LUCKY is a novel about folk singer Jodie Rattler, told in her own voice. Born in 1949, Jodie comes of age with “the four J's” --- Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Judy Collins and Janis Joplin. Growing up in St. Louis, she becomes a connoisseur of its streets and neighborhoods (Skinker, Webster, Kirkwood), homes (shacks next to brick mansions) and the overall kaleidoscopic vibe of her city. She lives with her single mother but counts on a loving extended family, particularly her uncle Drew.

It’s Drew who takes her to the horse races when she’s six years old and has her circle some numbers on a piece of paper. When that horse comes in against heavy odds, he keeps $5,900 in winnings but gives her a pile of bills. “It was forty-three two-dollar bills, the $86 that I later realized would tell everyone where he had been and how he had gotten the money.” Jodie never tells anyone, and she never spends it; it’s her lucky talisman.

"Towards the end of the novel, Jane Smiley pulls a Jane Smiley on us. That’s all I’m going to say, because I don’t want to spoil the surprise."

Jodie grows into a thoughtful, observant and careful young person, who never feels like she fits in at school. But her life is full of music, and people of a certain age (ahem) will recognize the titles of the 45s her mother plays on their record player and the tunes the family sings at her grandparents’ piano after Sunday dinner, including “Oh Shenandoah” and “Red River Valley.” Jodie’s mother herself had dreams of being a star in New York City, but becoming pregnant (by a married man) with Jodie sent her back to St. Louis.

So Jodie comes by her voice and talent honestly, and she sets out to develop it. She learns to stick her jaw out to give herself a deeper vibrato. Her older cousin, Brucie, plays guitar, and as a teenager she’s singing along with his band, the Big Muddies. Drew, who is making quite a bit of money investing, takes her to father-daughter days at school. And when the time comes, he accompanies her on a college tour. At Penn State, Jodie feels prepared for all her classes except music theory, which is about the history of music (Bach and Beethoven), not music itself. “The main thing I learned was that I wasn’t a child prodigy but that I was lucky to have grown up in a family that loved music.” She also was lucky to land gigs in traveling bands during college summers, to write and sing songs alone and with others.

Jodie recounts in a matter-of-fact way her early success making a couple of albums. She has lovers, but there’s little real boyfriend drama, until she moves to England after college because she’d liked what she’d seen on a brief tour there. Her true passion is writing and singing songs. We learn the sometimes prosaic events that inspire her and read the lyrics that come out of it. She’s quite content to travel out of a backpack and let Drew’s investments of her earnings grow to a point where she doesn’t have to worry about money.

I found Jodie fascinating. She narrates her life in a precise but somewhat distant way and doesn’t lose any sleep comparing herself to anybody. If she’s ambitious, her ambitions are to see the world and make music (and love) on her own terms. “As for me, I thought it was politically correct for me to sleep around, because I was a feminist, and I thought the essence of feminism was to claim the same rights and privileges that men had, and always had had.” She achieves all of this but ultimately ends up back in St. Louis, caring for family and cherishing that city --- always noticing, always practicing, always writing songs. She figures out that she needs to learn to make friends, and she watches others to see how they do it: a smile, a chat, a friendly touch. She even makes connections with some of her high school classmates.

Towards the end of the novel, Jane Smiley pulls a Jane Smiley on us. That’s all I’m going to say, because I don’t want to spoil the surprise. Especially if you’re a fan, it’s a bonus. But even if you’re not, you’re in for a treat.