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Lucky Us
Once upon a very recent time in New York City, there was a couple, two ordinary single people who met the way city people meet. Even though mismatched, they fell in love. And after some hesitations they decided, finally, to marry-only to look up and find their world caving in around them. Sexy, vivacious Elisa, of the miniskirts and tiny T-shirts, still in art school and just coming off an affair with a temper-driven fellow artist, initiated things. She came on to cool, quiet Gabe who wore his hair in a graying ponytail and kept a low profile. A good bit older than Elisa-more than twenty years older, in fact-he found himself buoyed by her youth and her brashness. To her great surprise, Elisa craved Gabe's watchfulness and solicitude.
That Gabe's past included a successful drug dealing business bothered her not at all. And certainly he was unconcerned that Elisa's more current past included a lot of casual sex. Neither of them ever expected to have to answer for what had been so easy for Gabe and so enjoyable for Elisa. But truth be known, the one obvious thing they had in common was the burden their pasts suddenly put onto their future.
Joan Silber has written a love story for the turn of the twenty-first century, one that takes into rich account the styles and pressures of contemporary urban life. But more than that, she has created two characters who throb with real-life personality, passion, and courage.
That Gabe's past included a successful drug dealing business bothered her not at all. And certainly he was unconcerned that Elisa's more current past included a lot of casual sex. Neither of them ever expected to have to answer for what had been so easy for Gabe and so enjoyable for Elisa. But truth be known, the one obvious thing they had in common was the burden their pasts suddenly put onto their future.
Joan Silber has written a love story for the turn of the twenty-first century, one that takes into rich account the styles and pressures of contemporary urban life. But more than that, she has created two characters who throb with real-life personality, passion, and courage.
276 pages, Hardcover
First published October 12, 2001
31 people are currently reading
558 people want to read
About the author
Joan Silber
25 books342 followersJoan Silber is the author of nine books of fiction. Her book Improvement was the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award and was listed as one of the year's best books by The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Newsday, The Seattle Times, and Kirkus Reviews. She lives in New York and teaches in the Warren Wilson MFA Program. Keep up with Joan at joansilber.net.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
October 27, 2014
I've mentioned before that I generally review only books I love. As a writer, I realize not everyone appreciates every book, but every writer works so hard and getting a book published and read (!) is so difficult that I refuse to knock anyone who achieves what I've desired since I learned to read.
No spoilers here but be prepared: praise and love and more praise and more love.
Joan Silver is a fabulous writer. I have read and reread, shared, and taken repeated delight in her novels: "The Size of the World," "Ideas of Heaven," and an early novel, perhaps out of print: "In the City."
Her novel "Lucky Us," (c) 2002, told in alternating sections by an older man who works in a fictional yet recognizable camera store in New York City and a young graduate of the city's School of Visual Arts who begins working there part-time,is a modern love story: The painful side is told as beautifully as the ecstatic side.
The man is about forty-nine and the woman in her early to mid-twenties. Upon extricating herself from a physically abusive relationship with an artist about her age, she finds the older man, who went to prison in the 1970s for selling marijuana and now reads Kafka and listens to what the woman calls "mossy old jazz geniuses" so steady and self-contained that to his great surprise she initiates a sexual relationship with him.
The man's self-reliance and refusal to be rendered "pathetic by hope," a stance he developed during an eight-month stint in prison, along with a self-awareness bent upon not succumbing into sour disappointment are believable.
New York City in my experience includes more than a few humble, remarkable, intelligent men without much money, who lead rich inner lives without expecting much more than an occasional afternoon of lovely weather, a beautiful sunset, or a quiet, green moment in spring. The woman appreciates him but not enough.
I found the combination of this story and Joan Silber's musical prose so fascinating that I have been reading it since November, 2010. Now that I've read it at least ten times in succession, always putting it away only to pull it out again and start over, I may finally leave it alone for awhile. And yet, I find it as comforting as my favorite music. I read "Lucky Us" the way I listen to Miles Davis's "Seventh Step to Heaven." Neither have ever failed to lift my spirits and set me free.
No spoilers here but be prepared: praise and love and more praise and more love.
Joan Silver is a fabulous writer. I have read and reread, shared, and taken repeated delight in her novels: "The Size of the World," "Ideas of Heaven," and an early novel, perhaps out of print: "In the City."
Her novel "Lucky Us," (c) 2002, told in alternating sections by an older man who works in a fictional yet recognizable camera store in New York City and a young graduate of the city's School of Visual Arts who begins working there part-time,is a modern love story: The painful side is told as beautifully as the ecstatic side.
The man is about forty-nine and the woman in her early to mid-twenties. Upon extricating herself from a physically abusive relationship with an artist about her age, she finds the older man, who went to prison in the 1970s for selling marijuana and now reads Kafka and listens to what the woman calls "mossy old jazz geniuses" so steady and self-contained that to his great surprise she initiates a sexual relationship with him.
The man's self-reliance and refusal to be rendered "pathetic by hope," a stance he developed during an eight-month stint in prison, along with a self-awareness bent upon not succumbing into sour disappointment are believable.
New York City in my experience includes more than a few humble, remarkable, intelligent men without much money, who lead rich inner lives without expecting much more than an occasional afternoon of lovely weather, a beautiful sunset, or a quiet, green moment in spring. The woman appreciates him but not enough.
I found the combination of this story and Joan Silber's musical prose so fascinating that I have been reading it since November, 2010. Now that I've read it at least ten times in succession, always putting it away only to pull it out again and start over, I may finally leave it alone for awhile. And yet, I find it as comforting as my favorite music. I read "Lucky Us" the way I listen to Miles Davis's "Seventh Step to Heaven." Neither have ever failed to lift my spirits and set me free.
April 18, 2014
Don't read the simpering description above. I'm glad I didn't see that until now because whoever wrote it is an idiot. The book, however, is wonderful, and I tend to hate love stories. It's short, it'll keep you up late at night to finish, it's believable. No rainbows, no knights in shining armor, no hysterics. I did not cry at the end; I said, "Wow." Read the book, and then read more by Joan Silber.
June 19, 2010
This was difficult to rate (star-wise). I almost gave it a three because I knew I liked it, but I wasn't positive I felt strongly enough to give it a four. But the writing is deceptively good. Silber has a light touch, and I felt carried along by the smooth narratives of the two characters - the older 40ish Gabe and the much younger Elisa. Each character feels authentically depicted to me, and I was interested in both points of view, although Elisa's bad behavior drove me nuts; but, now that I'm thinking about this, so did Gabe's external passivity. If you've ever had a bad break up, I think you'll identify with the nuances portrayed by Silber - the nitpicking (you left your toaster; when are you going to come and get it?) - the obsession (I wonder where he's at, what he's doing, who he's with) - and the boredom of your friends (from all your moaning). I enjoyed this.
August 18, 2013
3.5 Liked this quite a bit, without being able to get really excited about it. The writing is good and the characters rang true, with believeable, if not always admirable, motives, actions and reactions. Enjoyable, very quick read.
June 12, 2013
I did not, by any means, ever long to read this book. I had passed it two or three times on the shelf and was drawn to the title and cover, reveling in the fact that it promised a bittersweet love story between two individuals who were trying to last through turmoil. It was what I needed, for the moment, and it was quite worth it.
"Lucky Us" is the story of Gabe and Elisa, a couple separated by a twenty year age gap and an even larger gap in their mannerisms. Elisa is brash, selfish, immature, and reckless; Gabe is calm, stoic, quiet, and level-headed. But when Elisa learns that her reckless past has put both her and Gabe in jeopardy--as is found out when she is diagnosed with HIV--they begin to wonder if the extra complications of their health can withstand in addition to their usual petty drama. The story alternates their points of view to show the strain that their relationship has on them, with a well-done example of characterization and voice by author Joan Silber.
I finished this book in about a week, but would have finished much faster if school didn't get in the way. The story is short but very endearing, and I personally had a hard time putting it down when I needed to. Elisa and Gabe are both intriguing in their monologues, candid and consistent with their conflicting perspectives of life and their relationship, and you begin to want to know more about them as you read. To me, they felt very real and three-dimensional: people you would know in real life, meeting in town and knowing glimpses of, but then you want to know more about where they came from and what will happen to them. The book does not, however, have an entirely linear structure, and there are passages of personal history that you may feel were not delved deeply into enough, though I enjoyed the structure just fine.
What was perhaps the best feature of this book--disheartening, at first, I will admit--is the way that it ends openly. It is a realistic book, fictitious and compellingly lifelike in its story, and the ending leaves you wanting so much more from the characters. You want to know where they go, what happens after the last chapter's setting, if things ever resolve or if they find more answers for their problems. But it is realistic fiction, and it leaves you with the fact that life won't show you all the resolutions at once. The open-ended question may just lead to more inquiries.
I would recommend this book to anyone, simply for the characterization, alone. The syntax is nothing special, nor are any of the literary features, but the simple honesty of the book is so refreshing that it was such a nice break from the eight other classic novels I purchased. If you want a light and quick read, this book will surely captivate you for the duration of your time and leave you feeling so much more for the characters than you expected.
"Lucky Us" is the story of Gabe and Elisa, a couple separated by a twenty year age gap and an even larger gap in their mannerisms. Elisa is brash, selfish, immature, and reckless; Gabe is calm, stoic, quiet, and level-headed. But when Elisa learns that her reckless past has put both her and Gabe in jeopardy--as is found out when she is diagnosed with HIV--they begin to wonder if the extra complications of their health can withstand in addition to their usual petty drama. The story alternates their points of view to show the strain that their relationship has on them, with a well-done example of characterization and voice by author Joan Silber.
I finished this book in about a week, but would have finished much faster if school didn't get in the way. The story is short but very endearing, and I personally had a hard time putting it down when I needed to. Elisa and Gabe are both intriguing in their monologues, candid and consistent with their conflicting perspectives of life and their relationship, and you begin to want to know more about them as you read. To me, they felt very real and three-dimensional: people you would know in real life, meeting in town and knowing glimpses of, but then you want to know more about where they came from and what will happen to them. The book does not, however, have an entirely linear structure, and there are passages of personal history that you may feel were not delved deeply into enough, though I enjoyed the structure just fine.
What was perhaps the best feature of this book--disheartening, at first, I will admit--is the way that it ends openly. It is a realistic book, fictitious and compellingly lifelike in its story, and the ending leaves you wanting so much more from the characters. You want to know where they go, what happens after the last chapter's setting, if things ever resolve or if they find more answers for their problems. But it is realistic fiction, and it leaves you with the fact that life won't show you all the resolutions at once. The open-ended question may just lead to more inquiries.
I would recommend this book to anyone, simply for the characterization, alone. The syntax is nothing special, nor are any of the literary features, but the simple honesty of the book is so refreshing that it was such a nice break from the eight other classic novels I purchased. If you want a light and quick read, this book will surely captivate you for the duration of your time and leave you feeling so much more for the characters than you expected.
August 7, 2008
I'll never understand why this hasn't been issued in paperback. I've read it twice and it's a beautiful, bittersweet story. More here.
August 25, 2021
“Lucky Us”, by Joan Silber (2001), is the latest in her oeuvre that I have read since I “discovered” her wonderful writing last year. Like her first novel, “Household Words”, “Lucky Us” is NOT a collection of interrelated stories or vignettes, as most of her later works are, and for which she is largely known and appreciated. But “Lucky Us” does provide two points of view; those of a couple: Elisa and Gabe.
Silber gives us an unconventional love story between two very different protagonists. Elisa is a young, aspiring artist, and Gabe is a much older, much more serious, character. And then Silber throws a live grenade into their lives, and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to see how they would handle it.
Silber gives us an unconventional love story between two very different protagonists. Elisa is a young, aspiring artist, and Gabe is a much older, much more serious, character. And then Silber throws a live grenade into their lives, and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to see how they would handle it.
July 21, 2014
I don't think this can be called a love story. I didn't, for even a minute, believe anyone was in love. It was more like watching the characters desperately want to think they're in love. Having said that, I did enjoy reading this book. I'm just not completely sure why! Perhaps because it read more real than fiction.
March 6, 2025
(Probably 3.5, were it available to select.)
I felt about this novel the same way I felt about Silber’s Improvement, which is that though there is talent on display, the narrative itself ultimately doesn’t cohere into something meaningful or memorable.
The relationship at the center of this novel is perplexing and overly simplified, in turns. Silber seems to be more interested in what these two do than in why, which is certainly one approach and not without its merits, but I was left feeling as though it didn’t much matter what they did, for I didn’t have a deep enough understanding of why they might be doing it. Another way of saying this is that the stakes didn’t feel terribly compelling, because the characters were simultaneously too evasive and too easily gotten one’s arms around.
A third way of saying this might be that quite possibly I am not the right audience to sufficiently appreciate Silber.
I felt about this novel the same way I felt about Silber’s Improvement, which is that though there is talent on display, the narrative itself ultimately doesn’t cohere into something meaningful or memorable.
The relationship at the center of this novel is perplexing and overly simplified, in turns. Silber seems to be more interested in what these two do than in why, which is certainly one approach and not without its merits, but I was left feeling as though it didn’t much matter what they did, for I didn’t have a deep enough understanding of why they might be doing it. Another way of saying this is that the stakes didn’t feel terribly compelling, because the characters were simultaneously too evasive and too easily gotten one’s arms around.
A third way of saying this might be that quite possibly I am not the right audience to sufficiently appreciate Silber.
June 24, 2020
I’m so FUCKING scared of not gonna find another book that living up to this gem!!! The writing is so beautiful and the story is so touching. The nuance under each scene, no, it’s way too good to be true. I’m helplessly in love with Joan Silber and Lucky Us.
January 7, 2014
was drawn to book because of its title and cover...and because I am a sucker for a good "love story" when I am on a fiction jag. this book did not disappoint. The lovers are Gabe and Elisa and not only is there a big difference in their ages, there is a big difference in their whole personal make-up, but none of that seems to matter until Elisa erroneously thinks that she needs a HIV test as part of the application process when she and Gabe decide to finally get married. Elise finds out she is positive and that Gabe has not contracted the virus. She cheats, then leaves Gabe for a past lover, who also has the virus, only to find that he isn't the answer for her. In the end, Gabe and Elisa get back together, finding their relationship much changed and not all for the better, but they stay together anyway. This book was wonderfully written and even though I found myself mad at Elisa for almost ruining this great relationship (I said I was a sucker!), it was realistic and not one of those "they fell into each other's arms as if they never parted" kind of thing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 23, 2014
2.5 stars. It is not the author's fault that her book, though well written and better than I could write, left me pulling what is left of my hair, literally out of my head. It was hard to care about any of these character challenged, living each dull day, cast of misfits. I know there are people like this who aren't goal orientated and just want to get through the day, but I don't want to read about them. And it goes without saying, I was not fond of the ending that was a forgone conclusion. I am still shaking my head as to whose "love story" it was about. Because if there is one word that jumps to my mind about this book's theme , it is apathetic. If you are settling for someone, just to have someone, does this make it love? Maybe it was more about friendship. That I can get, sort of.
May 12, 2015
This is a pretty gritty book with a sometimes unbearable female narrator. There is a good deal of drug use and sex, and the female character can be very selfish and unreliable. Her chapters are alternated with those of an older male who becomes her lover who is much more staid and introverted, though he was quite the drug dealer in his younger days. Through this all, the author weaves a true to life tale of the times (beginning of the 21st century) and had me truly interested and caring about these characters. It is basically a tale of their relationship through good and bad times, as well as an occurrence that significantly alters their lives. The prose is relatively spare and gutsy, though there are parts that are deeply moving. It reads quickly and held my interest throughout.
May 1, 2008
I'm getting kind of tired of reading three star books. For one thing, the title of this novel is terrible. The writing and characters are fairly good however -- a love story between Gabe, a forty something ex-drug dealer and Elisa who, during the course of the story, learns she has AIDS (this is not a spoiler -- you find out pretty fast). As in so many of the books I've read lately, the beginning was good, and then the end speeds up and then . . . it's over. Note to authors: learn how to end your novels! It's really important!
January 7, 2010
Lucky Us is a deceptively simple book told in two voices. The Buddhist concept that everything is already broken so we can let go of some of the striving and pretending comes through as the understated spiritual message. Joan Silber has a great ear for dialogue. I just read this book for the second time and loved it just as much as the first.
July 31, 2014
I took this out of the library thinking it was a different book with the same title, so I was a bit confused. I liked the characters very much and enjoyed the writing. I would definitely try other books by this author. The younger woman was hard for me to identify with, but I got who she was clearly.
February 20, 2008
Joan Silber is incredible. The ending of this story is striking and beautiful. I also enjoyed the epigraph, and the way it connected with the narrative, for what it's worth.
April 3, 2013
I went back to this early Joan Silber novel I hadn't read while waiting impatiently for her new story collection. It's awfully good.
August 3, 2013
Silber writes with an ease and fluidity that make her stories reverberate with true to life immediacy. The double viewpoint of the characters could have been exploited a bit more for depth.
September 2, 2013
Heartbreaking love story wherein Silber shows her chops.
November 15, 2014
Great book. Characters interesting and flawed. Does not come to a clear resolution which makes it seem like real life.
January 9, 2015
Not a single note or highlight as these people annoyed me to the max. Secretly cheered for their demise.
July 15, 2017
How shrewdly the details of this novel came together. Silber managed to evoke new thoughts in me, a new way of thinking. I was humbled and delighted by this book.
December 30, 2022
Terrifying small book peels open the careless hearts of a young hetero couple with AIDS.
June 29, 2021
Joan Silber has not disappointed me. This is a wonderful, small book, with believable characters, a plot-line that twists and turns, and has a topic of interest.
Ha Jin, author of The Boat Rocker. "A love story for our time(Not quite my personal time)
Once upon a very recent time in New York City, there was a couple, two ordinary single people who met the way city people meet. Even though mismatched, they fell in love. And after some hesitations they decided, finally, to marry-only to look up and find their world caving in around them.
Sexy, vivacious Elisa, of the miniskirts and tiny T-shirts, still in art school and just coming off an affair with a temper-driven fellow artist, initiated things. She came on to cool, quiet Gabe who wore his hair in a graying ponytail and kept a low profile. A good bit older than Elisa-more than twenty years older, in fact-he found himself buoyed by her youth and her brashness. To her great surprise, Elisa craved Gabe's watchfulness and solicitude.
That Gabe's past included a successful drug dealing business bothered her not at all. And certainly he was unconcerned that Elisa's more current past included a lot of casual sex. Neither of them ever expected to have to answer for what had been so easy for Gabe and so enjoyable for Elisa. But truth be known, the one obvious thing they had in common was the burden their pasts suddenly put onto their future.
Joan Silber has written a love story for the turn of the twenty-first century, one that takes into rich account the styles and pressures of contemporary urban life. But more than that, she has created two characters who throb with real-life personality, passion, and courage.
Ha Jin, author of The Boat Rocker. "A love story for our time(Not quite my personal time)
Once upon a very recent time in New York City, there was a couple, two ordinary single people who met the way city people meet. Even though mismatched, they fell in love. And after some hesitations they decided, finally, to marry-only to look up and find their world caving in around them.
Sexy, vivacious Elisa, of the miniskirts and tiny T-shirts, still in art school and just coming off an affair with a temper-driven fellow artist, initiated things. She came on to cool, quiet Gabe who wore his hair in a graying ponytail and kept a low profile. A good bit older than Elisa-more than twenty years older, in fact-he found himself buoyed by her youth and her brashness. To her great surprise, Elisa craved Gabe's watchfulness and solicitude.
That Gabe's past included a successful drug dealing business bothered her not at all. And certainly he was unconcerned that Elisa's more current past included a lot of casual sex. Neither of them ever expected to have to answer for what had been so easy for Gabe and so enjoyable for Elisa. But truth be known, the one obvious thing they had in common was the burden their pasts suddenly put onto their future.
Joan Silber has written a love story for the turn of the twenty-first century, one that takes into rich account the styles and pressures of contemporary urban life. But more than that, she has created two characters who throb with real-life personality, passion, and courage.
July 26, 2018
A beautiful novel, filled with insight and wit and intelligence. What really got me was the immediacy of voice. You drop right into these characters' lives the way John Cusack drops into John Malkovich's body. There's no warning or preamble. You're simply there, inside them, seeing the world through Elisa and Gabe's eyes.
It takes such mastery to do this. The writing has to erase itself. There isn't a self-conscious line, no moment where Silber calls attention what she's doing. This method has its risks. There were a couple of lines about gay men that upset me, for example, before I realized that Elisa was thinking them, that these were the interior thoughts of a young woman, that Gabe wouldn't think such things at all.
Given how much terrain this covers, what's shocking is how slim it is. It gets at the heart of these people and their relationship so quickly. I know that Silber also writes short stories, but this didn't have the feel of an extended short story. It felt as full as novel. It's like a magic trick.
There's a certain type of reader who wants "likeable" characters, women who behave well, and happy endings. This novel isn't for her. These characters are real, deeply flawed, and subject to dark impulses. I was irate at times with Elisa. I wanted to shake Gabe by the shoulders. What a gift Silber has for creating characters as complicated as our friends and family, as complicated as ourselves. This is the first book of hers that I've read, and I can't wait to read more.
It takes such mastery to do this. The writing has to erase itself. There isn't a self-conscious line, no moment where Silber calls attention what she's doing. This method has its risks. There were a couple of lines about gay men that upset me, for example, before I realized that Elisa was thinking them, that these were the interior thoughts of a young woman, that Gabe wouldn't think such things at all.
Given how much terrain this covers, what's shocking is how slim it is. It gets at the heart of these people and their relationship so quickly. I know that Silber also writes short stories, but this didn't have the feel of an extended short story. It felt as full as novel. It's like a magic trick.
There's a certain type of reader who wants "likeable" characters, women who behave well, and happy endings. This novel isn't for her. These characters are real, deeply flawed, and subject to dark impulses. I was irate at times with Elisa. I wanted to shake Gabe by the shoulders. What a gift Silber has for creating characters as complicated as our friends and family, as complicated as ourselves. This is the first book of hers that I've read, and I can't wait to read more.
September 19, 2023
Elisa, the female protagonist of this ‘May-December’ “love” story, agitated and aggravated me so much that I was having trouble with the central relationship in “Lucky Us”. I kept thinking, “Run away, Gabe; you can do so much better!” — not because of her physical illness, but because of what seemed, to me, to be her shallowness and selfishness and immaturity.
But, when it is Elisa who runs away, Gabe’s life is drained of color. He serves others. He takes a small trip. Those things help, but not enough. When Elisa returns to him (mostly from desperation, but perhaps a little bit from a belated appreciation over what she’d heedlessly thrown away), joy returns to Gabe’s days.
So - who’s to say, really, what “lucky” looks like in a relationship? As the epigraph to this novel from the Buddhist psychotherapist, Mark Epstein, teaches, there are no perfect or permanent things. If we think of an object or even a self or a situation as “already broken”, every moment we have with it before it actually breaks or ends is precious.
Heavy stuff, tough at several points to read when characters are behaving badly and/or self-destructively, but well written by Silber, as all her works thus far have been for me.
But, when it is Elisa who runs away, Gabe’s life is drained of color. He serves others. He takes a small trip. Those things help, but not enough. When Elisa returns to him (mostly from desperation, but perhaps a little bit from a belated appreciation over what she’d heedlessly thrown away), joy returns to Gabe’s days.
So - who’s to say, really, what “lucky” looks like in a relationship? As the epigraph to this novel from the Buddhist psychotherapist, Mark Epstein, teaches, there are no perfect or permanent things. If we think of an object or even a self or a situation as “already broken”, every moment we have with it before it actually breaks or ends is precious.
Heavy stuff, tough at several points to read when characters are behaving badly and/or self-destructively, but well written by Silber, as all her works thus far have been for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 12, 2018
This ironically titled novel, my second by Silber, is about the bittersweet relationship between Elisa and Gabe. Gabe is about 20 years older than Elisa, and they meet after Gabe has been released from prison. Gabe works in a camera store, and Elisa is artsy and stylish and is an artist who also works in a gallery.
This is the first novel that I have read which examines the effects of an HIV diagnosis on a couple and the two individuals. Elisa and Gabe handle the situation very differently and surprisingly: Elisa is in denial and throws caution to the wind, whereas Gabe becomes more serious and is drawn to community service. The ending leaves the reader wondering where this couple will end up.
I liked the way Silber showed, instead of told, each main character's perspective. She makes her characters likeable even though they are decidedly flawed. In my opinion, this novel examines the range of feelings along the spectrum of sexual attraction and real, unselfish love. I am curious as to why Silber seems to be drawn to the topics of drug use and prison.
This is the first novel that I have read which examines the effects of an HIV diagnosis on a couple and the two individuals. Elisa and Gabe handle the situation very differently and surprisingly: Elisa is in denial and throws caution to the wind, whereas Gabe becomes more serious and is drawn to community service. The ending leaves the reader wondering where this couple will end up.
I liked the way Silber showed, instead of told, each main character's perspective. She makes her characters likeable even though they are decidedly flawed. In my opinion, this novel examines the range of feelings along the spectrum of sexual attraction and real, unselfish love. I am curious as to why Silber seems to be drawn to the topics of drug use and prison.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2019
Unpretentious story line between two people
The story unfolds about two people coming together: from different genres and delves into what each person brings to the relationship: and when the unexpected happens beyond personal control: the impact to this and how two people’s lives continue to evolve.
The story unfolds about two people coming together: from different genres and delves into what each person brings to the relationship: and when the unexpected happens beyond personal control: the impact to this and how two people’s lives continue to evolve.
Read
September 2, 2019I read
Improvement
and wanted to read more by Silber. Unfortunately, Lucky Us sounds like the same book from the outset: a woman is dating a man in jail. The voices also sound the same in both books. I'll pass.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews