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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
Initial thoughts: Great story. Perfect ending. Flawed characters. Telling Dad’s story through his bullet wounds was fascinating. Also the clocks-- literal clocks and the time metaphor very cool. They occur throughout. And since the storyline plays with time in a very fluid manner, this was fun. A specific watch is the crux of the story but it is also a story about how the passage of time brings great change in and of itself.
If you have to classify this book it is crime fiction, but only technically. It's literary fiction with a suspenseful crime plot running parallel to Loo's coming of age story.
This is a book of dichotomies that shouldn't work but actually enhance the entire story--It's both tender and violent, heart-warming and shocking, though provoking and emotionally driven. It really shows how complex people and the communities, relationships, and friendships will build truly are people. No one is all good or all bad. All of these characters are sympathetic but also very seriously flawed.
The way it is told-- a straight narrative from Loo's perspective from about age 12 to adulthood but interpreted with interludes, flashbacks that tell the story of her dad's 12 bullets, from an omniscient voice, in the order he received them-- is the selling point here. You may think the plot sounds great, but if you wants straight linear, you will not like this. I loved the interludes. They enhanced the present storyline and also added greater suspense as you moved toward the novel's conclusion.
This narrative structure also kept the pace moving well.
Loo is an interesting character to follow as our protagonist. She is both unlike anyone you know and yet familiar. Her Dad was even more intriguing as we know more about him than she does at times. Her dead mom is also a huge character in the the flashbacks.
And the language is also lyrical without being snooty. There are beautiful descriptive passages but it is never in a showy way. One memorable scene for language is in the woods- on the way in to a high school party, during and on the way out.
Audio notes: This book worked better for me as a reader on audio than it would have in print. The non-linear style was enhanced when told to me as a story. But for some readers, this may make it harder as the thread of the "present" story can get lost as you are immersed in the "past" storylines. I liked it more because I felt like the story was written as it would be told. It flowed better as a spoken story for me.
Three Words That Describe This Book: character centered, flashbacks, suspenseful
Special Topics in Calamity Physics for sure. I read that one and reviewed it here: http://raforall.blogspot.com/2007/10/what-im-reading-october-2007.html
The way Tinti's novel mixes coming of age, literary fiction, a character-centered storyline where the characters are both sympathetic and flawed, and a crime element reminded me of Wiley Cash. However, I want to state that Cash writes specifically to a place-- North Carolina. Tinti's novel is much less place specific. It needs to take place in a fishing town for some of the story lines to work, but the place is not as integral to the main themes of the story as with Cash. Click here for everything I have posted about Cash before: https://raforall.blogspot.com/search?q=wiley+cash
Also The Sisters Brothers [review by me here: http://raforall.blogspot.com/2011/12/what-im-reading-sisters-brothers.html]. While those men are already grown, they too have to grapple with right and wrong in a family frame. Also, I think DeWitt writes a lot like Tinti with both of their styles being "slightly askew." For example, The Good Thief by Tinti [one of my all time favorites, reviewed here: http://raforall.blogspot.com/2008/10/what-im-reading-october-2008.html] would also make an excellent readalike for DeWitt's Undermajordomo Minor [review: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2015/09/what-im-reading-booklist-reviews-edition.html]. On the surface, all four novels share very little in common, but paired this way, you can see how their overall writing styles are so similar.
You can use the links I provided to find even more readalike options from me.
If you have to classify this book it is crime fiction, but only technically. It's literary fiction with a suspenseful crime plot running parallel to Loo's coming of age story.
This is a book of dichotomies that shouldn't work but actually enhance the entire story--It's both tender and violent, heart-warming and shocking, though provoking and emotionally driven. It really shows how complex people and the communities, relationships, and friendships will build truly are people. No one is all good or all bad. All of these characters are sympathetic but also very seriously flawed.
The way it is told-- a straight narrative from Loo's perspective from about age 12 to adulthood but interpreted with interludes, flashbacks that tell the story of her dad's 12 bullets, from an omniscient voice, in the order he received them-- is the selling point here. You may think the plot sounds great, but if you wants straight linear, you will not like this. I loved the interludes. They enhanced the present storyline and also added greater suspense as you moved toward the novel's conclusion.
This narrative structure also kept the pace moving well.
Loo is an interesting character to follow as our protagonist. She is both unlike anyone you know and yet familiar. Her Dad was even more intriguing as we know more about him than she does at times. Her dead mom is also a huge character in the the flashbacks.
And the language is also lyrical without being snooty. There are beautiful descriptive passages but it is never in a showy way. One memorable scene for language is in the woods- on the way in to a high school party, during and on the way out.
Audio notes: This book worked better for me as a reader on audio than it would have in print. The non-linear style was enhanced when told to me as a story. But for some readers, this may make it harder as the thread of the "present" story can get lost as you are immersed in the "past" storylines. I liked it more because I felt like the story was written as it would be told. It flowed better as a spoken story for me.
Three Words That Describe This Book: character centered, flashbacks, suspenseful
Special Topics in Calamity Physics for sure. I read that one and reviewed it here: http://raforall.blogspot.com/2007/10/what-im-reading-october-2007.html
The way Tinti's novel mixes coming of age, literary fiction, a character-centered storyline where the characters are both sympathetic and flawed, and a crime element reminded me of Wiley Cash. However, I want to state that Cash writes specifically to a place-- North Carolina. Tinti's novel is much less place specific. It needs to take place in a fishing town for some of the story lines to work, but the place is not as integral to the main themes of the story as with Cash. Click here for everything I have posted about Cash before: https://raforall.blogspot.com/search?q=wiley+cash
Also The Sisters Brothers [review by me here: http://raforall.blogspot.com/2011/12/what-im-reading-sisters-brothers.html]. While those men are already grown, they too have to grapple with right and wrong in a family frame. Also, I think DeWitt writes a lot like Tinti with both of their styles being "slightly askew." For example, The Good Thief by Tinti [one of my all time favorites, reviewed here: http://raforall.blogspot.com/2008/10/what-im-reading-october-2008.html] would also make an excellent readalike for DeWitt's Undermajordomo Minor [review: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2015/09/what-im-reading-booklist-reviews-edition.html]. On the surface, all four novels share very little in common, but paired this way, you can see how their overall writing styles are so similar.
You can use the links I provided to find even more readalike options from me.
This book would be more aptly titled "The Twelve Times Samuel Hawley Was Shot". There really isn't a point to this story, but I liked it anyways. It's a mix of the past (Hawley) and the present (Loo). Hawley is kind of a terrible person, but you can't help but root for him anyways.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
This book is really well written, but I couldn't get into the story. I can see why it has such a high rating, but it just wasn't for me.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I will just start by saying this is a REALLY good book. I have only read two new release this year, but I feel confident saying that this will probably be my favorite book of 2017. I read it in two sittings, but could have finished the whole thing in one. So great.
I have seen a lot of people describing this story as a thriller which really confuses me. There are adventure and thrill-like elements, but I definitely didn't get a thriller vibe from this story. There is mystery and intrigue, but it all revolves around relationships and love (romantic, parental, friendship...it's all there).
I would say the less you know about this book the better. I think there are a some elements that may turn people off if they know them in advance, but just know that this truly is a story of relationship, grief, and what we do for the people we love. So, so good.
I have seen a lot of people describing this story as a thriller which really confuses me. There are adventure and thrill-like elements, but I definitely didn't get a thriller vibe from this story. There is mystery and intrigue, but it all revolves around relationships and love (romantic, parental, friendship...it's all there).
I would say the less you know about this book the better. I think there are a some elements that may turn people off if they know them in advance, but just know that this truly is a story of relationship, grief, and what we do for the people we love. So, so good.
Despite all of the glowing reviews, I just couldn't invest any more time in a book that I disliked so much, so I gave up about a quarter of the way in. Every time I tried to finish it, I'd get a few more pages in before moving on to something I liked.
The book hops back and forth between a man's violent criminal past and current times, as he attempts to raise his teenage daughter alone, her mother having died in a mysterious drowning. It's a coming of age story featuring an unconventional father-daughter relationship between Samuel and his daughter Loo. I didn't feel a connection with any of the characters and the violence was too dismal and gritty for me. Done.
The book hops back and forth between a man's violent criminal past and current times, as he attempts to raise his teenage daughter alone, her mother having died in a mysterious drowning. It's a coming of age story featuring an unconventional father-daughter relationship between Samuel and his daughter Loo. I didn't feel a connection with any of the characters and the violence was too dismal and gritty for me. Done.
I really enjoyed the writing style and storytelling of this novel. I like it when a book uses two timelines that eventually converge. This was an intense story, especially near the end.
