He thought he’d need a full hour in which to decide the tune, and another hour to give a polish to his playing—never much to begin with. His guests didn’t have that kind of time. He bought the instrument long ago, a few years before the Third of April, and had not once played the thing, not a single chuckle from the clarinet. He told the salesman at the store on Parramatta Road it was a gift for someone else, a friend who’d expressed an interest in one day taking it up. The clarinet was a memento, an insignia, unspent capacity, ancient armour. An object he wanted hidden at home. Of what good use was it? He unlatched the case.

Author’s Note

Author’s Note

The story goes that in the eighteenth century a man with the surname Asproyerakas left his home in southern Kefalonia and settled in the village of Vathi on the neighbouring island of Ithaka. In Vathi, he acquired the nickname Pippos because he had a habit of calling out pip-pip-pip while feeding his brace of ducks. Eventually, my ancestor adopted Pippos as his real name.

The Asproyerakas family in this novel bears only a slight resemblance to my own. Still, I’ve come to think of the characters in these pages as kin. I will miss them.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

My deepest thanks to all my family, especially: Thalia Pippos for her endless love; Marina and Simon Bollinger for showing me the way; and George Zacharatos for my first lessons in Greek literature and mythology. Lucky’s is dedicated to my partner, Renee Brown.

Thanks to my publisher, Mathilda Imlah, for her belief in this novel; to Georgia Douglas for her generous work and support in a difficult time; to Ali Lavau and my agent, Jane Novak, for their guidance; and to Anthony Macris for our long conversation. I thank Zora Simic for her faith that the day would come.

Praise for Lucky’s

Praise for Lucky’s

‘Andrew Pippos has written an unforgettable epic with Australian humour and Greek tragedian turns on every page. Such skill and heart and love pulses through this debut!’

ALICE PUNG

‘From the first pages of this debut novel, it is clear that we are in the hands of a wise, perceptive, and highly-skilled storyteller. Pippos brilliantly distills multiple stories to those pure moments of love, despair, passion and folly that make up the essence of a life, and his fierce and fragile characters will remain in your heart long after the final page. The writing is fresh and fairly crackles with energy. Lucky’s is one of the best Australian novels I’ve read in years!’

EMILY BITTO