The Lucky

I bought this book while taking a fiction workshop taught by Lee Barnes, curious about his published work. It was a great decision. The story never slows and takes the reader from the old streets of Las Vegas to the mountains of Montana. Peter grows a lot from a kid until a strong, compassionate adult. Barnes did a wonderful job turning his characters into real people. And overall wonderful story.

I judged a book by it's cover, and picked this off the shelf at my local library. And I am so glad that I did. A powerful, engaging coming-of-age story that eloquently details the story of two families tied together by history, love, responsibility and success. Although the twists and turns are occasionally predictable, the imagery and characters make up for it. Definitely recommended.

H. Lee Barnes has written a novel--at times engaging and at times disturbing but at all times interesting--about a boy's coming of age in 1960s Las Vegas. Peter Elkins, son of a woman infected by wanderlust, is taken in by a casino king, Willy Bobbins, who offers him a chance to take his place as the owner of the Lucky, a downtown gaming house. Peter, however, must deal with the vicious and chaotic elements of Vegas culture, as well as the vicious and chaotic members of Bobbins's family, in his pursuit to discover himself. Barnes skillfully blends together elements of Fitzgerald's _Gatsby_, Conrad's _Heart of Darkness_, Dickens's _Bleak House_ and _Great Expectations_, and the biblical story of Moses to give the story its scope and direction, and his attention to the details of the Las Vegas landscape--both inside and outside of the casinos--will delight those who are familiar with the city. Careful readers will also see Barnes borrow from his own Viet Nam short story "Tunnel Rat" to give measure to the chaos that dominates the story: if Viet Nam is Chaos, and Willy's Montana ranch is Heaven on Earth, then Las Vegas strikes an uneasy balance somewhere between. Peter Elkins also falls somewhere between--a good man who nevertheless commits questionable actions--and he finds a peaceful life only when he can extract himself from the extremes of the landscapes that have shaped him.