The Good Luck of Right Now: A Novel by Matthew Quick

(Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!)

about book:

Call it fate
Call it synchronicity
Call it an act of God
Call it . . . The Good Luck of Right Now

For thirty-eight years, Bartholomew Neil has lived with his mother. When she gets sick and dies, he has no idea how to be on his own. His redheaded grief counselor, Wendy, says he needs to find his flock and leave the nest. But how does a man whose whole life has been grounded in his mom, Saturday Mass, and the library learn how to fly?

Bartholomew thinks he’s found a clue when he discovers a “Free Tibet” letter from Richard Gere hidden in his mother’s underwear drawer. In her final days, Mom called him Richard—there must be a cosmic connection. Believing that the actor is meant to help him, Bartholomew awkwardly starts his new life by writing Richard Gere a series of letters. Jung and the Dalai Lama, philosophy and faith, alien abduction and cat telepathy, the Catholic Church and the mystery of women, are all explored in his soul-baring epistles. But mostly the letters reveal one man’s heartbreakingly earnest attempt to assemble a family of his own.

A struggling priest, a “Girlbrarian,” her feline-loving, foulmouthed brother, and the spirit of Richard Gere join the quest to help Bartholomew. In a rented Ford Focus, they travel to Canada to see the Cat Parliament and find Bartholomew’s biological father . . . and discover so much more.

my thoughts:

If you are into epistolary novels filled with quirky characters, then you will love this book.  The Good Luck of Right Now is the story of Bartholomew Neil - a forty year old, autistic man who has recently lost his mother.   Bartholomew finds himself at a loss, not just for his mom, but for the life he has always known.  Having lived with his mother all of his life, he's never had to venture out into the world on his own and figure things out.   But now, things are about to change in a BIG way. 

While going through his mother's drawers, Bartholomew finds a letter addressed to his mom from Richard Gere (yep, that Richard Gere).  Inspired by his mom's love of the actor and the letter itself, Bartholomew begins to write to Richard Gere.   In his letters, he shares everything - his mother's love of Gere's movies, his mother's passing, his new life after his mom's death, his misadventures, and his oddball friends.  Its through these letters that we witness Bartholomew's struggles and successes, as he embarks on a journey of self-discovery.   This is a story that will melt you heart - its heartwarming, uplifting, and slightly offbeat.  You will fall in deep with this cast of misfits and their unbreakable bond.

The Good Luck of Right Now is filled with hope and humor - it will keep you smiling and laughing the whole way through.  This is one book that I will definitely not forget.  I would happily recommend it to fans of Matthew Quick's works and fans of heartfelt literature. 

Here's the link for the TLC Book Tour schedule of: The Good Luck of Right Now

Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!