Lucky Man

Lucky Man

This is a book about four friends, Gabe, Jake, Louie and Sammy, following their last years in school/college; however, it is not only a book for teenagers. I think everyone, young and old, will enjoy reading this book. It is a book about growing up, relationships, family problems and teenage social behaviour. The writing style is unconventional - there are no quotation marks used to signify speech, which first seems very unusual, but once you get used to it, doesn't seem that bad. Each chapter is written from the perspective of one of the four main characters, however, the author doesn't make it clear which character is narrating and so you have to work it out as you read. I found this a bit confusing, especially at the beginning of the book when the characters were unfamiliar, but as you get to know each character this becomes less distracting. However, given the way the book ends, it may well be that the author intended some confusion in the way the book was written; after all, the story does centre around the four boys' misuse of various drugs and the mind altering potential of these. I did find the book an entertaining read and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good book to read. There were a few typos contained in the book which kept recurring which is why I am only giving it four stars, otherwise I think it was almost perfect. It reminded me in parts of 'A Catcher in the Rye' with the same loose style of writing. JD Salinger's infamous book is mentioned a couple of times in the novel and so maybe it was one of the author's influences in writing this novel.

Funny!

In this book, Lucky Man, by Ben Tanzer, I found many grammatical errors, such as commas needed in several places and words missing to complete phrases, such as the/and/a. I found misspellings and words used out of context, such as their/there, and anyways/ any way. At times the language can be abusive, but given the situation and the characters I don¿t feel it takes away from the story. In my opinion, the dialog between characters can be confusing in the way it was written, but did not deter me from reading.<BR/><BR/> In saying that, I found this book very compelling. Written in the first person point of view, from four different sources is not an easy task to pull off successfully. The characters were believable, and the plot intriguing. Ben Tanzer brings the hardships of four young men into your mind and tugs the heartstrings with each trial of their young lives. Reading it made me feel as if I was delving into a forbidden diary, and brought me closer to the characters. It certainly changes your thinking of an ordinary telephone ring. In retrospect, the ending was superb and had a twist, that even though the author worked up to, I did not see coming. For a debut novel, I am, overall, impressed.<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>Kelly Moran<BR/><BR/>Author and Reviewer

Very Engaging!

I reviewed this book for the author, Ben. Findings are below... In this book, Lucky Man, by Ben Tanzer, I found many grammatical errors, such as commas needed in several places and words missing to complete phrases, such as the/and/a. I found misspellings and words used out of context, such as their/there, and anyways/ any way. For a finished and published work, I am very disappointed with the proofreading and editing on the publishing company¿s behalf. At times the language can be abusive, but given the situation and the characters I don¿t feel it takes away from the story. In my opinion, the dialog between characters can be confusing in the way it was written, but did not deter me from reading. In saying that, I found this book very compelling. Written in the first person point of view, from four different sources is not an easy task to pull off successfully. The characters were believable, and the plot intriguing. Ben Tanzer brings the hardships of four young men into your mind and tugs the heartstrings with each trial of their young lives. Reading it made me feel as if I was delving into a forbidden diary, and brought me closer to the characters. It certainly changes your thinking of an ordinary telephone ring. In retrospect, the ending was superb and had a twist, that even though the author worked up to, I did not see coming. For a debut novel, I am, overall, impressed.

A reviewer

¿Lucky Man¿, Ben Tanzer¿s first novel, is about four friends from their last days in high school to after college. Each of the four boys gives his first account narritive as their lives unfold through adolescence to adulthood. Each family has varying degrees of dysfunctional behavior but commonly, all four lack a healthy relationship with their father. Gabe, somewhat the leader, has a father he can¿t connect with. Jake, the rebel, is bullied by his father. Sammy¿s father can¿t seem to live at home and rents a place by himself. Louis¿s dad tries to connect, but outside of Jesus, he can¿t seem to hold a conversation. This coming of age story will touch your heart with laughter and tears. Ben Tanzer is a magnificent writer with a clear understanding of what teenagers face growing up.

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