Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
I'm a sucker for stories involving redemption. This one also happens to be beautifully written and paced.
I can't decide what to rate this one, so we'll go with 3.5 (resoundingly above average) since it didn't grab me quite like I felt it should... there was a disconnect there I just couldn't explain. I liked the Loo chapters much more than Hawley's chapters. The story was beautifully written, albeit unconventional; it takes a great writer to make you care for some seriously flawed characters. I didn't quite get there with Hawley, though his love for Lily and Loo defined his goodness, however small a part of him that may be. Still, worth a read.
Is it just me, or are there at least ten new books that now include Flora and Fauna 101 + suggested readings of Guns & Ammo, mixed with stories about maligned fathers and their whip-smart daughters?
For those who swooned over My Absolute Darling for its lush, multi-page descriptions of the forest floor, and for those rightfully repulsed by the actions of Martin, The Twelve Lives on Samuel Hawley is a smoother, more approachable, shareable story of single father and his precocious daughter. You will still learn about guns, ammunition, and how to seemingly survive a dozen bullet wounds and charm a town with silence and weathered looks.
For those who swooned over My Absolute Darling for its lush, multi-page descriptions of the forest floor, and for those rightfully repulsed by the actions of Martin, The Twelve Lives on Samuel Hawley is a smoother, more approachable, shareable story of single father and his precocious daughter. You will still learn about guns, ammunition, and how to seemingly survive a dozen bullet wounds and charm a town with silence and weathered looks.
This book was just fine. I enjoyed they way the story was told: a present-day setting with flashbacks anchored by the events that led up to/resulted in Sam Hawley’s many bullet wounds. But overall I was a little underwhelmed. I couldn’t tell whether Tinti wanted us to like Hawley; I can’t say that I ever did. He was too melancholy, and not that good of a guy or dad. A fine enough read, but I don’t see myself remembering this one for long.
Bleh. Took me forever to read. Whack job characters, in which the reader cares nothing about. No development at their goodness, because they are so distant and devoid of emotion. Just forced myself to finish by the end, beginning was enticing.
Samuel Hawley's body is covered with twelve bullet wounds from the twelve times he was shot. His daughter Loo doesn't know the secrets of his violent past and he tries to protect her from the truth of her mother's death. The novel is told in alternating chapters of past and present, weaving through time with Hawley and Loo, and Hawley's past to reveal how he received the twelve bullet wounds. The structure is magnificent and one of the things that works really well. The stories of the twelve bullets echo the twelve labors of Hercules, and I loved how the book was rich with symbolism and metaphor. The marriage between love and violence is brought together in the novel in a very interesting and beautiful way.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. I enjoyed the book and the unique way in which the author tells the story through his current timeline as told through the eyes and experiences of his daughter and through flashbacks in which Samuel tells the story of how he got each of his 12 bullet wounds. I will definitely be passing this book on to friends to read and enjoy.
4.5 stars
I've been thinking about this book a lot. The prose is gorgeous: Hannah Tinti is a real wordsmith. The biggest flaw, in my opinion, is Loo's quasi-love story with Marshall. I get why this was a plot line, but I was so deeply invested in Hawley that anything not involving him was a distraction.
I've been thinking about this book a lot. The prose is gorgeous: Hannah Tinti is a real wordsmith. The biggest flaw, in my opinion, is Loo's quasi-love story with Marshall. I get why this was a plot line, but I was so deeply invested in Hawley that anything not involving him was a distraction.
The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti is a story told in alternating chapters of a man coming to terms with his past and his daughter coming of age despite that past. The writing and phrasing of the book is beautiful at times. However, overall, because of the violence in both Samuel's and Loo's story and because of the distance between their stories, I am not the reader for this book.
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2017/05/the-twelve-lives-of-samuel-hawley.html
Reviewed for NetGalley
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2017/05/the-twelve-lives-of-samuel-hawley.html
Reviewed for NetGalley