Larry Bloom is a tour guide by day and a writer by night. The Biology of Luck alternates between Larry's day job as a guide for a Dutch tourists, and the chapters of the novel he has written about the girl of his dreams (Starshine) and her travails on the same day. The entire book is about this one day, leading up to their evening date. Interestingly, the two narratives bleed into one another, at numerous points with the two main characters experiencing the same riot, accidents, and chance encounters. Appel's descriptive writing is magical at times, especially for native NYers as he captures the charms or ills of various neighborhoods. ( )

This was a flowing, anti-novel, and artistic work that really surprised me with its depth and poetic flavour. Appel does so much here in creating the environment, as real as he can, in your mind to take you on a virtual tour of New York City. In addition to this, his characters poke out of the page and seem multilayered, sophisticated, and complex. It is a great novel and one that anyone interested in modern American literature or a good read should enjoy.

4.25 stars! ( )

This book was part of a series of giveaways. It is an honest review.

This is a fantastic read. I really enjoyed the dynamic plot line. The characters intertwine perfectly. I would definitely recommend this book! ( )

I won this in a Good Reads First Reads contest, I'm glad I did because I hadn't heard of it prior to the contest.

Very interesting structure in this story. There's Larry who is in love with Starshine and has written a book about her. He is finally going on a date with her and he will wait until their date to find out whether his book has been accepted by the publisher.

The book bounces between the real day that Larry is living and his fictional story of Starshine.
For awhile I felt like I wouldn't really know who the Starshine character was because you kind of want to see her outside of Larry's story.
But an interesting turn of events happened in the last 50 pages or so and I definitely enjoyed the twist. It also made me see the ending of the book in a different light than I would have otherwise. ( )

A thought provoking read and very well written book, I enjoyed the read. It is difficult to understand how Starshine and her friends live the lives they lead but that is perhaps the books charm, seeing how others cope with the hands they are dealt.
Get it, read it, I think you will enjoy it as I did. ( )