"A Wonderful Stroke of Luck," by Ann Beattie

I have always read Ann Beattie’s stories in The New Yorker and elsewhere, as well as her books of fiction. I have always admired them, and sometimes enjoyed them, despite their often somewhat distancing tone. (I know -- "minimalist.") Her most recent book of fiction, the novel “A Wonderful Stroke of Luck” (Viking, 2019) has a sort of sour vibe, and although I did read the whole novel, I had to push myself a little to finish it. It is the story of Ben, a student at a boarding school in New England, his fellow students, and his teacher who is billed as charismatic and influential, but who actually doesn’t seem particularly impressive or intriguing. Ben’s progress through life is rather aimless. When he reconnects with his vaunted teacher, we are set up to expect some kind of drama and revelation, but what happens is anti-climactic. Or, rather, the revelations don’t seem earned. Some of the characters are sympathetic, and the reader may care, a bit anyway, what happens to them. But overall this novel is disappointing, at least to this reader.