“It’s an incredible and wonderful thing to read her painfully accurate, heart warming and hilarious analysis of our age of comparison in this wonderful, powerful novel”
NO MAJOR SPOILERS
So Lucky is the latest novel from the author of The Cows, Dawn O’Porter. The book follows three main characters. Beth is a new mother who hasn’t had sex in a year but is working one last, big wedding before her maternity leave can continue. Ruby is the mother of a toddler who feels like she’s failing while she raises her daughter and tries to hide the biggest secret in her life. Meanwhile, Instagram celebrity Lauren, whose story is mostly told through descriptions of Instagram images, captions and comments, is about to get married to the famous businessman Gavin Riley but is her happiness just fake news?
In a short space of time, the characters and their stories slowly move together weaving within one another with small links, coincidences, and eventually one shocking event that unites them all. Ultimately, the characters, and perhaps the book’s readers, learn that no one is as perfect as they might seem.
“Everyone has their own shit. Everyone needs to be kinder to themselves… Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”
Dawn O’Porter’s So Lucky is an honest and fearless novel about body image, mental health, perpetuated standards of beauty, Instagram curated perfection, and the very human need to compare yourself to others who you perceive to be “So Lucky”. It tells the tale of three ordinary and relatable women who battle with their own self-worth, identity and moral compass whilst also fighting for their relationships and happiness. Throughout the novel, O’Porter also tackles several difficult and necessary topics including; female sexuality, mental health, and the under-represented condition of polycystic ovaries. By exploring these areas, Dawn O’Porter successfully shows women that their experiences are shared with many others and should not be shameful.
So Lucky is thought-provoking, perceptive and darkly funny novel full of sarcasm, sexually explicit content and timely quips, “I’ve been sent more NDAs for this wedding that Trump’s cabinet give to their female staff.” A fabulously feminist and empathetic read that reminds us that the struggle for perfection and the journey to self-acceptance is one we all share.
Reviewed by:
Catherine Muxworthy, Booksbirdblog
Added 6th February 2020
