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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
If I ever had the talent or patience to write a book, this would be the kind of book I would hope to write. Hannah has created something special here. Rare is the book that introduces characters so unique, so compelling and so real that I forget they are fiction. My barometer for this is how much I did not want the book to end. It took me until yesterday to finish the last chapter because I did not want to let go.
There is nothing banal about this father-daughter journey. The beauty in this story was not just the characters but also how complex their stories were and the perfectly simple and poignant way they were told.
This will go down as a favorite for certain.
There is nothing banal about this father-daughter journey. The beauty in this story was not just the characters but also how complex their stories were and the perfectly simple and poignant way they were told.
This will go down as a favorite for certain.
How to say what I feel without spoilers? This is a beautifully told story of father and daughter Sam and Loo, on the run from things in Sam's past that Loo doesn't understand, both carrying a mix of emotions -- confusion, grief, anger -- that they can't leave behind no matter how far they run. But they also have one heck of a lot of determination, not to mention great skill with firearms, which gets them through whatever is thrown at them.
Probably the most heartbreaking moment for me?
Probably the most heartbreaking moment for me?
"I didn't mean to screw everything up."Sam and Loo, you stole my heart.
"Nobody ever does."
Finished reading this a week ago and I'm still thinking about it. I loved Hannah Tinti's prose and it kept me slowly going through the first half of this book, where I was interested, but not invested in the characters and events. I like the parallel discoveries as we learn about Hawley and Loo's lives, and that in a way, the book is a coming of age for both of them. It all leads to the second half of this book, which is beautiful and emotionally devastating.
The 12 lives and 12 bullets are a reference to the labors of Hercules, though I don't think the reference goes much deeper than that. Instead, Tinti has built her own myth around Hawley complete with fantastical and tragic elements. Just remember that this is put together with language rather than plot if you get bogged down in the first half (see the Washington Post review by Ron Charles).
The 12 lives and 12 bullets are a reference to the labors of Hercules, though I don't think the reference goes much deeper than that. Instead, Tinti has built her own myth around Hawley complete with fantastical and tragic elements. Just remember that this is put together with language rather than plot if you get bogged down in the first half (see the Washington Post review by Ron Charles).
I'm torn on this review. Do I think the narrative structure was well-developed? Certainly. Did I appreciate the nods to other works? Definitely. But ultimately Tinti's work couldn't get past my general distate for these sorts of grit lit (if you want to call it that) works. The tragic anti-hero hero sorts just aren't my cup of tea. Also, if I were a slower reader, there's no way I would have finished this; 372 pages was probably 100 pages too long.
But I can appreciate what I think Tinti was trying to do and Loo was certainly an interesting character, even if the rest of the cast mostly felt underdeveloped. (How that is possible with only a handful of major characters in a nearly 400-page book, I'm not sure.)
[3.5 stars minus a half-star for length is 3 stars.]
But I can appreciate what I think Tinti was trying to do and Loo was certainly an interesting character, even if the rest of the cast mostly felt underdeveloped. (How that is possible with only a handful of major characters in a nearly 400-page book, I'm not sure.)
[3.5 stars minus a half-star for length is 3 stars.]
4.5 stars. A terrific coming of age story about a teenage girl and her father with a criminal past. The story alternates between the present and the tales of the 12 times the father had been shot. Really well written. Memorable characters. I might have cried.
Chapters that detail how Same Hawley was hit bit 12 different bullets through his life alternate with chapters of his relationship with his daughter Loo. Bad decisions coupled with good ones combine to make up this story outlining the challenges of being a loving parent. Unconventional but recognizable, the love between parent and child unfolds in a well written story that is different from the usual. You can laugh and have your heart broken here.
Original, intelligent
Told from the standpoints of both a teen girl and her outlaw but loving father. We see his total devotion to her, despite his frequent absences from her life. No mysticism or magic involved, just pure love and devotion.
Told from the standpoints of both a teen girl and her outlaw but loving father. We see his total devotion to her, despite his frequent absences from her life. No mysticism or magic involved, just pure love and devotion.
The blurb from Ann Patchett on the back nails it by calling this book part Tarantino, part Scheherazade and part Tinti's own, entirely. It's a compelling, clever, narrative that takes us back and forth in Samuel Hawley's life. His existence is a peripatetic one, until he's moored by his wife, first, then his daughter, Loo.
Loo is unearthing family secrets - about her mother's fate, her father's scars, her grandmother's grudges - and we get to join her on the journey. Equal parts meditative and exhilarating.
Loo is unearthing family secrets - about her mother's fate, her father's scars, her grandmother's grudges - and we get to join her on the journey. Equal parts meditative and exhilarating.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes