Blind Luck
- Publisher
- Dundurn Press
- Initial publish date
- Apr 2010
- Category
- Urban Life, Literary, General
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781926607009
- Publish Date
- Apr 2010
- List Price
- $18.95
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781459717022
- Publish Date
- Apr 2010
- List Price
- $9.99
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
Dave Bolden’s life feels like it’s on repeat. He works his eight hours at a boutique accounting firm, goes home, gets drunk and wakes up the next day to go back to work with a hangover. But his life changes when an eighteen-wheel truck crashes through the front windows of his workplace, killing everyone except him. Shortly after the accident, he is approached by an eccentric businessman, Mr. Thorrin, who interprets Dave’s survival as luck and sets out to exploit what he perceives as a gift. Mr. Thorrin wants Dave to participate in gambling, stock manipulation and extreme betting, all based on this belief. Complicating Dave’s life further is his strained relationship with his father, a lifelong compulsive gambler. The more he interacts with his father, the more he realizes a series of events from his childhood support the theory that he is unusually lucky. What transpires is a series of extreme tests of luck, orchestrated by the very mysterious Mr. Thorrin. The more Dave denies that he is lucky, the more he finds himself in situations that make it appear that he is. As the stakes rise both financially and personally, Dave is left to decide whether his run of good fortune is a gift or a curse.
About the author
Scott Carter was born in Toronto and raised in the Beach neighbourhood. Scott began his career in publishing with an internship at ECW Press, followed by work as an editorial assistant at several publishers. He began his writing career publishing poetry and short stories in small literary zines and literary journals across North America. Scott is also a screenwriter, and his first short film debuted at the Exploding Cinema Film Festival in Los Angeles. His latest short film, The Unspoken Promise, was written for Bravo! Television. The Unspoken Promise played at the Reel World Film Festival before making its television debut in February, 2008. Since then he has worked on numerous feature films and short films with various companies, including his own Sad But True Entertainment, founded in 2007. Sad But True has produced a short for Bravo! television, a reality series and is now at work on several feature films. Scott has been teaching high-school English for nine years and has worked on many literacy committees, plus the Toronto School Board’s Learning through the Arts program. He still lives in Toronto’s Riverdale district with his family.
Editorial Reviews
Blind Luck is an extremely engaging novel. Carter, who is also a screenwriter (and English teacher), has crafted a book that craves to be made into a film. The action never flags, the characters are sharply drawn (especially Dave, whom I imagine played by John Cusak), and the scene shifts from Daves past to present are smoothly handled...
The Beach Metro
...This page-turner of a novel is a treatise on family, fortune and fate, a fast trip into the world of chance. Couple it up with Russell Smiths Girl Crazy and you have two very smart, stylish works of big city imagination.
The Owen Sound Sun Times
Carter does fine work on the little details of his characters appearance and interactions. Dave Bolden is a likeable protagonist, the prose is engaging.
Quill & Quire
Scott Carter has delivered a wonderful debut novel, one that is fresh and original. The book weaves between what is happening and flashbacks in Dave's life that shows how lucky he is. The flashbacks are done in such a way that we can see why Dave doesnt view himself as lucky. These segments add a depth to the tale and a nice backing to make his non-belief in his luck that much more understandable. The book moves quick, is incredibly well written and exciting in a subtle way. I highly recommend this one.
Suspense Magazine
Blind Luck is a well paced story, filled with twists and turns and the edge-of-your-seat nail biting thrills that many gamblers have experienced when testing their luck and leaving things to chance. Carters easy writing style and comfortable characterization makes Blind Luck even more difficult to put down. David Bolden is one of the most relatable, likable, and real characters Ive read in a very long while.
The Canadian Publishing Examiner
Lucky us, to have author Scott Carter among us. The Beach-bred and Riverdale-dwelling teacher and screenwriter has produced his first novel, Blind Luck, and its a terrific read.
Toronto Reads
The book I read is called Blind Luck by a Canadian Author named Scott Carter...its truly an amazing read
102.1 The Edge