Willy Vlautin is well known as the chief songwriter of Richmond Fontaine and The Delines, trading in beautifully written vignettes of the people who have generally fallen between the cracks of the American dream. These dark stories draw you in, and he shares with latter-day Bruce Springsteen the ability to write lyrics which tell the story and detail the characters involved in just a few short lines, with telling detail adding to the picture painted.
Vlautin is also a well-respected modern American author, with this his seventh or eighth full-length novel (depending whether you consider The Horse a novella) being recently published. Indeed, his Wiki Bio lists him as author, musician and songwriter in that order. Two of his previous books, The Motel Life and Lean on Pete, have been made into equally well-regarded movies, and The Night Always Comes has also been made into a successful Netflix movie. He has also written, and in some cases narrated and issued on CD, various short stories: A Jockey’s Christmas, A Motorcycle for a Horse (an early draft of part of Lean on Pete), Muriel and The Kill Switch. This last is important as it introduced the characters of Eddie and Russell. Vlautin has said that the characters got under his skin and he needed to write more. On CD, the narrated story is accompanied by incidental music written by Vlautin and played by The Delines.
The Left and the Lucky is not a sequel to that short story as such. Indeed, The Kill Switch forms chapter 4 of the new book after a little more exposition of the backstory of Russell’s abusive older brother Curtis, Russell’s relationship with his Mom and with his Grandmother, and how he meets Eddie in the first three short chapters. As with all of Vlautin’s characters, these chapters go a long way in a few words to establishing the characters and setting up why they do what they do. Curtis is bullying and abusive, but there are reasons given as to how he became that way, which don’t excuse it but give some explanation that makes him a plausible and nuanced character. Russell’s mom, Connie, is similarly set up as not just simply neglectful but a woman trying to work things out and not ultimately succeeding with either child. Russell, a small for his age (he is only 8, which has to be remembered throughout the book, as you read what he has to do), is facing and dealing with a range of challenges that no child should have to deal with.
Next door lives Eddie; Russell meets and is initially helped by Eddie and takes the opportunity to become a part of his life. As Vlautin puts it in his own notes, he sees the door open and has the courage to step through it. Eddie Wilkens, a contracting housepainter, seems unusually steadfast and resilient for a Vlautin character. As well as becoming an increasingly important part of Russell’s life, he “manages” and supports a group of misfit painters: alcoholic Houston, diabetic and challenging Cordarrel and lastly Donny, who has a tooth removed by a friend rather than a dentist, and is again sorted out by Eddie. Eddie seems to have his act together and tolerates, supports, challenges and on occasion “rescues” them as part of who he is. As the book progresses, you discover more of Eddie’s backstory, and it becomes clear that he has his share of skeletons with a sister, whose death he blames on himself and an ex-wife he still wants to help despite her circumstances and what she did to him.
As with all of Vlautin’s books, the writing is spare and without adornment and yet the words paint the picture and fill out the details of all of these characters. Whilst there is little use of metaphor, Vlautin does like a good list, occasionally dropping these into the narrative (a shopping list for a food shop after he realises Russell is neglected; Cordarrel’s food orders, etc) as a way of fleshing out these characters. You “know” them by the products they buy rather than internalised exposition.
The story is dark and challenging in common with all of Vlautin’s books, and yet it draws you in, again as all Vlautin’s books are wont to do. You need to keep reading to follow the arc of the characters. As Vlautin puts it in his afterword, Why I Wrote This Novel: “I’ve always been a sucker for misfits working lousy jobs. Houston, Donny and Cordarrel all emerged from that. They’re three stumbling painters who inherit a stumbling kid and who are all somewhat saved and kept afloat by Eddie. There is so much luck involved in life, who we meet and don’t meet, and so many near misses that almost get us all.” There is increasing light in the story as it progresses, things get sorted, and Eddie is predominantly the catalyst, although Russell comes into his own on that front too. It becomes clear that whilst Russell definitely needed Eddie, Eddie to some extent needed Russell to create a focus in his life.
This book is up there with The Horse and Lean on Pete in Vlautin’s published outings. It is dark and emotional but with humour and the right balance of light. This may be Amy Boone’s influence, having challenged Vlautin to occasionally write songs about characters who are in love and positive things happen to them (leading to The Delines Mr Luck and Ms Doom), so that she could sing them; this may have lightened parts of the storytelling here. As Vlautin puts it, “I always think of this novel as black and white living next to CinemaScope. Russell’s life at home is stark and bleak and full of darkness. When you’re in that kind of world, it’s so difficult to see that beyond it can be another world full of color and light and hope. CinemaScope lived right next door to Russell in Eddie Wilkens and his crew.” It is a joy to read and thoroughly to be recommended.
