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The Extraordinarily Lucky Day in the Unlucky Life of David Pryce
Poor David Pryce. His entire life has been plagued by misfortune. From a childhood in foster care, shuttled from one home to the next (“Dennis, if you don’t eat dinner NOW, you don’t eat DINNER!”), to adulthood riddled with debt, loss, and dashed hopes, David's life has been one series of disasters after another. Hope crushed, happiness thwarted, mundanity accepted. Nothing had ever gone David’s way…until now. Until today. In one magical twenty four hour period, that is all about to change. David wakes up and from the moment he sees an e mail flashing the word WINNER at him he realizes this is the day he has been waiting for his entire life. David is spending the day in Las Vegas, and what better place to be lucky. The reaction of the casino at David’s luck starts as incredulous, as every bet, no matter how asinine or ridiculous, wins. Soon their attitude turns to panic and they dispatch a young and good hearted employee, James Sun, to speak to David, to get him off the tables. David and Jimmy sits down and David starts to tell the young man his story. We see in flashback David as a small child with his loving but mentally ill mother, then his life in the system when at ten years of age his mother almost dies of a drug overdose. We see David’s attempt to be a hero when, as a teenager, he discovers a child in the home is being abused…and the disastrous results. His dabbling with being a villain, when, in his early twenties, he decided he was furious at a world that had turned its back on him. His failed attempt to find meaning through a career. And the story of his one love, his lost love. But in between the stories we revisit David and Jimmy, walking through the casino, interacting with others. David is touching other people’s lives and no matter how small his interaction we then watch as that moment, that tiny exposure to the day he is having continues to rub off on every person he encounters has his or her day improved because of that interaction. Sometimes the improvement is minor, but sometimes it is monumental. And all the while the clock is ticking away, midnight is nearing. It is not just any day in Las Vegas, it is New Year’s Eve, but David knows his day is coming to an end when the New Year arrives. And will David be able to set things right before the clock strikes twelve? Will he be able to find meaning in his life, to find peace, to find the strength to move forward even as he accepts the past? The Extraordinarily Lucky Day in the Unlucky Life of David Pryce is both heart breaking and heart aching, a story that will bring out strong emotions in the reader as they both feel the pain of a person who has gone through life feeling nothing but lost hope and disappointment…but also the joy of seeing the people and lives David touches, as well as David himself, as he searches for peace, for happiness, for meaning..
413 pages, Paperback
Published January 2, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 12, 2017
OMG!
Tell me it’s not over! I read everywhere and every second I could squeeze in a few pages. Love, love, love this fabulous book.
Tell me it’s not over! I read everywhere and every second I could squeeze in a few pages. Love, love, love this fabulous book.
June 14, 2021
Excellent
I loved this book. This is the first I have read by this author bit I hope there are many more. No spoilers, just check it out.
I loved this book. This is the first I have read by this author bit I hope there are many more. No spoilers, just check it out.
June 16, 2021
This was a book club selection so while I didn't love it, I think it will give us plenty to discuss. His lucky day will never be explained so you just have to accept it, and everything ties up nicely in the end. The kindle version had many errors in it which should be corrected.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews