How Lucky

A Novel

By: Will Leitch

Narrated by: Graham Halstead

2022 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Novel

“A fantastic novel. . . . You are going to like this a lot.”—Stephen King

“What’s more thrilling than a fictional character speaking to us in a voice we haven’t heard before, a voice so authentic and immediate—think Huck Finn, Holden Caulfield, Mattie Ross—that we suspect it must’ve been there all along, that we somehow managed to miss it? Daniel, the protagonist of Will Leitch’s smart, funny, heartbreaking new novel How Lucky, is just such a voice, and I’m not sure it will ever completely leave my head, or that I want it to.”—Richard Russo

For readers of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Nothing to See Here, a first novel as suspenseful and funny as it is moving, the unforgettable story of a fiercely resilient young man living with a physical disability, and his efforts to solve a mystery unfolding right outside his door.

Daniel leads a rich life in the university town of Athens, Georgia. He’s got a couple close friends, a steady paycheck working for a regional airline, and of course, for a few glorious days each Fall, college football tailgates. He considers himself to be a mostly lucky guy—despite the fact that he’s suffered from a debilitating disease since he was a small child, one that has left him unable to speak or to move without a wheelchair.

Largely confined to his home, Daniel spends the hours he’s not online communicating with irate air travelers observing his neighborhood from his front porch. One young woman passes by so frequently that spotting her out the window has almost become part of his daily routine. Until the day he’s almost sure he sees her being kidnapped...

No need for Political Jabs

To Will Leitch: References such as “white nationalists”, southern systemic voter suppression”, and “right wing memes” to name a few, are in no way related to the story/plot and add nothing to it. Better to leave out the political jabs and focus on the story.

Wonderful! Disability studies in action!

this was a wonderful book. I love the wisdom of making the hero disabled. I learned so much about my own abilities but also lack of abilities.

Sweet story, great perspective

I loved the unlikely narrator of a disabled man. Super interesting to hear his point of view. I didn’t love the offhanded political comments throughout. That was a bit of a turnoff.

Great story

Very nice story
Couldn’t have guessed the ending
New hero in a great action story!

Eye opening

It was interesting to read a book centered in Athens, and with a character who was a vet student.
Characters were well developed and plot was compelling.
I hope the author writes another