The first sentence of Amy Bloom’s newest novel, Lucky Us, shares a tragedy: “My father’s wife died.” The second sentence is where it starts to get interesting: “My mother said we should drive down to his place and see what might be in it for us.” Lucky Us is a road trip through America, as told by an adventurous narrator with an impossibly dry sense of humor. Bloom has written several great short stories and one great novel, but she’s never written a story as fun or as funny as this one. (Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave, spl.org, 7 pm, free)