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witchystitches's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
kait_unicorn's review against another edition
4.0
Wonderfully captures the rage that underlies growing awareness of all the subtle and not-so-subtle ways ableism functions across society.
zlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Nicola Griffith’s short, tense novel is a spellbinding journey into the thin place between deep personal fears and physical reality. What do you do when home is no longer a safe place? Griffith’s protagonist is a martial artist and nonprofit leader, accustomed to feeling at home in her body and comfortable house. Then symptoms of multiple sclerosis, ensuing job loss, and the fraying threads of her fading relationship begin to deconstruct her life. No quitter, she bonds with other people with disabilities online – but fear and offline violence soon threaten this community, and perhaps even herself. While this is no "disability awareness" fable, "So Lucky" honestly presents both the power and vulnerability that people with disabilities experience. Readers may catch themselves looking over their own shoulders.
beccamcostello's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars.
A short but not easy read. If you tend to need trigger warnings for severe illness and/or violent crime, read with caution.
I appreciate any stories about disability that aren't inspiration porn. And this is absolutely about disability; MS isn't a side plot. The anger in this novel is tangible and I love it.
I would recommend this to just about anyone.
(Spoilers ahead)
The violent murders targeting people with disabilities, getting closer and closer to the narrator, felt like a good way to describe disability activism generally: a matter of literal life and death, yet the world at large doesn't connect the dots or recognize the urgency. Although I really like that interpretation, I'm glad the end acknowledges that disabled people are actually targeted for violence, not just metaphorically (or passively through public policy).
I heard about this book from a nonfiction disability rights book I read. I would like to hear different perspectives on it, especially from folks who have lived with a disability far longer than the narrator here. I like the personification of disability/emotions about disability. I felt a little uncomfortable with the final scene, in which Mara seems to be "overcoming" some of her negative reaction to MS. It has such a sense of finality, like she's figured out exactly how she should be feeling and acting, which is not how I've heard people talk about chronic illness. But I'm not one of those people, so my perception of the ending could be way off.
A short but not easy read. If you tend to need trigger warnings for severe illness and/or violent crime, read with caution.
I appreciate any stories about disability that aren't inspiration porn. And this is absolutely about disability; MS isn't a side plot. The anger in this novel is tangible and I love it.
I would recommend this to just about anyone.
(Spoilers ahead)
The violent murders targeting people with disabilities, getting closer and closer to the narrator, felt like a good way to describe disability activism generally: a matter of literal life and death, yet the world at large doesn't connect the dots or recognize the urgency. Although I really like that interpretation, I'm glad the end acknowledges that disabled people are actually targeted for violence, not just metaphorically (or passively through public policy).
I heard about this book from a nonfiction disability rights book I read. I would like to hear different perspectives on it, especially from folks who have lived with a disability far longer than the narrator here. I like the personification of disability/emotions about disability. I felt a little uncomfortable with the final scene, in which Mara seems to be "overcoming" some of her negative reaction to MS. It has such a sense of finality, like she's figured out exactly how she should be feeling and acting, which is not how I've heard people talk about chronic illness. But I'm not one of those people, so my perception of the ending could be way off.
emjay24's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to this as an audio book on my walks to work, and the author did a wonderful job of narrating her own book. I was really into it, then it kind of fizzled a little at the end. I also loved the cat! Everything she did was so like my own cat. I kept forgetting this isn’t a memoir because the author did a very good job of getting us in the headspace of this woman going through such profound changes.
jestintzi's review against another edition
5.0
This book was an instant favorites. Hot damn. I'm going to be thinking about this one for awhile.
readingwithstardust's review against another edition
5.0
3.5 stars. Really enjoyed this once the sort of, mystery/suspense bit kicked off.
Re-read 7/26/23
5 stars. I am fascinated by the previous me who read this book and rated it 3.5 stars. I had essentially no memory of this book going into it (which, to my previous self's credit, may warrant the lower rating in and of itself), in fact I kept making the mistake of thinking it was a memoir. But re-listening to this book I really enjoyed it. The narrator's rage was so palpable and understandable; her fear and lashing out. I loved Nicola Griffith's writing in this, and she is riveting as a narrator/storyteller. I don't even know, I don't think I've ever re-read something and rated it higher that my previous read but here we are.
Re-read 7/26/23
5 stars. I am fascinated by the previous me who read this book and rated it 3.5 stars. I had essentially no memory of this book going into it (which, to my previous self's credit, may warrant the lower rating in and of itself), in fact I kept making the mistake of thinking it was a memoir. But re-listening to this book I really enjoyed it. The narrator's rage was so palpable and understandable; her fear and lashing out. I loved Nicola Griffith's writing in this, and she is riveting as a narrator/storyteller. I don't even know, I don't think I've ever re-read something and rated it higher that my previous read but here we are.
pearloz's review against another edition
3.0
Seemingly autobiographical novel about a woman who, upon her impending divorce, is diagnosed with MS. The book goes to great lengths to show us our protagonist is not some wilting flower--she is a powerful woman, at the head of a non-profit that advocates for those with AIDS. But especially when, after her diagnosis and a vulgar and inappropriate email--the result of which was her dismissal--she goes a a a calculated twitter rant, and starts a movement and advocacy work for sufferers of MS. She's quick, she's smart, she's ruthless, and she has non-profit complete with funding up and running in no time. But really, the book is about her struggle to come to terms with her limitations (knowingly coming to terms with the limits of her body; unknowingly coming to terms with the way her mind was dealing with the diagnosis), going so far as to unconsciously personify the disease as a monster that is on the move that is coming for her--which was an odd choice for the book as it turns out there was an actual "killer" coming for her, at least theoretically. She conflates the disease with her coming to terms with the disease and basically grits it out. The real killers are caught, and she confronts her own inner-tormentor...
"My monster grinned at me. And flexed.
It's not me, It's MS.
'I see you,' I said. 'I know what you are.'
And I did. This was not MS. This was helplessness and self-loathing and second-class citizenship."
She is a character with a lot of anger--at having to exist in a patriarchal society at all, and now, post-diagnosis, having to bear slights both real and imagined due to that illness.
Mara is a fun character, but this book was all over the place, and I feel like it couldn't get settled.
"My monster grinned at me. And flexed.
It's not me, It's MS.
'I see you,' I said. 'I know what you are.'
And I did. This was not MS. This was helplessness and self-loathing and second-class citizenship."
She is a character with a lot of anger--at having to exist in a patriarchal society at all, and now, post-diagnosis, having to bear slights both real and imagined due to that illness.
Mara is a fun character, but this book was all over the place, and I feel like it couldn't get settled.
jae_chil's review against another edition
4.0
Very quick and fun read. Tackles some very real topics with a great voice.
moirastone's review against another edition
2.0
Dearly wanting to love this fierce and raging book could not make it so.