The Left and the Lucky: A Novel
Willy Vlautin
May 2026 · Bolinda · Narrated by Willy Vlautin
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6 hr 38 min
Unabridged
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Eddie Wilkens is a workaholic house painter in his early 40s. His wife has left him to her regret, and his main employee, Houston, is a loafer and scoundrel who barely shows up for work. Next door, a woman and her two sons move in with her frail and aging mother. The youngest boy, Russell, eight-years-old, is quiet and small for his age and lives in constant terror of his increasingly lost and troubled 15-year-old brother, Curtis. As their mother struggles to keep the family together and the grandmother's health begins to falter, they find themselves unable to protect Russell and themselves from Curtis's cruelty. Though neither knows it, Russell and Eddie will become each other's saving grace. Russell begins waiting in Eddie's backyard for him to get off work. Eddie offers the boy small acts of kindness. In return, Russell gives Eddie a reason to carry on and helps him lay to rest the guilt that has plagued him for half of his life. Together, this makeshift father and son begin to build better life, daring to trade the bleakness and cynicism around them for hope and friendship.
Eddie Wilkens is a workaholic house painter in his early 40s. His wife has left him to her regret, and his main employee, Houston, is a loafer and scoundrel who barely shows up for work. Next door, a woman and her two sons move in with her frail and aging mother. The youngest boy, Russell, eight-...
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About the author
Born and raised in Reno, Nevada, Vlautin started playing guitar and writing songs as a teenager and quickly became immersed in music. It was a Paul Kelly song, based on Raymond Carver’s Too Much Water So Close to Home that inspired him to start writing stories. Vlautin has published six novels: The Motel Life (2006), Northline (2008), Lean On Pete (2010), The Free (2014), Don’t Skip Out On Me (2018) and The Night Always Comes (2021).
Born and raised in Reno, Nevada, Vlautin started playing guitar and writing songs as a teenager and quickly became immersed in music. It was a Paul Kelly song, based on Raymond Carver’s Too Much Water So Close to Home that inspired him to start writing stories. Vlautin has published six novels: T...
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