The Good Luck of Right Now

December 23, 2013
The newest from The Silver Linings Playbook author Quick is a quirky coming-of-age story about an earnest, guileless 38-year-old man with a dyspeptic stomach. After caring for his mother until her death, Bartholomew Neil begins adding to his writing repertoireâhe already keeps an "Interesting Things I Have Learned" notebookâpenning letters to Richard Gere when he discovers a "free Tibet" letter from Gere, his mom's favorite actor, among her things. Told by his grief counselor that Bartholomew should find his flock, he believes coincidence is at play and begins recounting stories from his life to the actor, and soliciting advice as well. Bartholomew's plan starts small: he wants to have a drink in a bar with a buddy and go on a date with a girlâhopefully the "girlbrarian" at the library where he spends most days reading books about Jung or the Dalai Lama. His motley flock slowly takes form, including the bipolar priest he's known his whole life, a foulmouthed paranoid grieving for his dead cat, and the paranoid's depressed sister, who just so happens to be the girlbrarian. Quick writes with an engaging intimacy, capturing his narrator's innocence and off-kilter philosophy, and the damaged souls in orbit around him.

February 1, 2014

For 40-odd years, Bartholomew Neil has lived quietly in Philadelphia with his aging mother. In her last days, dementia causes her to refer to her son as Richard, presumably after her favorite actor, Richard Gere. In a series of letters to the actor, Bartholomew outlines his isolated life in funny, plaintive, and sometimes darkly obsessive terms. We learn of Father McNamee, a longtime family friend, who suffers from bipolar disorder and moves in with Bartholomew. Life-skills and grief counselors try to assist but have issues of their own. When Bartholomew encounters profane, cat-loving Max in a therapy group, he fulfills a long-term desire to meet the library worker he has admired from his local branch, who happens to be Max's sister, Elizabeth. Serendipitous events like this help to cement Bartholomew's growing belief in the phenomenon his mother called "the good luck of right now." VERDICT Quick (aka "Q"), author of The Silver Linings Playbook, on which the highly acclaimed movie was based, has film rights optioned for several books, including this one. He has a rare skill in portraying characters with mental illness, which, when coupled with his deft hand at humor, produces compelling and important prose. Interest should be high; fans of Wally Lamb, Mark Haddon, or Winston Groom will appreciate. [See Prepub Alert, 8/12/13.]--Jennifer B. Stidham, Houston Community Coll. Northeast

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2013

A young man finds himself after his mother's death; follow-up to the smash hit The Silver Linings Playbook.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 15, 2013
Quirky, feel-good fiction from the author of The Silver Linings Playbook (2008). Bartholomew Neil describes himself as having above-average intelligence, though it's clear his intelligence is unconventional and idiosyncratic. Neil tells his story in a series of letters he writes to Richard Gere, a figure much admired by Neil's mother. The novel opens with her death, a great loss for Bartholomew, who has lived with her for 38 years. Now he's bereft and alone, relying on the ministrations of Wendy, his grief counselor, and Father McNamee, a priest at the church Bartholomew has faithfully attended for his entire life. Although at first it's not quite clear what his motivation is, McNamee abruptly "defrocks himself" to help take care of Bartholomew. In addition to caring for Bartholomew, he spends much time praying but also drinking a daily bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey, and by the end of the novel, it becomes clear that McNamee has much to atone for. Bartholomew is something of a holy innocent. He becomes enamored with the "Girlbrarian," a woman he falls platonically in love with at the library he haunts. Through synchronicity (a key concept in the novel), it turns out the Girlbrarian, Elizabeth, has a brother, Max, going through grief counseling for his cat, Alice. Max, who can't get through a single sentence without using the f-word, links up with Bartholomew through Wendy, and the novel switches to a road trip to Canada, where Bartholomew can supposedly discover a father he has long thought dead and Max can visit the "Cat Parliament" in Ottawa. A whimsical, clever narrative.

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January 1, 2014
Quick, the author of The Silver Linings Playbook (2008), provides another offbeat gem populated with eccentric, fallible, intensely human characters. After his mother's death, 38-year-old Bartholomew Neil, a middle-aged man who has never left home, is at a crossroads in his life. Finding a form letter from Richard Gere buried in his mother's underwear drawer, he begins a one-sided correspondence with the superstar, triggering a series of events that culminates in a life-altering road trip to Canada with a motley crew of misfits including his secret crush, the girlbrarian; her foulmouthed, oddball brother; and a Catholic priest who has fled his parish. The quartet travels northward in search of Bartholomew's biological father, and humor, pathos, and quirky bends in the road define their odyssey, making it increasingly clear that it is all about the journey, not the destination. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Considering the megapopularity of the film version of The Silver Linings Playbook, expect high demand for this spiritually fueled midlife coming-of-age novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)