Lucky's
-
-
3.7 • 65 Ratings
-
-
- $8.99
Publisher Description
Lucky's is a story of family. A story about migration. It is also about a man called Lucky. His restaurant chain. A fire that changed everything. A New Yorker article which might save a career. The mystery of a missing father. An impostor who got the girl. An unthinkable tragedy. A roll of the dice. And a story of love - lost, sought and won again (at last). Following a trail of cause and effect that spans decades, this unforgettable epic tells a story about lives bound together by the pursuit of love, family, and new beginnings. WINNER OF THE READINGS PRIZE FOR NEW AUSTRALIAN FICTION 2021 SHORTLISTED FOR THE MUD LITERARY PRIZE 2021 SHORTLISTED FOR ABIA MATT RICHELL NEW WRITER OF THE YEAR 2021 SHORTLISTED FOR THE MILES FRANKLIN LITERARY AWARD 2021 SHORTLISTED FOR THE PRIME MINISTER'S LITERARY AWARDS FOR FICTION 2021 HIGHLY COMMENDED FOR 2021 ARA HISTORIAL NOVEL PRIZE Praise for Lucky's 'Andrew Pippos has written an unforgettable epic with Australian humour and Greek tragedian turns on every page. Such skill and heart and love pulses through this debut!' - Alice Pung 'A sweeping, sprawling family epic of heartbreak, hope, and redemption. This is the debut of a born storyteller.' - Liam Pieper 'Affecting, authentic and tender' - Rebecca Starford 'A gorgeous novel of wonderful characters, Lucky's is the real deal and I didn't want it to stop. I was so caught up in the casual charm of this book that I kept being sideswiped by the excellent turns of its plot, and the wise, sometimes disturbing things it has to say about fate, luck and family over the sweep of decades.' - Ronnie Scott 'From the first pages of this debut novel, it is clear that we are in the hands of a wise, perceptive, and highly-skilled storyteller. Pippos brilliantly distills multiple stories to those pure moments of love, despair, passion and folly that make up the essence of a life, and his fierce and fragile characters will remain in your heart long after the final page. The writing is fresh and fairly crackles with energy. Lucky's is one of the best Australian novels I've read in years!' - Emily Bitto 'Crisp and evocative' - Rick Morton 'A mouthwatering tale that encapsulates family drama, true crime and Greek tragedy - with pathos-filled characters that pop' - Guardian 'A hugely entertaining, tender, rollicking yarn. Part immigration story, part love story, part adventure, it's a multi-layered original Australian story.' - Sydney Morning Herald 'Lucky's is a bold novel, both backwards- and forwards-looking, a strong start to a career, and a timely reminder that an individual's life story can be quietly vast.' - The Australian 'Pippos writes towards myth while grounding his book in deeply human themes. Lucky's is concerned with the stories we tell ourselves and the chasm between fact and fiction, the space where happiness may lie.' - Australian Book Review 'This is a novel that I'd like everyone to read...Lucky's is a beautiful reminder that lives can be reinvented, that the bad things will eventually give way to the good ones, and that the change we seek could be right around the corner.' - Kill Your Darlings 'One of the most impressive and appealing Australian debuts novels of 2020 - or, frankly, any year, and you can scratch the adjective "debut" from that description too.' - Readings 'From reading this magnificent debut, it's clear that Andrew Pippos will go down as one of the finest Australian storytellers of his generation ... Pippos dictates the conventions of our humanity perfectly, giving to us the definition of a Greek tragedy interpersed within what is sure to become an Australian classic.' - Glam Adelaide 'Grand, evocative and generous storytelling mark out Lucky's as one of the most rewarding Australian debuts of 2020 ... A wild and sprawling story is rendered with precision and depth. Every page is a reward for the reader.' - Booktopia
Customer Reviews
Excellent first novel
Author
Australian. Ex-journalist, who now teaches creative writing. First novel.
In brief
The eponymous character is Greek American who was stationed in Sydney near the end of WW2, returned down under several years later, married the daughter of a Greek cafe owner, and ended up running a chain of franchised restaurants, which he eventually lost through mismanagement. He held onto the last one in Sydney's inner west until a the massacre of staff and patrons by a disturbed man in the 1990s. The parallel narrative involves Emma, a late thirties English freelance journalist with domestic problems of her own, who snags a commission from the New Yorker to write about the demise of the aforementioned Australian restaurant chain for their food issue. She and Lucky, now an old age pensioner, meet up in 2002. Things don't go as planned, but both experience personal growth.
Writing
Clear, evocative prose that explores the "new Australian" narrative in an interesting and sensitive way. The alternating narratives shuttle back and forth in time quite briskly at times. Some reviewers on Goodreads found that more irritating than I did.
Bottom line
Excellent debut novel that would have been even better but for the chronological choppiness mentioned above. It is fair to say that the post-Burgo version of the TV show Wheel of Fortune has long been underrepresented in Oz literary fiction. Not any more.
Stunning debut!
Spanning decades, Lucky’s is an evocative family saga grounded in post war Sydney. A true literary work interwoven with love, tragedy and humanity.
Pippos writes with hypnotic charm, his characters are brought to life with care and I was invested in awaiting a happy ending for each of them. The Greek-Australian cafe, with its gleaming chequerboard floors, jukebox and soda fountain form the backdrop and a very vivid touchstone to Australia’s post war era, when the influence of enterprising migrant families began to leave an enduring mark on the culture of modern Australia.
Andrew Pippos has created a heartwarming ode to migrant Australia, and to the people who helped to shape our national identity.
Everyone should read this stunning debut novel from a born storyteller.