A review by ridgewaygirl
A Lucky Man by Jamel Brinkley

4.0

This is a noteworthy collection; not only are short stories a hard sell for established authors, but for a new author like Brinkley, published by a smaller publisher outside of the Big Five to get any attention at all is unusual. Yet this book shows up on prize lists as diverse as the National Book Award and The Tournament of Books. The attention the is book is getting is well-deserved, the stories collected here are varied, but all speak to the experience of growing up as a person of color in New York. Like most collections, there were a few weaker offerings sandwiched between the strongest stories at the front and back of the book, but all were worth reading. Brinkley's skill is to bring the inner life of a child to life and to make the reader feel every uncertainty. This is a collection that brings to life the people living in the ungentrified areas of New York's boroughs. It's a good collection and I'll be sure to read whatever Brinkley writes next.