The Lucky Ride by Yasushi Kitagawa

Yasushi Kitagawa’s The Lucky Ride sits comfortably within the growing field of contemporary Japanese “healing fiction,” yet it manages to carve out its own space through warmth, clarity and an unexpectedly reflective spirit. At its centre is Shuichi, a man who has reached a point where personal setbacks have accumulated to the point of paralysis. His professional confidence has crumbled, his family relationships feel brittle, and he sees himself as someone for whom misfortune has become routine. It is at this low point that a mysterious taxi arrives and invites him into a journey that feels both fantastical and recognisably human.

The premise is disarmingly simple: a driver offers Shuichi not transport to a physical destination, but a series of opportunities that unfold as he travels. This structure allows the story to shift between memory, present reality and imaginative possibility without losing shape. Each ride gives Shuichi access to moments that help him reconsider his assumptions about luck, responsibility and emotional generosity. The progression is gentle rather than dramatic, and the novel gains much of its power from this refusal to push its revelations too hard.

Kitagawa’s characterisation benefits from his attention to subtle emotional movements. Shuichi is neither heroic nor hopeless; he is ordinary in ways that mirror many readers’ private uncertainties. His gradual willingness to observe rather than catastrophise makes his development believable. Secondary characters, particularly family members, are presented with quiet depth. Their perspectives, when the narrative opens to them, complicate our sense of who Shuichi has been and who he could become.

The novel’s thematic interest lies in its reimagining of luck as something cultivated rather than bestowed. It treats luck as the long-term consequence of kindness, attention and willingness to engage with others. This approach draws from familiar philosophical traditions but is filtered through a distinctly modern lens, opening space for a conversation about emotional resilience and intergenerational wellbeing. The book’s magic rests not in the supernatural taxi itself but in the suggestion that ordinary choices accumulate meaning across time.

The Lucky Ride is accessible and unpretentious with Kitagawa favouring clear, lightly rhythmic prose that allows metaphor to surface without flourish. The translation supports this tone well, keeping the narrative clean and brisk while retaining the cultural softness that often characterises Japanese introspective fiction. The use of shifting viewpoints and temporal jumps adds variety, giving readers glimpses of other lives touched by the same principles that guide Shuichi. These shifts are brief but enriching, reinforcing the novel’s belief in a shared emotional ecosystem.

As a whole, the book offers a reassuring blend of fable-like structure and contemporary realism. It acknowledges hardship without indulging in despair and champions change without promising sudden transformation. Its literary significance lies in its ability to make philosophical ideas feel personal rather than instructional.

For readers drawn to reflective, uplifting storytelling that explores how small attitudes can reshape a life, The Lucky Ride delivers a sincere and quietly memorable experience.

Reviewer: Chris Reed

HarperCollins