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A Handbook to Luck
From the acclaimed author of Monkey Hunting (“A miracle of poetic compression . . . An epic of anecdotes, a vista of brief and beautiful glimpses” — Los Angeles Times Book Review ), a lyrical, haunting, deeply moving new novel.
Late 1960s. We meet three Enrique Florit, from Cuba, living in southern California with his flamboyant magician father . . . Marta Claros, getting by in the slums of San Salvador, forced to leave school to help support her family, her beloved older brother having already left home . . . Leila Rezvani, a well-to-do surgeon’s daughter in Tehran, her mother concerned only with appearances, her father an often foolishly vocal opponent of the Shah.
As we follow them across the next twenty years—the narrative moving among their lives—we see Enrique, a math whiz from a young age, sacrificing his dream of attending MIT to filial duty, and the dream of passionate love to the exigencies of reality . . . Marta, fleeing war in El Salvador, making her way illegally into the United States and finding wholly unexpected possibilities . . . Leila, allowing the expectations of her mother to pull her into an arranged marriage and the constricted life of women in postrevolutionary Iran. We see chance draw Leila and Marta into Enrique’s life—Leila and Enrique loving and losing each other, Marta the means to renewed hope for Enrique—and, throughout, “good luck or bad tilting life one way or another” for all of them.
With its cast of vividly drawn characters, its graceful movement through time and the psychological shifts between childhood and adulthood, and its subtle revelation of the essential hopes and doubts of ordinary people whose lives are made extraordinary by circumstance both tragic and joyful, A Handbook to Luck is Cristina García’s most beautiful, elegiac, and deeply emotional novel yet.
Late 1960s. We meet three Enrique Florit, from Cuba, living in southern California with his flamboyant magician father . . . Marta Claros, getting by in the slums of San Salvador, forced to leave school to help support her family, her beloved older brother having already left home . . . Leila Rezvani, a well-to-do surgeon’s daughter in Tehran, her mother concerned only with appearances, her father an often foolishly vocal opponent of the Shah.
As we follow them across the next twenty years—the narrative moving among their lives—we see Enrique, a math whiz from a young age, sacrificing his dream of attending MIT to filial duty, and the dream of passionate love to the exigencies of reality . . . Marta, fleeing war in El Salvador, making her way illegally into the United States and finding wholly unexpected possibilities . . . Leila, allowing the expectations of her mother to pull her into an arranged marriage and the constricted life of women in postrevolutionary Iran. We see chance draw Leila and Marta into Enrique’s life—Leila and Enrique loving and losing each other, Marta the means to renewed hope for Enrique—and, throughout, “good luck or bad tilting life one way or another” for all of them.
With its cast of vividly drawn characters, its graceful movement through time and the psychological shifts between childhood and adulthood, and its subtle revelation of the essential hopes and doubts of ordinary people whose lives are made extraordinary by circumstance both tragic and joyful, A Handbook to Luck is Cristina García’s most beautiful, elegiac, and deeply emotional novel yet.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
35 people are currently reading
463 people want to read
About the author
Cristina García
120 books366 followersAfter working for Time Magazine as a researcher, reporter, and Miami bureau chief, García turned to writing fiction. Her first novel, Dreaming in Cuban (1992), received critical acclaim and was a finalist for the National Book Award. She has since published her novels The Agüero Sisters (1997) and Monkey Hunting (2003), and has edited books of Cuban and other Latin American literature. Her fourth novel, A Handbook to Luck, was released in hardcover in 2007 and came out in paperback in April 2008.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
November 10, 2008
Cristina Garcia created three likable, colorful characters, any of which had the potential for a great novel on his/her own. Then she inexplicably placed them all in the same novel and switched back and forth between their stories. The result is that we never really get to know any of them or their stories very well. Huge chunks of time are skipped over, and we reenter their lives feeling like we missed too much. There's never any sense as to why they're all in the same book, although they do interact somewhat as the book progresses. I have no idea why she chose that title, either. I was left with that "huh?" feeling at the end.
However, I think Garcia has some admirable writing skills and I'm willing to give her another chance in a different book.
However, I think Garcia has some admirable writing skills and I'm willing to give her another chance in a different book.
May 29, 2015
this is one of those books i picked up while wandering the news books area of green library - judging a book by its cover! it's one of my favorite ways to find books at the library.
it turned out to be wonderful - so expressive and you really get invested in the characters, wanting to know how things turn out. the three characters are so different and they all start as children, a poor girl from san salvador, a cuban boy raised in las vegas by a magician father and a rich girl from tehran living in santa monica before returning to iran for an arranged marriage. this book has soul and my only criticism is that i was left wanting more to find some closure on their stories, but that's not life, is it?
it turned out to be wonderful - so expressive and you really get invested in the characters, wanting to know how things turn out. the three characters are so different and they all start as children, a poor girl from san salvador, a cuban boy raised in las vegas by a magician father and a rich girl from tehran living in santa monica before returning to iran for an arranged marriage. this book has soul and my only criticism is that i was left wanting more to find some closure on their stories, but that's not life, is it?
June 1, 2010
This was a book I kept wanting to read, which is pretty high praise from me. Christina Garcia is a good writer and managed to draw up 3 different characters and, as seems to be so popular now, tell a "story" alternating their POVs. Like the movie "Crash," the three immigrants from different countries fall together eventually and by accident, which ends up being why their three stories are being told together. Sort of. The title, I think, must be providing us a hint to another reason. They all have pretty crappy luck, one more crappy than the others, however. I don't know, I enjoyed reading this book, and felt satisfied by the end, but can't really say why. Read it; see what you think. I would definitely read something by Garcia again.
February 26, 2020
3 1/2 stars
April 27, 2007
I reviewed this for Ms. Magazine's Spring 2007 issue. Here's an excerpt of that review (you can find it in full in the magazine):
We call the world small as we navigate our often technology-rich, travel-dense lives. A ping in your e-mail inbox signals an old friend who has found you on the internet, a stranger in the airplane seat next to you lived next door to your sister in college. Our lives don’t just touch each other’s, the sensation of a brushed shoulder in a train station staying with you later. Our lives influence each other’s, pressing us towards situations that some might see as good luck or bad luck but what Leila, in Christina Garcia’s A Handbook to Luck, would insist is just simply the fate written indelibly on our foreheads with invisible ink at our birth.
Styled in juxtaposed narratives of three children originally living thousands of miles from each other, A Handbook to Luck follows them through twenty years of their lives as they mine the circumstances presented to them, attempt to cross the emotional and physical borders before them, and ultimately choose paths that bring them to intersect- and sometimes detach- in heartrending and soaring ways.
A Handbook to Luck shines with its vulnerable characters and poetic language. The looming question once the journeys of our three protagonists have ended is how we find solace in our own lives when luck—good or bad—spins what we imagined into what we cannot possibly fathom or what we did not dare to dream.
We call the world small as we navigate our often technology-rich, travel-dense lives. A ping in your e-mail inbox signals an old friend who has found you on the internet, a stranger in the airplane seat next to you lived next door to your sister in college. Our lives don’t just touch each other’s, the sensation of a brushed shoulder in a train station staying with you later. Our lives influence each other’s, pressing us towards situations that some might see as good luck or bad luck but what Leila, in Christina Garcia’s A Handbook to Luck, would insist is just simply the fate written indelibly on our foreheads with invisible ink at our birth.
Styled in juxtaposed narratives of three children originally living thousands of miles from each other, A Handbook to Luck follows them through twenty years of their lives as they mine the circumstances presented to them, attempt to cross the emotional and physical borders before them, and ultimately choose paths that bring them to intersect- and sometimes detach- in heartrending and soaring ways.
A Handbook to Luck shines with its vulnerable characters and poetic language. The looming question once the journeys of our three protagonists have ended is how we find solace in our own lives when luck—good or bad—spins what we imagined into what we cannot possibly fathom or what we did not dare to dream.
July 28, 2008
Cristina Garcia conjures a magical cast of characters and flits between them at maddening pace in this latest work of hers. Each character comes from a different corner of the earth: Iran, El Salvador and Cuba. They connect and disconnect in the hyper-fantasized realms of Las Vegas and Los Angeles, while we get the breadth and culture of their native lands, which breathes spirit and life into Marta, Evaristo, Leila, and Enrique. What was most fascinating and artfully executed were the relatives and ancestors of the main characters who would chant and whisper adages, warnings and gems of advice that scaffolded the characters, their actions, and reactions as they grew and transformed over the years.
Garcia has a wonderfully acute eye for detail, yet, oftentimes, and especially in regards to this book, the details became cloying. Much of this is due to the pace of the book. Perhaps if she slowed down and let us linger in the moment with each of these characters her details would resonate. Instead, we are barraged by them as she overcrowds and crams them into the tight narrative. Is A Handbook to Luck short because of editorial and publishing pressure or was it the author's conscious decision? Consequently, the story seems unnecessarily clipped and the narrative speed loses many beautiful moments that could be expanded and opened to us, therefore truly enjoyed by the reader. The beauty of Garcia's writing is that she is a poetic and lyrical master. Like a plaintive melody, we want each note to stretch itself and sustain the beauty of the artist's creation.
Garcia has a wonderfully acute eye for detail, yet, oftentimes, and especially in regards to this book, the details became cloying. Much of this is due to the pace of the book. Perhaps if she slowed down and let us linger in the moment with each of these characters her details would resonate. Instead, we are barraged by them as she overcrowds and crams them into the tight narrative. Is A Handbook to Luck short because of editorial and publishing pressure or was it the author's conscious decision? Consequently, the story seems unnecessarily clipped and the narrative speed loses many beautiful moments that could be expanded and opened to us, therefore truly enjoyed by the reader. The beauty of Garcia's writing is that she is a poetic and lyrical master. Like a plaintive melody, we want each note to stretch itself and sustain the beauty of the artist's creation.
January 7, 2015
This book was really well written and the characters are engaging. Enrique is smart, good with numbers and takes care of his father, the only family he has left. Marta longs for children but babies her much older husband instead. Leila is the most baffling character - she seems so independent and strong willed but bows to her mother's demands and husband's tyranny. Family obligations, and the life decisions we make because of family, are evident throughout the book - family can be loving and nourishing but also constricting and limiting.
October 10, 2014
Loved this book! A combination of the best in magical realism and contemporary fiction. Seamless interweaving of relationships and dynamics, both entertaining and moving. highly recommend anything by this writer, esp "Dreaming in Cuban."
April 26, 2020
The story follows three richly developed main characters, their families and customs that shape the trajectory of their lives - a poor girl from San Salvador, a cuban boy raised in Las Vegas by a magician father and a rich girl from Tehran living in Santa Monica before returning to Iran for an arranged marriage. The cuban boy, Enrique, is a math genius who was being recruited by MIT and could have had a brilliant future, but is pulled back by his duty to bail his father out of repeated fiascoes. He uses his math skills at winning big stakes at poker games in Las Vegas. Along the way he meets a beautiful young woman from Tehran (Leila) who is engaged and returning home to be married to her very successful surgeon fiance. Enrique convinces her to allow him to drive her back to Santa Monica for what becomes a magical day for both of them that taunts them with 'what-if's' in the future. The book title and the following quote sums up his learned life lesson:
"In life there was a before and an after, Enrique believed, a gap between what you wanted and what you got, between what you planned and what actually happened. There were no advanced warnings, no billboards advertising a tragedy to come. The moment before always seemed so ordinary, like any other. Pink programs and straw hats whirling through the air. Wayward storks landing in a confusion of feathers and legs. It hurt Enrique to remember this. There was no convincing "why" to anything, no answers, just luck or bad tilting life one way or another. Enrique didn't put faith in the odds, or statistics, or reason anymore. Some things just couldn't be outrun. Odds might be calculated, inattention focused, reasoning torn apart. But luck, he thought, luck was something else entirely."
The other main character, Marta, desperately tries to have a child with no success but is 'gifted' with a child leading to decent life after she illegally comes into the U.S. After a nearly tragic ending, she does the unexpected and proves to herself and son that she could overcome even the most daunting challenge.
My only negative to this story was what felt like a rushed ending, the journey, however, was lyrical and satisfying.
"In life there was a before and an after, Enrique believed, a gap between what you wanted and what you got, between what you planned and what actually happened. There were no advanced warnings, no billboards advertising a tragedy to come. The moment before always seemed so ordinary, like any other. Pink programs and straw hats whirling through the air. Wayward storks landing in a confusion of feathers and legs. It hurt Enrique to remember this. There was no convincing "why" to anything, no answers, just luck or bad tilting life one way or another. Enrique didn't put faith in the odds, or statistics, or reason anymore. Some things just couldn't be outrun. Odds might be calculated, inattention focused, reasoning torn apart. But luck, he thought, luck was something else entirely."
The other main character, Marta, desperately tries to have a child with no success but is 'gifted' with a child leading to decent life after she illegally comes into the U.S. After a nearly tragic ending, she does the unexpected and proves to herself and son that she could overcome even the most daunting challenge.
My only negative to this story was what felt like a rushed ending, the journey, however, was lyrical and satisfying.
April 25, 2020
This was rather an odd book, following the stories of three different characters from different parts of the world. The chapters skip around from character to character, and I had a lot of trouble keeping straight about who was who.
Eventually the lives of the characters touch, though rather tangentially for one of them. I did persevere, but ended the book feeling disconnected from all three, and rather wished I'd just abandoned them.
Eventually the lives of the characters touch, though rather tangentially for one of them. I did persevere, but ended the book feeling disconnected from all three, and rather wished I'd just abandoned them.
March 12, 2018
Her words glided off the page in a stream of consciousness. Three separate main characters, that could each have the book to themselves, but instead she blended their stories over a twenty year span. I smiled, I felt sad, I was disheartened, and I was shocked by the craziness that is immigration. Nicely done.
April 19, 2019
Cristina García is one of my favorite writers and has been since I read “Dreaming in Cuban” years ago. “A handbook to luck” is a very entertaining book, due especially to its varied settings. The plot is a little bit anticlimactic at the end, but as this is a character-driven narrative, it doesn’t matter all that much. I would definitely recommend this book.
October 5, 2025
Meh? Inoffensive but unenlightening story with three different protagonists. If there was a greater theme or moral, I missed it. None of them seemed really in control of their lives, and everyone in the book seemed to have a sense that everyone else was having interesting sex while they themselves were not.
September 26, 2018
Three different lives of people non-native to the US intersect. I liked the fact that these were all people who had struggle to find their place in the world. The story was interesting, heartwarming, and heartbreaking.
February 15, 2023
my fav book so far this year. the people that don’t understand the intertwining of the stories or the title or the common references to birds make me sad bc this book is good. a wonderfully random find
January 15, 2024
Wonderful author
Dainty detailed simple and story telling is how I would describe this book. Loved the writing and style of the book. Imaginative.
Dainty detailed simple and story telling is how I would describe this book. Loved the writing and style of the book. Imaginative.
January 26, 2010
A BEAUTIFUL BOOK!
Some resonating quotations...
"A white star fell into the garden
Unexpect, unsought. Luck,
arrow, flower, fire..."
~Lucien Blaga
On relativity; perspective...
"Since she couldn't agonize over basic things~ like no money for food, or medicine for dying baby~ she drowned in a drop of water." ~197
"In life there was a before and an after, Enrique believed, a gap between what you wanted and what you got, between what you planned and what actually happened. There were no advanced warnings, no billboards advertising a tragedy to come. The moment before always seemed so ordinary, like any other. Pink promgrams and straw hats whirling through the air. Wayward storks landing in a confusion of feathers and legs. It hurt Enrique to remember this. There was no convincing "why" to anything, no answers, just luck or bad tiltinglife one way or another. Enrique didn't put faith in the odds, or statistics, or reason anymore. Some things just couldn't be outrun. Odds might be calculated, inattention focused, reasoning torn apart. But luck, he thought, luck was something else entirely." ~253
Some resonating quotations...
"A white star fell into the garden
Unexpect, unsought. Luck,
arrow, flower, fire..."
~Lucien Blaga
On relativity; perspective...
"Since she couldn't agonize over basic things~ like no money for food, or medicine for dying baby~ she drowned in a drop of water." ~197
"In life there was a before and an after, Enrique believed, a gap between what you wanted and what you got, between what you planned and what actually happened. There were no advanced warnings, no billboards advertising a tragedy to come. The moment before always seemed so ordinary, like any other. Pink promgrams and straw hats whirling through the air. Wayward storks landing in a confusion of feathers and legs. It hurt Enrique to remember this. There was no convincing "why" to anything, no answers, just luck or bad tiltinglife one way or another. Enrique didn't put faith in the odds, or statistics, or reason anymore. Some things just couldn't be outrun. Odds might be calculated, inattention focused, reasoning torn apart. But luck, he thought, luck was something else entirely." ~253
October 7, 2008
Story is of three young people growing up in different parts of the world, living very different lives. The story alternates between each of their existences as they grow up through the years dealing parents, children, love and work. As usual, I love the international-ness of it. While some of it takes place in the USA, none of the characters are Eurasian white, nor second generation American. From the book cover, I knew the characters would intersect, so I was really curious to see how that would happen. It is done in a very small world way, but also helps you realize that each person you run into has a very unique experience. Even before reading this book, I would imagine that history about the people I meet. We each have our own stories to tell. That reminder was the major lesson of this book for me.
January 17, 2008
This is not the first book I have read by Garcia, but it is certainly the most memorable. Her characters are so funny and real, and the story so absorbing. The story begins with her three main characters as children in their points of origin (Cuba, El Salvador, and Iran) and over the years, their lives cross in the US. Garcia's language and description makes for an enjoyable read. I highly recommend this book to Cristina Garcia fans, and for those that don't know her, should read Dreaming in Cuban as well.
October 22, 2008
I really liked this book. The characters were interesting - although flawed and not well suited to care for his son, I found the magician to be very likable. His love for his son was palpable, and his struggle to maintain his career took many interesting turns. The other characters also felt very real to me, and their intersections seemed plausible. Not always happy, but that seemed authentic. Garcia writes with such detail, and the characters and settings really came alive for me. There was a lot of symbolism, and a deeper level of meaning, for which I would appreciate a second reading.
February 8, 2009
I enjoyed this novel that links the lives of several very different teenagers who grow up under various social and familial pressures and try to learn to make their ways in the world. I particularly enjoyed the slice of life melancholy of their early years, poverty stricken and forced to accept to much responsibility too soon. A young girl from Iran, a magician's Cuban-American son, a girl growing up poor in El Salvador. My heart goes out to all three, and I kept yearnng for greater happiness.
June 1, 2011
i am reading this REALLY AWESOME book right now. it is a handbook to luck and it is by cristina garcia and i don't know how to describe it. it is regular fiction, and it follows the lives of three people (a boy from cuba, a girl from iran, and a girl from el salvador) as they grow up. and whatnot. i liked its cover ages ago, and i am finally getting around to reading everything on my list, so i took this out of the library and said "holy shit this sounds stupid" and i fully expected to hate it but HER WRITING. SO GOOD. bfewwbs i am really enjoying it.
(review pulled from lj.)
(review pulled from lj.)
March 21, 2008
Frustrating. Garcia has three wonderful characters here and an engrossing story that goes through about two decades, but the book is so short that I felt it was all spread too thin and that I wanted more of each segment, each character, to make it all really come to life. It's rare that I wish a book was longer, but this was definitely a good example of that.
May 30, 2008
I loved this book and will look for others form the author. It is fiction, and beautifully written. It is a story of 3 people, who we get to know as children. Most of the book is their adult stories. One is from Cuba, one from El Salvador, and one from Iran. Do their stories intertwine? Read to find out.
It does pull at your heart.
It does pull at your heart.
August 23, 2008
The idea of the book had potential, but it fell short in execution. The quality of the writing was average and the elements of the story that were supposed to metaphorically or symbolically connect the characters (the recurring themes of birds and water) read awkwardly at times, like the author was trying too hard to work it in to the story.
September 29, 2008
My regret was that I read the last page and almost immediately went to sleep. The story haunted my dreams. I should have given myself more time just to think about it because it was that interesting. Garcia threads together the lives of three fascinating people all of whom are displaced from their cultures in some way, and all of whom have parents who ultimately fail them.
December 4, 2011
I picked this up out of a free box in front of a bookstore on Mission Street in San Francisco when I was going through a really hard time. It kept my mind occupied so I wouldn't have to constantly dwell on my problems.
This book wasn't fantastic and it wasn't horrible either. It did it's job adequately.
This book wasn't fantastic and it wasn't horrible either. It did it's job adequately.
October 30, 2016
A very good read. It is not the events so much as the characters themselves, how they think, how they change and adapt..or not, and how they manage their worlds, or their worlds manage them. The little bit of overlap was fascinating. The fact that there is one character the reader can never grasp the thoughts of, I also quite enjoyed that experience.
January 21, 2015
this book artfully weaves the stories of 3 teenagers from different parts of the world into one amazing story about luck, and love, and how circumstance and choice make our lives. The writing is vivid. All three threads of the novel are strong, and how they cross holds. I listened to this book, and the reader was so good, with her voice and accents.
January 4, 2017
Enjoyable book, although not fantastic. This was the tale that was actually three tales woven together. Three different people from children to late twenties, whose lives intersect at some point. The connections were woven seamlessly but I find myself forgetting quickly about most of the characters. This was enjoyable while reading it but not great enough to really stick in my mind for long.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews