Lucky Boy

What impressed me most about this book was how in tune I felt with each character’s mind set.  I think it can often be difficult to explain to the reader why a character is making a certain choice, why they felt the need to do something or forget about something that the reader is still stewing in.  The author expertly puts us into the character’s thoughts and feelings at the time.  The author builds an environment of the character’s own logic, as surely as they write the landscape.  When Soli is assaulted on page 120, I wasn’t surprised that Soli wasn’t expecting an attack.  “Soli heard his footsteps but thought nothing of it…Any other day, she would have pissed her pants and run…cradled in daylight, she felt she had nothing to fear.” (Sekaran 120).  It’s clear how and why Soli was taken by surprise, how this isn’t like “any other day.”  I didn’t have to wonder how a character who was so on edge let a few hints of what’s coming slide by her, because that isn’t the point of the passage, and it was clear what she was thinking and what she understood of the situation at hand.  I think when characters go through these kinds of events, because it’s so shocking, it’s very important to add extra context for the reader, since seeing a character get hurt is something most readers shy away from.  I think the author has to work extra hard to position the scene and have it make sense to the reader, even when there are no good reasons for violent acts.  As horrible as that scene was, I didn’t question what happened as unrealistic or out of nowhere.  The violent nature of the men was well established and Soli’s confusion, even after she’s been alert and resourceful at avoiding other dangers, was clear.      

The way that Rishi and Kavya’ love for one another was slowly unfolded was very interesting.  At first I wasn’t sure how strong their relationship was, “In the old days, Rishi would have pulled over and inspected the air-conditioning himself…Those were the days when they’d first met…” (Sekaran 10).  I took this to mean that their affections for one another were seriously fading, but later on I had a strong belief in their devotion to each other.  I felt that a question was posed at the beginning, why does Rishi love Kavya?  Slowly, after many pages, Rishi thinks about why he loves her, “His Kavya wasn’t helpless…He’d fallen for Kavya because she moved straight and strong as a bullet.” (Sekaran 81).  I liked this slow build up, because I had never stopped wondering why, and it was important to withhold this answer for a relevant time between Rishi and Kavya, so the reader can better understand Rishi and what he’s dealing with.  Their love slowly blooms across the pages, and I became more and more sure of it as the book continued. 

I thought Soli’s flashbacks to her journey to the U.S. was paced in such an excellent way.  Just when I wanted to know more about what happened, a flashback would pop up, and then end, ushering me back to her life in Berkeley when I had had enough and wanted to return.  I think it was a great decision to split up her story about crossing and it helped keep my attention fresh and my curiosity about Soli keen.  I think telling the crossing and then the time in Berkeley would not have done justice to her story and the connections between each would not have seemed so clear.

 I was impressed with how the author was able to describe things like towns and clothes and not be boring.  Santa Clara Popocalco is described from within the town, geographically, and by weather, and I was never annoyed or bored by these descriptions, which is really hard to do.  On page nine, I found myself fascinated by Kavya’s sari, the embroidery, the colors, the cut.  I often find writing about outfits a chore, a necessary evil sometimes, but here the clothes, as well as the character, are brought to life in a way that I wanted to keep reading.             

-Iris