The Son of Good Fortune: A Novel

Written by Lysley Tenorio

Narrated by Reuben Uy

The Son of Good Fortune has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jul 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9780063006164

Lysley Tenorio

Lysley Tenorio is the author of the novel The Son of Good Fortune and the story collection Monstress, named a book of the year by the San Francisco Chronicle. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, a Whiting Award, a Stegner fellowship, and the Rome Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as residencies from the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, and the Bogliasco Foundation. His stories have appeared in the Atlantic, Zoetrope: All-Story, and Ploughshares, and have been adapted for the stage by The American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco and the Ma-Yi Theater in New York City. He is a professor at Saint Mary’s College of California.

Reviews for The Son of Good Fortune

[nia wingard · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very interesting story. I enjoyed the author’s creativity in creating a make believe city in California.

[hccpsk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

All Excel knows is how difficult it is being an undocumented American — “TNT” he calls it after the Filipino saying, “tago ng tago”. Hiding and hiding. His mother, Maxima, brought him to America for a better life, but neither of them thinks they’ve found it. The Son of Good Fortune by Lysley Tenorio, tells Excel’s story in a flashback and forth structure, and as we learn more about their struggles — both personal and financial — we understand their circumstances. Tenorio does an excellent job of revealing situations instead of explaining, and mixes in the Tagalog and Filipino culture with perfect finesse. The Son of Good Fortune is somewhat a coming-of -age story, but also a great look into undocumented American’s difficulties, and a mother/son tale. Highly recommended.

[brangwinn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Focusing on Filipinos in the US, this book focuses on 19-year-old undocumented Excel (like the spreadsheet), and his tough as nails mother Maxima. Cutting back and forth in time, its not overtly political, but it does not take much reading between the lines to see the challenges the US immigration Program puts on people like Excel and Maxima. And as often is the case, it’s the women are the strongest and most formidable. Excel is nonconfrontational but yet he finds a way to help someone worse off them him. It is a book about the power of a parent to shape the future of her child.

[kimd66 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I was disappointed in the end of the book. Plus I really didn't get into it until I was about 80% done.

Still, it's worth reading. If for no other reason than to gain perspective on life as a U.S. "citizen" minus the paperwork.

I guess the lesson is that life is hard and we do what it takes to get by in this crazy world.

[stahl2ricco · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

We “are TNT.” ‘tago ng tago’ “Hiding and hiding.”

A good book, that kept my interest so high I read it in two days! I didn't always like Excel, the main charater, but the overall story was good! His mom getting money online from men through a dating site, his move to a desert "off the grid" city/commune, and his days at the spy version of a Chuck E. Cheese's pizza place - all very entertaining! All with the underlying problem/issue of he, and his mother, being 'TNT'! A very relevant issue, especially in the United States today. A real slice-of-life story about a mother and her son. I really liked it!