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Reviewed by Jennifer Pinner Emotionally gripping and devastatingly real, Alice Sebold’s Lucky is a compelling autobiographical memoir of the brutal rape she suffered as a freshman while at Syracuse University. This story of survival tugs at the heartstrings and the book is hard to put down. As with her other best-seller, The Lovely Bones, Sebold takes a literary risk with Lucky, but succeeds in evoking belief that justice is feasible even after such a traumatic event.
In the opening paragraph, Sebold transports the reader directly to the vicious attack. The description of the merciless rape is so harrowing it is almost too upsetting to absorb. It is a raw description of the worst crime imposed upon a woman - but we are privileged; Sebold is permitting us to observe these moments, if only so we can empathise with her as she battles against this nightmare. The candid description is immediately juxtaposed from the darkened tunnel of the attack to the familiarity of her family kitchen where Sebold is forced to repair herself. Her braveness is admirable in the gut wrenching scene when Sebold has to explain to her father what happened. Through telling events, the book transforms itself into a social commentary, portraying Sebold as the victim and fighter, who has become a public figure for all the wrong reasons. After the people in her community discover the attack, their responses confirm society’s suspicion of the rape victim and a firm belief that you cannot be the same person you were after a rape. A strong balance is identified in the narrative between the nineteen-old virgin she was when she was attacked, compared to the mature voice that often pervades the chapters. But it is her spirit and sense of humour that help to elevate the heartrending situation as she tries to continue a normal college life in the aftermath of this life-changing event. No less gripping is the unbelievable role that coincidence plays in the novel. Sebold’s case is placed in the inactive file but miraculously opened six months later when she sees her attacker while crossing the street. This then follows a hard road for Sebold as she struggles vehemently for justice, not only in the courtroom but outside too. This novel epitomises what it is like to survive. Her indomitable spirit shows how strength can exude from agony but, more importantly, it gives others hope to fight for justice.
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