Review: The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick (4/5)

"From the bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook. Bartholomew Neil is thirty-nine and lost. He's lived his whole life, up till a few weeks ago, with his devoted mum, but now she has died Bartholomew has no idea how to be on his own. His grief counsellor, Wendy, says he needs to find his flock and leave the nest. But how does a man whose whole life has been grounded learn how to fly? So Bartholomew turns to Richard Gere, the man his mum adored from afar, in the hope he can offer some answers. In Bartholomew's letters to Richard Gere he explores philosophy and friendship, alien abduction and the mystery of women. The letters also reveal his heart-breaking need of a family, but when Bartholomew does manage to assemble a motley family of sorts, he seems to have taken on more than he bargained for . . ."

 

I have had Matthew Quick on my to read list for the longest time! I have read so many positive reviews for his books and they sound amazing. So when I saw this latest one on Net Galley I had to request it. And I'm glad I did because it was fantastic. I can't wait to check out Quick's other books ASAP. 

Bartholomew is a man in his late 30s who seems to have some form of autism. The chapters are written as letters to Richard Gere. I must admit when I first realised that's how the book was set out I thought it sounded a bit strange, but it just worked! We learn that his mother has recently died, but before she did she was so ill that she thought Bartholomew was Richard and he played along with the pretence. However now that his mother has died, he is writing to Richard and struggling to find his way in the world by himself as he has always had his mother to look after him.

I found myself thinking of people I know in real life who are similar to Bartholomew and how they too would struggle to cope in the real world without the crutch of their parents. Bartholomew was a very likeable character however. The books other characters mostly comprise of Father McNamee, new friend Max, Max's sister and the Girlbrarian. All interesting and unique characters in their own right. 

The book is just beautifully written, and as always it's hard to talk about the story other than to say it's one of those books that you will just fall in love with and want to tell everybody to read. You will also be wanting to read it I'm either one or two sittings as it's hard to put down at times. I was reading other books at the same time as this one but still read it in just a few sittings! I'm glad in a way I put off reading Quick's earlier work because all it means is I have all his books waiting to be read rather than having to wait for them to be released! I am definitely hoping to check them out very soon. 

Thank you to the author and publisher for the review copy via Net Galley

You can buy this book in hardback or on Kindle from Amazon