulse and emotion of New York City with flawless authenticity in a style we've never seen before. I enjoyed this book even more than Salman Rushdie's "Fury," also about New York City. Like with Rushdie's prose, Jacob can describe the banal and mundane in a way that makes it fresh and captivating. There is one line early in the book where Jacob compares being married to Russian nesting dolls. Somehow, it makes perfect sense! There is a character in the book who searches for the perfect sentence and this novel is full of them. He brings the modern dating scene to life while fleshing out one unique cast of characters. I feel like I know some of these people, especially Starshine Hart. The ending was completely apropos. It’s a quick, engrossing read that I recommend to anyone who enjoys good lit.
February 18, 2015
I was a goodreads first reads winner of the book "The Biology of Luck" by Jacob Appel. this is really two stories. the first is Larry a tour guide in New York City.the second a story about a real life girl in his life named Starshine. Larry writes about Starshine and imagines what her day is like.
this book takes place on one day in New york City. Larry spends his day being a tour guide having many problems occur through out the day on top of being a tour guide. he also spends time imagining about Starshine, a woman he is in love with but she does not realize it. they meet once a week for dinner and today is the day the meet.
This is an imaginative book. I liked it for the most part. Both seemed to have a lot happen to them during one day. the only part that I found a bit annoying was when Larry wrote about Starshine and how she {supposedly} uses tears to get her own way. otherwise this is a good read. I found myself rooting for Larry and Sunshine to get together.
this book takes place on one day in New york City. Larry spends his day being a tour guide having many problems occur through out the day on top of being a tour guide. he also spends time imagining about Starshine, a woman he is in love with but she does not realize it. they meet once a week for dinner and today is the day the meet.
This is an imaginative book. I liked it for the most part. Both seemed to have a lot happen to them during one day. the only part that I found a bit annoying was when Larry wrote about Starshine and how she {supposedly} uses tears to get her own way. otherwise this is a good read. I found myself rooting for Larry and Sunshine to get together.
March 8, 2014
This book is not a fluffy, quick-paced read. It is intense in density, providing an in depth view of the way some individuals perceive their lives to be. It leaned on the premise of a glass 'half-empty' view. I prefer to surround myself with positive energy and the glass 'half-full' attitude.
The chapters alternate between Larry Bloom's humdrum existence and what he imagines Starshine's carefree life is in comparison to his own. It reflected the contradiction between real life and the life the character actually aspired to have.
The copy of the book that I read was paperback in small print version, which is quite normal for most people. Due to a deficiency in my vision, I am more comfortable with a larger print. Therefore, I struggled through reading this book with a magnifying glass; which may have affected my perception somewhat.
Although this book is often thought provoking, much more of it is mind boggling as I attempted to grasp the intended meaning of some of the verbiage that is beyond the expanse of my current vocabulary.
This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation in return, with a request for my opinion. I am in awe by the way that Jacob Appel is able to express himself. My honest opinion is that some people will love this book, as proven by most reviews already posted. And other people will not care for it. Isn't that how life goes?
The chapters alternate between Larry Bloom's humdrum existence and what he imagines Starshine's carefree life is in comparison to his own. It reflected the contradiction between real life and the life the character actually aspired to have.
The copy of the book that I read was paperback in small print version, which is quite normal for most people. Due to a deficiency in my vision, I am more comfortable with a larger print. Therefore, I struggled through reading this book with a magnifying glass; which may have affected my perception somewhat.
Although this book is often thought provoking, much more of it is mind boggling as I attempted to grasp the intended meaning of some of the verbiage that is beyond the expanse of my current vocabulary.
This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation in return, with a request for my opinion. I am in awe by the way that Jacob Appel is able to express himself. My honest opinion is that some people will love this book, as proven by most reviews already posted. And other people will not care for it. Isn't that how life goes?
August 5, 2016
This book was passed on to me by my daughter. I was initially intrigued by the premise of writing a novel about a day in the life of a secret love, and juxiposing that novel into that day in both of their lives as it develops. Just flipping through the book, I was almost overwhelmed by the pronouns. Obviously Jacob M. Appel did not have any of my instructors in Introduction to Writing classes. And the adverbs! Oh, my.
A native New Mexico desertite, I have never had a hankering to visit New York City. Too many people on too little ground. Always in the back of my mind when I think of NYC is the monsterous ant hill on the farm where I was raised. This novel has changed that - The snippits of lore and history and love in the mind and heart of this tour guide Larry make me want to go spend time in the Bronx, the Battery, in Brooklyn. It compels me to view the city from the Brooklyn Bridge or close my eyes and just listen to Harlem wake up.
I enjoyed the character of Starshine. And Larry is everyone I've ever know as far as self-esteem is concerned. And I love that the ending is so ambiquous - we optimists can find our own ending, as can you pessimists. This will be a keeper in my household.
A native New Mexico desertite, I have never had a hankering to visit New York City. Too many people on too little ground. Always in the back of my mind when I think of NYC is the monsterous ant hill on the farm where I was raised. This novel has changed that - The snippits of lore and history and love in the mind and heart of this tour guide Larry make me want to go spend time in the Bronx, the Battery, in Brooklyn. It compels me to view the city from the Brooklyn Bridge or close my eyes and just listen to Harlem wake up.
I enjoyed the character of Starshine. And Larry is everyone I've ever know as far as self-esteem is concerned. And I love that the ending is so ambiquous - we optimists can find our own ending, as can you pessimists. This will be a keeper in my household.
December 28, 2013
I won this in goodreads, but it will not be an easy review for me to write. There are stories within stories. Appel is a NYC sightseeing guide, as is the main character in the book. The main character, Larry, writes a novel for a lady who he loves, Starshine. The Biology of Luck is dedicated to "Rosalie, obviously". Chapters alternate between Larry's world and the book that he has written. As I read the story, I kept thinking that Starshine's novel was reality and perhaps Larry's world was actually Appel's world. Some comments found that annoying, but for me it showed very good characterization. I read more books than I can remember, but this one will stand out. I consider that a good thing, or if you seldom read and would like an author who is capable of the unusual. This is listed as a love story, which almost scared me off, but it doesn't read as such. It could be turned into a series similar to Seinfield, so many side characters and stories.
July 5, 2014
Larry Bloom is a tour guide by day and a writer by night. The Biology of Luck alternates between Larry's day job as a guide for a Dutch tourists, and the chapters of the novel he has written about the girl of his dreams (Starshine) and her travails on the same day. The entire book is about this one day, leading up to their evening date. Interestingly, the two narratives bleed into one another, at numerous points with the two main characters experiencing the same riot, accidents, and chance encounters. Appel's descriptive writing is magical at times, especially for native NYers as he captures the charms or ills of various neighborhoods.
October 30, 2014
This review was first published at Scrivenerscreed.com
Appel in Bloom
When Jacob Appel solicited me for a review of The Biology of Luck, I was surprised anyone had so quickly discovered this obscure corner of cyberspace, only erected weeks ago. He supplied a link to Elephant Rock Books, a publication with which I had no familiarity. Surprise morphed to suspicion as the link rather comically enumerated his umpteen degrees. I knew it, I thought, I’ve opened myself to the neurotic, disembodied world wide web and consigned myself to e-mails from delusional “psychiatrists.” It’s only a matter of time until I’m solicited by truthers, phrenologists, Elvis.
Delving deeper, I unearthed a perfectly charming interview and a podcast featuring Aimee Bender (author of Willful Creatures). I was relieved to find Appel’s authenticity confirmed. I accepted his offer, and soon received quite a handsome tome: well crafted with quality paper and a casually designed fold-out map. (I’m a sucker for cartography.)
The map, met quickly by the introduction of the protagonist as Larry Bloom instantly brought to mind Joyce. This being an ambitious association to draw in the reader’s mind, I fixed a drink and straightened my back, intrigued, ambivalent: Well, let’s get to it.
Allow me to introduce you to some of his finer prose. Here’s an early description of Starshine, the love interest of Larry Bloom:
A fine moisture clings to the air: it limns her honey-colored hair and wilts the bandanna around her neck; it gilds the handlebars of her Higgins with a patina of cold droplets.
His descriptions of New York City are just as rich:
...he is free to talk over the crowd, through them, to address his wisdom to the whole expanse of lower Manhattan, to the stalagmitic towers of granite and glass, letting his words reverberate through the bowels of world capitalism and reach the distant peaks of the Times Tower and the Empire State Building.
Like all exceptional wordsmithing, Appel’s Biology both pays homage to the work it succeeds, and develops its own spirit, avoiding both idol worship and self-conscious contrivance. Any question of comparison quickly melted away to the work itself: a story alternating between the day Larry Bloom, a plain placid New York City tour guide, expresses his love to Starshine, a woman with whom everyone is infatuated, and the novel he wrote about her day before the evening he proclaims his love. The story is driven primarily by the question of the letter, which Larry received from a publisher containing their decision on his manuscript. He’s resolved to keep it sealed until dinner with Starshine, investing all his hopes in the fate of a single evening.
This entices the reader through to the conclusion, but it raises a peculiar and perhaps worrisome circumstance: Starshine, from front to back, hasn’t spoken a word of her own. She’s given half the narrative, but only the narrative written by Larry. I don’t believe I’m spoiling anything when I say the final chapter, the dinnertime showdown, is a chapter from Larry’s novel.
This raises an interesting dilemma: When Starshine, a woman simultaneously over and underwhelmed by romantic attention, is propositioned by Larry, wouldn’t it stand to her character, or anyone for that matter, to wonder about the contents of the manuscript itself, published or not? Larry isn’t out of danger if his manuscript is published; it still stands the risk of being rejected by Starshine. For that matter, how romantic can such research be, especially under the looming possibility that Larry has grotesquely misrepresented her?
If Starshine is anything like Larry described her, it’s hardly plausible she would make such an accommodating gesture. Ironically, if Larry has Starshine totally wrong (and therefore, we have her wrong) he may yet stand a chance. This leads to a rather sinister conclusion: If we take Larry’s writing as an accurate representation of how he perceives Starshine (and we ought to, since the crafting itself is quite exceptional), he wins her if he doesn’t apprehend her, but he loses her if he does. The thought of it is much like looking into a lover’s eye so long and deep, you begin to believe you’re at the point of absolute convergence, when all of a sudden the simple fact strikes you that the most intimate communication is also the limit of communication, your ultimate isolation.
There are incremental preludes to this complication, namely the seeming ubiquitous focus on how physical appearance determines fate, which at best is a minor quirk and at worst a tedious distraction. It stands to reason that such a repetitive albeit venal interest would arise in a love-story really only told from the perspective of one party.
Another option remains, however. Consider the novel’s devotion: “To Rosalie, obviously.” One may reasonably infer that the very text pried by one’s thumb is an artifact of another love story altogether, perhaps from a similar “real” dinner. (Starshine is not a far cry from Rosalie, after all. Had our coy novelist delivered a bouquet of starflowers?) In this view we’re removed from the question of Starshine’s decision and instead led to wonder about other “more real” possibilities–
We’re met with the possibility that the novel within the novel is a–pardon–novel gesture of love, and the very novel itself is a novel gesture to, theoretically, Rosalie. Perhaps that’s a stretch, but one pleasure of reading Appel’s work is the opportunity to pose these kinds of elevated questions.
There are some thematic ambivalences which ought to have been more decisive. For instance, a political rally is aptly depicted as a sort of frenzied circus show. Later, Jack Bascomb, a suitor of Starshine, is portrayed as something like the grotesque mutation of a soixante-huitard, a man living in the past, both cursing and hailing it. These two images of the left taken together, an incoherent present and glorification of a defeated past, while perceptive, fails to assign a future. While I would regret any politicization of literature per se, literature is political. Biology has no gripes with that fact, but also fails to take anything but a cynical and therefore conceptually basic perspective on the matter. Reflecting back, I wonder if some sophistication of theme was sacrificed for deft, plaited story telling.
Nonetheless, Biology comes highly recommended by this humble reviewer for it’s exacting prose, memorable characters, and innovative story structure. It’s a work of promise, and is the reason I’ll be looking forward to Dr. Appel’s future literary exploits.
Appel in Bloom
When Jacob Appel solicited me for a review of The Biology of Luck, I was surprised anyone had so quickly discovered this obscure corner of cyberspace, only erected weeks ago. He supplied a link to Elephant Rock Books, a publication with which I had no familiarity. Surprise morphed to suspicion as the link rather comically enumerated his umpteen degrees. I knew it, I thought, I’ve opened myself to the neurotic, disembodied world wide web and consigned myself to e-mails from delusional “psychiatrists.” It’s only a matter of time until I’m solicited by truthers, phrenologists, Elvis.
Delving deeper, I unearthed a perfectly charming interview and a podcast featuring Aimee Bender (author of Willful Creatures). I was relieved to find Appel’s authenticity confirmed. I accepted his offer, and soon received quite a handsome tome: well crafted with quality paper and a casually designed fold-out map. (I’m a sucker for cartography.)
The map, met quickly by the introduction of the protagonist as Larry Bloom instantly brought to mind Joyce. This being an ambitious association to draw in the reader’s mind, I fixed a drink and straightened my back, intrigued, ambivalent: Well, let’s get to it.
Allow me to introduce you to some of his finer prose. Here’s an early description of Starshine, the love interest of Larry Bloom:
A fine moisture clings to the air: it limns her honey-colored hair and wilts the bandanna around her neck; it gilds the handlebars of her Higgins with a patina of cold droplets.
His descriptions of New York City are just as rich:
...he is free to talk over the crowd, through them, to address his wisdom to the whole expanse of lower Manhattan, to the stalagmitic towers of granite and glass, letting his words reverberate through the bowels of world capitalism and reach the distant peaks of the Times Tower and the Empire State Building.
Like all exceptional wordsmithing, Appel’s Biology both pays homage to the work it succeeds, and develops its own spirit, avoiding both idol worship and self-conscious contrivance. Any question of comparison quickly melted away to the work itself: a story alternating between the day Larry Bloom, a plain placid New York City tour guide, expresses his love to Starshine, a woman with whom everyone is infatuated, and the novel he wrote about her day before the evening he proclaims his love. The story is driven primarily by the question of the letter, which Larry received from a publisher containing their decision on his manuscript. He’s resolved to keep it sealed until dinner with Starshine, investing all his hopes in the fate of a single evening.
This entices the reader through to the conclusion, but it raises a peculiar and perhaps worrisome circumstance: Starshine, from front to back, hasn’t spoken a word of her own. She’s given half the narrative, but only the narrative written by Larry. I don’t believe I’m spoiling anything when I say the final chapter, the dinnertime showdown, is a chapter from Larry’s novel.
This raises an interesting dilemma: When Starshine, a woman simultaneously over and underwhelmed by romantic attention, is propositioned by Larry, wouldn’t it stand to her character, or anyone for that matter, to wonder about the contents of the manuscript itself, published or not? Larry isn’t out of danger if his manuscript is published; it still stands the risk of being rejected by Starshine. For that matter, how romantic can such research be, especially under the looming possibility that Larry has grotesquely misrepresented her?
If Starshine is anything like Larry described her, it’s hardly plausible she would make such an accommodating gesture. Ironically, if Larry has Starshine totally wrong (and therefore, we have her wrong) he may yet stand a chance. This leads to a rather sinister conclusion: If we take Larry’s writing as an accurate representation of how he perceives Starshine (and we ought to, since the crafting itself is quite exceptional), he wins her if he doesn’t apprehend her, but he loses her if he does. The thought of it is much like looking into a lover’s eye so long and deep, you begin to believe you’re at the point of absolute convergence, when all of a sudden the simple fact strikes you that the most intimate communication is also the limit of communication, your ultimate isolation.
There are incremental preludes to this complication, namely the seeming ubiquitous focus on how physical appearance determines fate, which at best is a minor quirk and at worst a tedious distraction. It stands to reason that such a repetitive albeit venal interest would arise in a love-story really only told from the perspective of one party.
Another option remains, however. Consider the novel’s devotion: “To Rosalie, obviously.” One may reasonably infer that the very text pried by one’s thumb is an artifact of another love story altogether, perhaps from a similar “real” dinner. (Starshine is not a far cry from Rosalie, after all. Had our coy novelist delivered a bouquet of starflowers?) In this view we’re removed from the question of Starshine’s decision and instead led to wonder about other “more real” possibilities–
We’re met with the possibility that the novel within the novel is a–pardon–novel gesture of love, and the very novel itself is a novel gesture to, theoretically, Rosalie. Perhaps that’s a stretch, but one pleasure of reading Appel’s work is the opportunity to pose these kinds of elevated questions.
There are some thematic ambivalences which ought to have been more decisive. For instance, a political rally is aptly depicted as a sort of frenzied circus show. Later, Jack Bascomb, a suitor of Starshine, is portrayed as something like the grotesque mutation of a soixante-huitard, a man living in the past, both cursing and hailing it. These two images of the left taken together, an incoherent present and glorification of a defeated past, while perceptive, fails to assign a future. While I would regret any politicization of literature per se, literature is political. Biology has no gripes with that fact, but also fails to take anything but a cynical and therefore conceptually basic perspective on the matter. Reflecting back, I wonder if some sophistication of theme was sacrificed for deft, plaited story telling.
Nonetheless, Biology comes highly recommended by this humble reviewer for it’s exacting prose, memorable characters, and innovative story structure. It’s a work of promise, and is the reason I’ll be looking forward to Dr. Appel’s future literary exploits.
December 5, 2013
Appel's sophomore novel is a lovely and adroit read, at once an ode to New York City and a story about human longing within its boundaries.
Larry Bloom is one of Manhattan's many unsung inhabitants, a tour guide with aspirations to literary, and romantic, greatness. The focus of his romantic interest is Starshine, a beautiful and, from his perspective, unattainable free-spirit.
For Starshine, and in a bid to distinguish himself from the masses who share his dreams, he's written a novel, "The Biology of Luck". It is once a tribute to her and an assurance that she's been seen--that the things which haunt her, that her deepest fears, have not gone unnoticed by those who adore her, and that there are those who wish to offer her real respite.
Despite Starshine's beauty, despite the fact that eyes are always on her, Larry seems convinced that her life is absent the intimacy which he's also lacking; he hopes that presenting her with the accepted manuscript will bridge the gap.
The reader never gets to see how closely Bloom's Starshine resembles the woman herself. As Larry Bloom moves through his day, herding tourists across the city and waiting for his date with her, she's never encountered, and is never given room to self-establish.
Appel so perfectly captures human loneliness via this device; the meta-narrative seeks to encapsulate real Starshine, but is its heroine someone Starshine would recognize? Would she receive Larry's manuscript as a gift, read it as insightful, or is it voyeuristic and presumptuous? The reader has to guess. (Larry's own guess is reserved for the last pages of his, and Appel's, novel.)
Appel's novel is linguistically sophisticated, his characters and story both bold and self-doubting. A true treat to read.
Larry Bloom is one of Manhattan's many unsung inhabitants, a tour guide with aspirations to literary, and romantic, greatness. The focus of his romantic interest is Starshine, a beautiful and, from his perspective, unattainable free-spirit.
For Starshine, and in a bid to distinguish himself from the masses who share his dreams, he's written a novel, "The Biology of Luck". It is once a tribute to her and an assurance that she's been seen--that the things which haunt her, that her deepest fears, have not gone unnoticed by those who adore her, and that there are those who wish to offer her real respite.
Despite Starshine's beauty, despite the fact that eyes are always on her, Larry seems convinced that her life is absent the intimacy which he's also lacking; he hopes that presenting her with the accepted manuscript will bridge the gap.
The reader never gets to see how closely Bloom's Starshine resembles the woman herself. As Larry Bloom moves through his day, herding tourists across the city and waiting for his date with her, she's never encountered, and is never given room to self-establish.
Appel so perfectly captures human loneliness via this device; the meta-narrative seeks to encapsulate real Starshine, but is its heroine someone Starshine would recognize? Would she receive Larry's manuscript as a gift, read it as insightful, or is it voyeuristic and presumptuous? The reader has to guess. (Larry's own guess is reserved for the last pages of his, and Appel's, novel.)
Appel's novel is linguistically sophisticated, his characters and story both bold and self-doubting. A true treat to read.
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