Lucky Man
by Ben Tanzer (Goodreads author!)
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 77)
Read in November, 2007
(My full review of this book is larger than GoodReads' word-count limitations. Find the entire essay at the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE: Some of Tanzer's newest work is currently being considered for CCLaP's upcoming publishing program, which starts in spring 2008. The person ultimately making the decision is the same person who wrote today's review.)
As regular readers know, it can be a real crap shoot with me sometimes when it...more
As regular readers know, it can be a real crap shoot with me sometimes when it...more
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I just finished reading/reviewing this book for the author, Ben. Findings are below...
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In this book, Lucky Man, by Ben Tanzer, I found many grammatical errors, such as commas needed in several places and words missing to complete phrases, such as the/and/a. I found misspellings and words used out of context, such as their/there, and anyways/ any way. At times the language can be abusive, but given the situation and the characters I don’t feel it takes away from the story...more
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In this book, Lucky Man, by Ben Tanzer, I found many grammatical errors, such as commas needed in several places and words missing to complete phrases, such as the/and/a. I found misspellings and words used out of context, such as their/there, and anyways/ any way. At times the language can be abusive, but given the situation and the characters I don’t feel it takes away from the story...more
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recommends it for:
everyone
“Lucky Man”, Ben Tanzer’s first novel, is about four friends from their last days in high school to after college. Each of the four boys gives his first account narrative as their lives unfold through adolescence to adulthood.
Each family has varying degrees of dysfunctional behavior; but commonly, all four lack a healthy relationship with their father. Gabe, somewhat the leader, has a father he can’t connect with. Jake, the rebel, is bullied by his father. Sammy’s father can’t s...more
Each family has varying degrees of dysfunctional behavior; but commonly, all four lack a healthy relationship with their father. Gabe, somewhat the leader, has a father he can’t connect with. Jake, the rebel, is bullied by his father. Sammy’s father can’t s...more
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Structurally similar to Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, or Dills’s Sons of the Rapture contemporarily speaking, Ben Tanzer’s debut novel Lucky Man (Manx Media, 2007) splits the narration among the four chief characters, who are otherwise known as Gabe, Jake, Louie, and Sammy. And as the back of the book aptly puts it, “Lucky Man follows four friends from their final days of high school through their first couple of years out of college. Each has personal demons they are b...more
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Read in July, 2007
A really fast-paced read, and character-driven, which I like. I've been sort of lucky, myself. This is only the fifth novel I've read in four years (the rest being story collections, mostly), and it was a decent read.
Was a little thrown by the ending, but it's my own fault, not the author's (I met him at the reading he had in town, here). When you've been reading stuff like the anthologies Interfictions and Paraspheres, y...more
Was a little thrown by the ending, but it's my own fault, not the author's (I met him at the reading he had in town, here). When you've been reading stuff like the anthologies Interfictions and Paraspheres, y...more
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Read in January, 2008
Ben Tanzer's debut novel LUCKY MAN sucked me in with its smart little chapters changing point of view every few pages like a good high school basketball game. This is a plot driven book that lets character development rise from action.
I wasn't sure how he was going to tie it all together in the final pages, but I think he did it. Very, very interesting. A fresh, energetic voice.
[If I were able to rate Manx Media with the star system, however, I would give them one, lonely star. This boo...more
I wasn't sure how he was going to tie it all together in the final pages, but I think he did it. Very, very interesting. A fresh, energetic voice.
[If I were able to rate Manx Media with the star system, however, I would give them one, lonely star. This boo...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
fans of fratire
To the extent that Lucky Man is a first-person narrative about young men coming of age, you could say it’s fratire. But this is damned serious stuff, making the book much more ambitious, I think, than some of the other puke-on-my-own-shoes books in that genre.
This is, as the reader will guess soon enough, a last-man-standing story. In the end, the question is, “What’s it all mean?” Tanzer gives no clue, but I do give him a great deal of credit for at least raising the question.
A ...more
This is, as the reader will guess soon enough, a last-man-standing story. In the end, the question is, “What’s it all mean?” Tanzer gives no clue, but I do give him a great deal of credit for at least raising the question.
A ...more
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Read in April, 2008
“Lucky Man” by Ben Tanzer is an edgy debut novel depicting the struggles of four boys trying to escape the realities of becoming an adult. Through first person narration from all four points of view, I was able to get to know each and understand a bit more about the choices they make. The characters are believable and the story clearly shows the talent of Mr. Tanzer. As long as the reader is able to overlook the lack of editing or even proofreading, this is an impressive first novel.
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Read in February, 2008
It is funny, but also sad and strange and surprising and many other engaging ‘S’ words. I was especially impressed by his range of emotion and for his clever plotting. As the novel went from coming-of-age to On the Road-like road trip, I was happy to bum along, expecting it to end in the requisite literary epiphany, but I was excited by the deft turn in the book’s conclusion. Lucky Man makes me eager for more from Tanzer.
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