The Left and the Lucky

 

The Left and the Lucky by Willy Vlautin
4/14/26; 256 pages
HarperCollins  

The Left and the Lucky by Willy Vlautin is an exceptional, heartbreaking, beautiful, yet harrowing novel about a friendship between a man and a boy which may save both of them.  The Left and the Lucky is very highly recommended and will definitely be on my list of the very best books of the year. I love this novel. It may be my new favorite novel by Vlautin, but, really, all of his books are excellent.  

In working-class Portland, Oregon, eight-year-old Russell's life has been ruled by abuse and neglect. The family lives with his grandmother, who has dementia. His mother, Connie, works nights as a stripper while his fifteen-year-old brother Curtis, is angry, troubled and increasingly a physical threat to everyone. Russell, who is small for his age, copes by sleeping on the floor in his grandmother's room, but when she goes into care, he spends most of his time outside, avoiding Curtis and waiting for their neighbor Eddie to get home and dreaming of ways to escape.

Eddie Wilkens is a workaholic house painter in his early forties whose wife has left him. He is kind, patient, thoughtful, and caring. After finding Russell out late, alone one night, he now makes sure Russell has a good meal daily and also gives him small jobs to do, like cleaning paint brushes and caring for Eddie's old dog, Early, while also keeping hims safe. Eddie's main employee is Houston, an alcoholic who he has to care for to keep him functioning. Russell ends up living with Eddie and the two become a makeshift father and son, helping each other.

This is a thoughtful, well-written novel. It isn't revealed until late in the novel the real meaning of the book's title and the pain that Eddie has carried for nearly twenty years. It makes the title so poignant but also explains the reason for the care, generosity, and patience Eddie bestows on everyone. It illustrates why Eddie helps others overcome circumstances they are facing and changes their lives.  Yeah, between Russell's circumstances, Eddie's care, and other events, this is a crying novel during multiple chapters.

All the characters are portrayed as fully realized, but broken individuals, including young Russell. Vlautin excels at creating everyday, realistic, and flawed characters who are facing trials that can seem insurmountable. Even with all the pain in the narrative, there are also small moments of humor and keen insight along the way. 

The Left and the Lucky is a perfect choice for reader who appreciate novels where characters face difficult situations, and fans of Willy Vlautin and Fredrik Backman's novels. Thanks to HarperCollins for providing me with an advance reader's copy via Edelweiss. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.