The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick

The blurb:

From the bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook. Bartholomew Neil is thirty-nine and lost. He's lived his whole life, up till a few weeks ago, with his devoted mum, but now she has died Bartholomew has no idea how to be on his own. His grief counsellor, Wendy, says he needs to find his flock and leave the nest. But how does a man whose whole life has been grounded learn how to fly? So Bartholomew turns to Richard Gere, the man his mum adored from afar, in the hope he can offer some answers. In Bartholomew's letters to Richard Gere he explores philosophy and friendship, alien abduction and the mystery of women. The letters also reveal his heart-breaking need of a family, but when Bartholomew does manage to assemble a motley family of sorts, he seems to have taken on more than he bargained for . . .

My Review:

I was very excited to see that Matthew Quick has a new book coming out. I loved The Silver Linings Playbook and so was looking forward to seeing how he would follow it.

The book is written from the viewpoint of Bartholomew Neil. Bartholomew is 39 and his life has revolved around living with his Mum who has recently died. The book is written in the form of letters to Richard Gere. That might sound random, but Bartholomew's Mum adored Richard Gere so he feels that he can speak to him via letter.

The book is quite intense in places and deals with heavy issues. I like the way that Matthew Quick in both his books hasn't been afraid to write about mental health issues. In this book it explores how the death of his Mum has affected Bartholomew, both through the letters he writes to Richard Gere, but also through his use of therapy. We meet his friend Max and his sister Elizabeth who are also complex characters. We also meet his priest who plays a pivotal role in the book also.

Writing the book in the form of letters is really good, and breaks up some of the deeper moments. I found the book flowed well and liked learning snippets of information about Richard Gere along the way!

I really felt for Bartholomew and it is clear that he has not had an easy life and craves some of the things that we take for granted, such as going on a date, or going to a bar with a friend, I did want to reach into the book and befriend him.

With some books you can guess the storyline early on. Whilst I did see a few things coming I was never sure, and I didn't predict how it would draw together. This kept me interested and made for a roller coaster ride.

This is a quirky book which seems to have divided readers when looking at reviews, but I enjoyed it. The characters are engaging and the depth of storyline kept me going.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan who provided a copy of the book via Netgalley in return for an honest review.