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Original Essays | May 3, 2013

Emily St. John Mandel: IMG The Festivals

2 comments By Emily St. John Mandel

When it happens, it feels like winning the lottery. An email arrives out of the blue, from one of my publishers or a festival director or a member... Continue »
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    The Lola Quartet

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A Handbook to Luck (Vintage Contemporaries)

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A Handbook to Luck (Vintage Contemporaries) Cover

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

In the late 60s, three teenagers from around the globe are making their way in the world: Enrique Florit, from Cuba, living in southern California with his flamboyant magician father; Marta Claros, getting by in the slums of San Salvador; Leila Rezvani, a well-to-do surgeon's daughter in Tehran. We follow them through the years, surviving war, disillusionment, and love, as their lives and paths intersect. With its cast of vividly drawn characters, its graceful movement through time, and the psychological shifts between childhood and adulthood, A Handbook to Luck is a beautiful, elegiac, and deeply emotional novel by beloved storyteller Cristina Garcia.

Review:

"Garcia offers rich, lyrical writing and a sensitive portrayal of her characters." Rocky Mountain News

Review:

"Enrique, Marta and Leila are unforgettable characters that will make you cross your fingers for them as you turn every single page." San Antonio Express-News

Review:

"As Garcia 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." Booklist

Review:

"Pitch-perfect...García 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
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About the Author

Cristina Garcia 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. Garcia 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.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Teresa Fudge, December 20, 2008 (view all comments by Teresa Fudge)
Insightful treasure. I didn't want it to end. You can't read this book without wondering how "luck" has influenced your own path in life.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780307276803
Author:
Garcia, Cristina
Publisher:
Vintage Books USA
Subject:
General
Subject:
Cuban Americans
Subject:
Social life and customs
Subject:
Cuban Americans - California
Subject:
San Salvador (El Salvador) -
Subject:
General Fiction
Subject:
Family saga
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Edition Description:
Trade paper
Series:
Vintage Contemporaries
Publication Date:
20080431
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
272
Dimensions:
7.90x5.20x.59 in. .43 lbs.
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Related Subjects

» Fiction and Poetry » Literature » A to Z

A Handbook to Luck (Vintage Contemporaries) New Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$13.95 In Stock
Product details 272 pages Vintage Books USA - English 9780307276803 Reviews:
"Review" by , "Garcia offers rich, lyrical writing and a sensitive portrayal of her characters."
"Review" by , "Enrique, Marta and Leila are unforgettable characters that will make you cross your fingers for them as you turn every single page."
"Review" by , "As Garcia 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."
"Review" by , "Pitch-perfect...García 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."
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