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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
This book was about the bond between a father and his daughter and how the choices of our past usually catch up with us.
"Now I have you and I know better. But the past is like a shadow, always trying to catch up."
Hawley led a very dark life, making poor choices and committing crimes until he was able to make the choice to live for his daughter. the author wove the past with the present by writing each section to explain one of Samuel Hawley's twelve bullet scars and then tell a piece of the present until they caught up to each other. It was a little slow in the middle but overall a different type of reading than the historical fictions I usually go for.
"Now I have you and I know better. But the past is like a shadow, always trying to catch up."
Hawley led a very dark life, making poor choices and committing crimes until he was able to make the choice to live for his daughter. the author wove the past with the present by writing each section to explain one of Samuel Hawley's twelve bullet scars and then tell a piece of the present until they caught up to each other. It was a little slow in the middle but overall a different type of reading than the historical fictions I usually go for.
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.5 The writing is beautiful and I love the three leads. Absolutely love the lead's mom, the love story of her young parent's getting together - I stopped myself from immediately rereading the chapter when that happens. It's fun, it's cool, it's sad and dark at times. It made me wistful and sad for future grief. It made me think so much about the absence of people we love. It surprises with chapters of flat out tough guy criminal caper fun, then follows them up with sweet, young courtship and crushes and then the pain and questions about people we had too little time with. Tinti's capable of anything and presents it all with a lightly poetic ease. Definitely need to read all she does.
This was a fine thriller, with reason to keep you reading to the last page. Knowing that the twelve lives sort of parallel the labors of Hercules gave it an extra dimension that I enjoyed. There was a fair amount of violence, which the group did not respond well to; but overall, more of them seemed to like it than not.
Thanks for Dial Press/Penguin Random House for providing me with an advanced copy of this marvelous story that approaches a Shakespearean tragedy.
I found myself riveted to the tale of a man who has lived a criminal life, and raised a daughter within that life. There's no explanation for why, and I came to believe it was genetic, as his daughter, Loo, embraces it even as she is uncovering lies and deceit along the way. So many times Hawley merely acts on a violent impulse as if it's the most natural thing in the world; he has to actively fight it. There are times when he tries to live a normal life, but not really. He never breaks away cleanly, despite a supposed desire to do so. I think it was a half-hearted desire, because the known was so much more comfortable than the unknown.
None of the characters are very likable, yet, the reader is drawn to them and wants to know how they turn out. Even Marshall, Loo's first boyfriend, is not all that warm and fuzzy. It's a rough world, with rough edges and very sharp middles.
Tinti's structure of alternating past/present chapters worked very well, as did her spare and often "remote observer" writing. Then she will hit you with a paragraph of some of the most exquisite prose and it almost took my breath away.
My digital edition also included a Q&A with Tinti, and it was interesting to read some of the origins of the story, and how certain elements in the narrative came to be.
I found myself riveted to the tale of a man who has lived a criminal life, and raised a daughter within that life. There's no explanation for why, and I came to believe it was genetic, as his daughter, Loo, embraces it even as she is uncovering lies and deceit along the way. So many times Hawley merely acts on a violent impulse as if it's the most natural thing in the world; he has to actively fight it. There are times when he tries to live a normal life, but not really. He never breaks away cleanly, despite a supposed desire to do so. I think it was a half-hearted desire, because the known was so much more comfortable than the unknown.
None of the characters are very likable, yet, the reader is drawn to them and wants to know how they turn out. Even Marshall, Loo's first boyfriend, is not all that warm and fuzzy. It's a rough world, with rough edges and very sharp middles.
Tinti's structure of alternating past/present chapters worked very well, as did her spare and often "remote observer" writing. Then she will hit you with a paragraph of some of the most exquisite prose and it almost took my breath away.
My digital edition also included a Q&A with Tinti, and it was interesting to read some of the origins of the story, and how certain elements in the narrative came to be.
A life on the margins, in twelve bullet wounds. Quite an effective piece of storytelling.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
if there’s ever a time when you need to just dive head-first into a book without reading the blurb, then this has to be it. i picked this up solely on the good reviews from my friends and trust that i was in for something great, and was left incredibly & positively surprised. this will be an easy recommendation to give; i really loved this!
(will definitely be checking out the author’s other works as i was sooo impressed with the writing style and everything from the storyline, to the characters and their development).
(will definitely be checking out the author’s other works as i was sooo impressed with the writing style and everything from the storyline, to the characters and their development).
Slow to start with a rhythm that was hard to get into. But in the end, this was a beautiful coming of age story told within an unusual family dynamic. This story speaks to forgotten children and people who live on the fringes of society. It shows the love of a parent even when that parent seems to have no redeeming qualities and lives in a culture of professional crime.
Really enjoyed this book about a very unique father/daughter relationship. The story is told in alternating chapters explaining stories behind how the father was shot in 12 different instances, flashing into the past and gradually telling their story. But most importantly, it's about the bond this pair has - it was a good read.