Running out of Luck
Six Chinese men survived the sinking of the Titanic. They were not the only ones. Before reading Luck of the Titanic, I must confess this was actually completely unknown to me. A fact that, I’m sure, many other readers may not be aware of either. If there’s one thing this book does well, it’s bring awareness toward this previously untold side of the “Unsinkable” voyage back in 1912.
The book falls short of translating the same awe and wonder that the motion picture achieved in 1997. In fact, it’s worth bringing up the film because Luck of the Titanic feels akin to watching the first half of that movie and then rushing through the sinking in about 20 minutes. Out of 350+ pages, the iceberg hits around 285 on page. Now, there’s nothing wrong with a slow burn, but the final act of this book feels rushed and lacks enough urgency to keep you invested in all of the characters. ..
The story follows the exploits of Valora Luck, a Chinese woman who hops aboard the Titanic to find her brother Jamie. Val has big plans to join the circus and she’s hell-bent on convincing her brother to join her for this risky endeavor.
Despite the Chinese Exclusion Act in place and the outlandishness of the plan, Val remains determined to uproot her brother, who has made a home and a new life for himself aboard the ship after the death of their Mother.
The setup of this book has a negative reaction in making Val pretty unlikable for large parts of the first half. Thankfully, toward the middle section she does warm to audiences but you do need to persist with this one. In fact, persist may actually be the best word to describe this book. ..
Despite the short, snappy chapters, Luck of the Titanic sure takes its sweet time to get to any sort of dramatic tension. There’a an entire chapter dedicated to Val juggling on the poop deck. Another sees two whole pages dedicated to Drummer (one of the passengers) starting up a song, with lyrics and a rhythmic beat. Sure, these may be nice inclusions but they add absolutely nothing to this story.
The book’s main plot is inconsequential by the end. No spoilers here, but the drama aboard the Titanic basically dissipates as soon as the iceberg hits. The best example here comes from a subplot involving Val fashioning some beautiful dresses for House Of July that’s just completely abandoned. In fact, there’s absolutely no resolution to this at all. Other times, the book borrows whole plot elements from the 1997 movie.
A third class passenger pretending to be first class? Check. Val making it safely to a lifeboat only to jump off before it hits the water to be with her beloved? Yep, that’s here too. Even the final scenes are nearly identical to the Jack and Rose floating door incident. I’m being careful not to spoil anything here (as there is a lovely twist at the end) but it’s very hard not to see this. ..
The book’s conclusion does soften the harshness of its harsh judgments, and there is some great material here that helps to show the inner-workings of Stacey Lee’s writing.
Stylistically, the novel is great. Similes are beautifully constructed, some of the descriptions are perfectly on-point while the character development for most of the main players is pretty good too. However, plot beats aside, it’s not a great novel. ..
That said, the story is still a page-turner and I found myself eagerly awaiting the next twist. The author has done an excellent job of weaving Chinese folklore and culture into the story, without it feeling forced or out of place. ..
Luck of the Titanic is an interesting look at the criminal underreporting of Chinese passengers on the Titanic. Unfortunately, the novel takes a long time to build any tension, and by the end it’s hard to care about what happens to the characters. ..
This book is not a bad book per se, but it does run out of luck early on. The problems here are too many to list, but they include a lack of plot, poor writing, and an overall feeling of unfinished business. If you can be patient, though, you may find enough to enjoy.
