Lucky

Smiley (A Dangerous Business) follows the life of a budding folk rock singer in her tender if uneven latest. While Jodie Rattler is studying at Penn State in the 1960s, one of her songs becomes a surprise hit, leading to gigs in Los Angeles and New York City. She relishes her success and takes to the bed-hopping bohemian lifestyle while resisting pressure from her record label to drop out of college. Memories of her idyllic childhood in 1950s St. Louis are ever-present, as are those of her steadfast determination to succeed as a teenager, setting her apart from a bookish high school classmate, whom she refers to only as the “gawky girl.” The gawky girl, a clear stand-in for Smiley, makes periodic appearances—while in England to play a festival, Jodie espies her in a park. It’s a clever touch, and the sly metafictional mirroring represents the creative wit the author is known for. What’s riling, however, is Smiley’s choice to extend the narrative into the future—in an epilogue, a panicked Jodie struggles to survive in an apocalyptic future America. Still, Smiley pulls off moving scenes of Jodie’s reconnecting with her St. Louis family, as Jodie reckons with the bonds that formed her. Though Smiley is known for snappier work than this one, it’s plenty engrossing. (Apr.)