A Handbook to Luck - Hardcover

Garcia, Cristina

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 030726436X ISBN 13: 9780307264367

Publisher: Alfred a Knopf Inc, 2007

Synopsis

Follows three young people--Cuban-born Enrique, living in California with his flamboyant magician father; Marta, growing up in the violent slums of San Salvador; and Leila, enjoying an upper-middle-class youth in Tehran--over the course of twenty years as they are transformed by sacrifice, love, violence, and loss as their lives intertwine. 30,000 first printing.

About this title

Review

" Using a graceful parallel storytelling technique, Garci a unfolds [her characters' ] stories . . . Provocative."
- Carol Memmott, "USA Today"
" In this absorbing story, Garci a once again uses her talent for description to conjure the melancholic half-memories of the places and people that immigrants leave behind. And Garci a once again skillfully weaves together the stories of several people whose lives eventually intersect."
- Robin Updike, "Seattle Times"
" "A Handbook to Luck" shines with vulnerable characters, poetic language and poignant epiphanies."
- Rosie Molinary, "Ms."
" ["A Handbook to Luck"] evokes the poignant inner conflicts and emotional ambiguities of Garci a's first novel, "Dreaming in Cuban . . ." Garci a deftly pits the forces of magic and reality against each other, testing the boundaries of cynicism and hope in order to attest to the interconnectedness of strangers' lives."
- Elena Machado Sa ez," Florida Sun-Sentinel"
" In her first three novels, including her marvelous debut, "Dreaming in Cuban, "Cristina Garci a amply demonstrated her literary gifts, delineating fine gradations of love and hatred, madness and obsession, while juggling multiple narratives . . . [In "A Handbook to Luck"], Garci a' s characters are linked most strongly by the sense each has of being ungrounded . . . In [Marta' s] story, and in that of Enrique' s father, Garci a' s writing comes to life, flashing with wit and color."
- Louisa Thomas, "New York Times Book Review"
" Garci a expertly braids each of [her characters' ] stories together, tenderly tracing the passage of these 1960s children into 1980s adults as they begin to discover the often unavoidable gap ' between what you planned and what actually happened.' "
- Sue Corbett, "People"
" The pleasure here is Garci a' s truffle-rich prose and expert handling of time' s passage."
- Karen Karbo, "Entertainment Weekly"
" Pitch-perfect . . . Garci a' s novel (and the rich cast of characters that wend their way through it) is driven by a poetic sort of happenstance . . . [The character Leila is] like an Iranian Edna Pontellier, the tragic hero of ' The Awakening, ' Kate Chopin's classic tale . . . Garci a is still drawn to describe the richness and variety of the immigrant experience. But in "A Handbook to Luck" she also fixes her attention on the fundamentally human desire to make sense of the world, to impose order on the chaos of nature and to rationalize one's mysterious place within it."
- Laura Ciolkowski," Chicago Tribune"
" Garci a' s characters have a lot to teach us about playing life' s odds, and about resilience . . . With an ear for language and its cadence, Garci a writes with humor, tenderness and an intuitive sense of how ordinary people weather fortune' s turns. If you long for a ' handbook' that reveals how ordinary people become extraordinary, you are in luck."
- Jane H. Furse, "New York Daily News"
" A magically lyrical meditation on life and human dreams . . . Garci a[is] a poet of imagery and metaphor . . . Richly detailed."
- Corrie Pikul, "Elle"
" Garci a' s most transfixing and moving novel to date . . . [Her] vital characters cope with exile, violence, and crushed dreams as they struggle toward love and freedom. As Garci a constructs concentric worlds of conflict and longing, discerns cultural paradoxes and human contrariness, and writes rhapsodically of nature' s beauty, life emerges as a cosmic game of chance under luck' s misrule."
- Donna Seaman, "Booklist "(starred)
" The fortunes of three vividly characterized protagonists are deftly delineated in ["A Handbook to Luck"] . . . Garci a braids their stories together skillfully, embedding serious political and familial issues in subtly presented personal relations. The amusing extravagances that crop up never compromise their credible, endearing humanity. Best of all, the permutations of bad and good ' luck' that shape their individual and shared lives are quite ingeniously compared and contrasted. Another winner for Garci a."
- "Kirkus Reviews "(starred)
" In this compelling, vivid, sophisticated, and highly original love story, three lives intertwine in a tale suffused with magic, sacrifice, passion and an exquisite elegiac music. Cristina Garcia has created a beautiful and stunning book."
- Chris Abani
" Garci a lovingly portrays her characters grappling with misfortune and luck in unfamiliar surroundings."
- "Publishers Weekly"

"From the Hardcover edition."

"Using a graceful parallel storytelling technique, Garcia unfolds [her characters'] stories . . . Provocative."
-Carol Memmott, "USA Today"
"In this absorbing story, Garcia once again uses her talent for description to conjure the melancholic half-memories of the places and people that immigrants leave behind. And Garcia once again skillfully weaves together the stories of several people whose lives eventually intersect."
-Robin Updike, "Seattle Times"
""A Handbook to Luck" shines with vulnerable characters, poetic language and poignant epiphanies."
-Rosie Molinary, "Ms."
"["A Handbook to Luck"] evokes the poignant inner conflicts and emotional ambiguities of Garcia's first novel, "Dreaming in Cuban . . ." Garcia deftly pits the forces of magic and reality against each other, testing the boundaries of cynicism and hope in order to attest to the interconnectedness of strangers' lives."
-Elena Machado Saez," Florida Sun-Sentinel"
"In her first three novels, including her marvelous debut, "Dreaming in Cuban, "Cristina Garcia amply demonstrated her literary gifts, delineating fine gradations of love and hatred, madness and obsession, while juggling multiple narratives . . . [In "A Handbook to Luck"], Garcia's characters are linked most strongly by the sense each has of being ungrounded . . . In [Marta's] story, and in that of Enrique's father, Garcia's writing comes to life, flashing with wit and color."
-Louisa Thomas, "New York Times Book Review"
"Garcia expertly braids each of [her characters'] stories together, tenderly tracing the passage of these 1960s children into 1980s adults as they begin to discover the often unavoidable gap 'between what youplanned and what actually happened.'"
-Sue Corbett, "People"
"The pleasure here is Garcia's truffle-rich prose and expert handling of time's passage."
-Karen Karbo, "Entertainment Weekly"
"Pitch-perfect . . . Garcia's novel (and the rich cast of characters that wend their way through it) is driven by a poetic sort of happenstance . . . [The character Leila is] like an Iranian Edna Pontellier, the tragic hero of 'The Awakening, ' Kate Chopin's classic tale . . . Garcia is still drawn to describe the richness and variety of the immigrant experience. But in "A Handbook to Luck" she also fixes her attention on the fundamentally human desire to make sense of the world, to impose order on the chaos of nature and to rationalize one's mysterious place within it."
-Laura Ciolkowski," Chicago Tribune"
"Garcia's characters have a lot to teach us about playing life's odds, and about resilience . . . With an ear for language and its cadence, Garcia writes with humor, tenderness and an intuitive sense of how ordinary people weather fortune's turns. If you long for a 'handbook' that reveals how ordinary people become extraordinary, you are in luck."
-Jane H. Furse, "New York Daily News"
"A magically lyrical meditation on life and human dreams . . . Garcia [is] a poet of imagery and metaphor . . . Richly detailed."
-Corrie Pikul, "Elle"
"Garcia's most transfixing and moving novel to date . . . [Her] vital characters cope with exile, violence, and crushed dreams as they struggle toward love and freedom. As Garcia constructs concentric worlds of conflict and longing, discerns cultural paradoxes and human contrariness, and writes rhapsodically of nature's beauty, lifeemerges as a cosmic game of chance under luck's misrule."
-Donna Seaman, "Booklist "(starred)
"The fortunes of three vividly characterized protagonists are deftly delineated in ["A Handbook to Luck"] . . . Garcia braids their stories together skillfully, embedding serious political and familial issues in subtly presented personal relations. The amusing extravagances that crop up never compromise their credible, endearing humanity. Best of all, the permutations of bad and good 'luck' that shape their individual and shared lives are quite ingeniously compared and contrasted. Another winner for Garcia."
-"Kirkus Reviews "(starred)
"In this compelling, vivid, sophisticated, and highly original love story, three lives intertwine in a tale suffused with magic, sacrifice, passion and an exquisite elegiac music. Cristina Garcia has created a beautiful and stunning book."
-Chris Abani
"Garcia lovingly portrays her characters grappling with misfortune and luck in unfamiliar surroundings."
-"Publishers Weekly"

"From the Hardcover edition."

"Graceful. . . . Beautiful. . . . Provocative."
--"USA Today"
"Garcia writes with humor, tenderness and an intuitive sense of how ordinary people weather fortune's turns. If you long for a 'handbook' that reveals how ordinary people become extraordinary, you are in luck."
--"New York Daily News"
"A magically lyrical meditation on life and human dreams . . . Garcia [is] a poet of imagery and metaphor."
--"Elle"
"Pitch-perfect . . .. Garcia is still drawn to describe the richness and variety of the immigrant experience. . . . [But] she also fixes her attention on the fundamentally human desire to make sense of the world, to impose order on the chaos of nature and to rationalize one's mysterious place within it."
--"Chicago Tribune"

"Graceful. . . . Beautiful. . . . Provocative."--"USA Today ""Garcia writes with humor, tenderness and an intuitive sense of how ordinary people weather fortune's turns. If you long for a 'handbook' that reveals how ordinary people become extraordinary, you are in luck."--"New York Daily News ""A magically lyrical meditation on life and human dreams . . . Garcia [is] a poet of imagery and metaphor." --"Elle""Pitch-perfect . . .. Garcia is still drawn to describe the richness and variety of the immigrant experience. . . . [But] she also fixes her attention on the fundamentally human desire to make sense of the world, to impose order on the chaos of nature and to rationalize one's mysterious place within it." --"Chicago Tribune"

About the Author

Cristina García was born in Havana and grew up in New York City. Her first novel, Dreaming in Cuban, was nominated for a National Book Award and has been widely translated. Ms. García has been a Guggenheim Fellow, a Hodder Fellow at Princeton University, and the recipient of a Whiting Writers' Award. She lives in California's Napa Valley with her daughter and husband.

About this edition

• Publisher: Alfred a Knopf Inc
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 030726436X
• ISBN 13: 9780307264367
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288