The Twelve Lives Of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tintiโ 480 pages
Book Blurb:
After years spent living on the run, Samuel Hawley moves with his teenage daughter, Loo, to Olympus, Massachusetts. There, in his late wife’s hometown, Hawley finds work as a fisherman, while Loo struggles to fit in at school and grows curious about her mother’s mysterious death. Haunting them both are twelve scars Hawley carries on his body, from twelve bullets in his criminal past; a past that eventually spills over into his daughter’s present, until together they must face a reckoning yet to come. This father-daughter epic weaves back and forth through time and across America, from Alaska to the Adirondacks.
My Review: 4 stars
The Twelve Lives Of Samuel Hawley is an epicย tale full of adventure, love, time and protection between a father and daughter. Hawley, a large and heavily scarred man, begs the reader to ask, โCan a bad man be a good person?โ Heโs got twelve bullet scars and his story unfolds as we learn the story of each bullet. Many of his stories have timepieces in them and itโs not lost on the reader that there are twelve bullets and twelve numbers on a clock.This is an ambitious way to tell a story but Tinti does it pure justice. She turnsย Hawley into a reluctant hero through his survival and his ultimate protection of his daughter Loo.
As we are puzzling out Hawleyโs stories, weโre also given a present day look into Looโs life after too many moves, no real friends and a traveling bathroom shrine to honor her dead mother. In her chapters we see how Hawley takes care of her and in each chapter she learns something new. She learns to shoot, roll cigarettes, hot wire a car, kiss and more. This sounds disturbing but it comes off as meaningful and important to the story.
There are many references to Hercules and mythology. If you recall, Hercules had to do Twelve Labors in penance for killing his wife and family. Although he did evil things, heโll always be remembered for being a heroic figure. Hawley too had twelve bullets but will be remembered as a hero. Finally, this book is set in Olympus, Massachusetts and Hercules also ended up in Olympus, well, Mt. Olympus.
Quotes I liked:
Love isnโt about keeping promises. Itโs about knowing someone better than anyone else.โ
-โโฆ he left the table and followed, as if she were a magnet drawing him away from his better judgment.โ
-โYou are not going to catch any goddamn fish today. You will go upstairs. You will put on a goddamn shirt. And then you will drive us to the goddamn church and get our daughter baptized.โ
I loved this one too, Lauren. Just riveting!
I agree! So different and well developed!