Staff Pick
Sam Hawley is a single dad with a mysterious past written across his body in gunshot scars. His teenage daughter Loo is an outsider, smart but disconnected, and struggling with her own capacity for violence. Together they settle down in the working-class fishing town where Loo's mom grew up, and where local hostilities over fishing rights conjure violent memories and ultimately violence itself. This is a gripping novel, with complex characters whose battles with time, love, and the notion of heroism had me glued to the page. Recommended By Rhianna W., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
The mesmerizing new novel from the prize-winning author of The Good Thief
Samuel Hawley isn t like the other fathers in Olympus, Massachusetts. A loner who spent years living on the run, he raised his daughter Loo on the road, moving from motel to motel, always watching his back. Now that Loo s a teenager, Hawley wants only to give her a normal life. In his late wife s hometown, he finds work as a fisherman, while Loo struggles to fit in at the local high school.
She also grows more and more curious about the death of the mother she never knew. Soon, everywhere she turns, she encounters the mysteries of her parents lives before she was born. This hidden past is made all the more real by the twelve scars her father carries on his body. Each scar is from a bullet Hawley took over the course of his criminal career. Each is a memory: of another place on the map, another thrilling close call, another moment of love lost and found. As Loo uncovers a history that s darker than she could have known, the demons of her father s past spill over into the present and together both Hawley and Loo 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. Both a coming-of-age novel and a literary thriller, The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley is an unforgettable story that explores what it means to be a hero and the cost we pay to protect the people we love most.
Advance praise for The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley
The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley is one part Quentin Tarantino, one part Scheherazade, and twelve parts wild innovation. Hannah Tinti proves herself to be an old-fashioned storyteller of the highest order. Ann Patchett, author of Commonwealth
Hannah Tinti s The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley is a riveting character-driven thriller, a father-daughter road trip you won t soon forget. Fans of The Good Thief who have been waiting for whatever comes next from this gifted writer will find their patience richly rewarded. Richard Russo, author of Everybody s Fool
The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley is utterly magnificent gripping, suspenseful, funny, and so full of heart. Young Loo and her father are contemporary characters with the stature and magnetism of the great heroes of literature. The reader in me was racing through to find out what would befall them, while the writer, awestruck by Hannah Tinti s powerful storytelling, was desperately trying to slow down. This is a book I will return to again and again, for sheer pleasure and to learn how it is done. Ruth Ozeki, author of A Tale for the Time Being"
Synopsis
A mesmerizing father-daughter epic that explores what it means to be a hero
Samuel Hawley isn't like the other fathers in Olympus, Massachusetts. A loner who spent years living on the run, he raised his daughter, Loo, on the road, moving from motel to motel, always watching his back. Now that Loo's a teenager, Hawley wants only to give her a normal life. In his late wife's hometown, he finds work as a fisherman, while Loo struggles to fit in at the local high school.
She also grows more and more curious about the death of the mother she never knew. Soon, everywhere she turns, she encounters the mysteries of her parents' lives before she was born. This hidden past is made all the more real by the twelve scars her father carries on his body. Each scar is from a bullet Hawley took over the course of his criminal career. Each is a memory: of another place on the map, another thrilling close call, another moment of love lost and found. As Loo uncovers a history that's darker than she could have known, the demons of her father's past spill over into the present--and together both Hawley and Loo must face a reckoning yet to come.
A coming-of-age novel and a literary thriller that weaves back and forth through time and across America, from Alaska to the Adirondacks, The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley is an unforgettable story about the cost we pay to protect the people we love most.
Advance praise for The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley
" An] atmospheric, complexly suspenseful saga . . . with life or death struggles in dramatic settings . . . and starring a fiercely loving, reluctant criminal and a girl of grit and wonder . . . a breathtaking novel of violence and tenderness."--Booklist (starred review)
"Seamlessly transposing classical myth into a quintessentially American landscape and marrying taut suspense with dreamy lyricism, Hannah] Tinti's beautifully intricate second novel is well worth the wait. . . . Tinti's imagery evokes time, space, the sea, and the myth of Heracles without losing the narrative's sure grounding in American communities and culture. This is a convincingly redemptive and celebratory novel: an affirmation of the way that heroism and human fallibility coexist, of how good parenting comes in unexpected packages, and of the way that we are marked by our encounters with each other and the luminous universe in which we dwell."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley is one part Quentin Tarantino, one part Scheherazade, and twelve parts wild innovation. Hannah Tinti proves herself to be an old-fashioned storyteller of the highest order."--Ann Patchett, author of Commonwealth
"Hannah Tinti's The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley is a riveting character-driven thriller, a father-daughter road trip you won't soon forget. Fans of The Good Thief who have been waiting for whatever comes next from this gifted writer will find their patience richly rewarded."--Richard Russo, author of Everybody's Fool
"The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley is utterly magnificent--gripping, suspenseful, funny, and so full of heart. Young Loo and her father are contemporary characters with the stature and magnetism of the great heroes of literature. The reader in me was racing through to find out what would befall them, while the writer, awestruck by Hannah Tinti's powerful storytelling, was desperately trying to slow down. This is a book I will return to again and again, for sheer pleasure and to learn how it is done."--Ruth Ozeki, author of A Tale for the Time Being
Synopsis
A coming-of-age novel and a literary thrill ride about the price we pay to protect the people we love most.
"A father-daughter road trip you won't soon forget."--Richard Russo
Samuel Hawley isn't like the other fathers in Olympus, Massachusetts. A loner who spent years living on the run, he raised his beloved daughter, Loo, on the road, moving from motel to motel, always watching his back. Now that Loo's a teenager, Hawley wants only to give her a normal life. In his late wife's hometown, he finds work as a fisherman, while Loo struggles to fit in at the local high school.
Growing more and more curious about the mother she never knew, Loo begins to investigate. Soon, everywhere she turns, she encounters the mysteries of her parents' lives before she was born. This hidden past is made all the more real by the twelve scars her father carries on his body. Each scar is from a bullet Hawley took over the course of his criminal career. Each is a memory: of another place on the map, another thrilling close call, another moment of love lost and found. As Loo uncovers a history that's darker than she could have known, the demons of her father's past spill over into the present--and together both Hawley and Loo must face a reckoning yet to come.
Advance praise for The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley
" An] atmospheric, complexly suspenseful saga . . . with life or death struggles in dramatic settings . . . and starring a fiercely loving, reluctant criminal and a girl of grit and wonder . . . a breathtaking novel of violence and tenderness."--Booklist (starred review)
"Seamlessly transposing classical myth into a quintessentially American landscape and marrying taut suspense with dreamy lyricism, Hannah] Tinti's beautifully intricate second novel is well worth the wait. . . . Tinti's imagery evokes time, space, the sea, and the myth of Heracles without losing the narrative's sure grounding in American communities and culture. This is a convincingly redemptive and celebratory novel: an affirmation of the way that heroism and human fallibility coexist, of how good parenting comes in unexpected packages, and of the way that we are marked by our encounters with each other and the luminous universe in which we dwell."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley is one part Quentin Tarantino, one part Scheherazade, and twelve parts wild innovation. Hannah Tinti proves herself to be an old-fashioned storyteller of the highest order."--Ann Patchett, author of Commonwealth
"What Hannah Tinti knows about fathers, daughters, and time could, as they say, fill a book--and truly does. The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley is bold, exciting, and original."--Meg Wolitzer, author of The Interestings
"The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley is utterly magnificent--gripping, suspenseful, funny, and so full of heart. Young Loo and her father are contemporary characters with the stature and magnetism of the great heroes of literature. The reader in me was racing through to find out what would befall them, while the writer, awestruck by Hannah Tinti's powerful storytelling, was desperately trying to slow down. This is a book I will return to again and again, for sheer pleasure and to learn how it is done."--Ruth Ozeki, author of A Tale for the Time Being
Synopsis
A coming-of-age novel and a literary thrill ride about the price we pay to protect the people we love most.
"A father-daughter road trip you won't soon forget."--Richard Russo A WASHINGTON POST NOTABLE BOOK
Samuel Hawley isn't like the other fathers in Olympus, Massachusetts. A loner who spent years living on the run, he raised his beloved daughter, Loo, on the road, moving from motel to motel, always watching his back. Now that Loo's a teenager, Hawley wants only to give her a normal life. In his late wife's hometown, he finds work as a fisherman, while Loo struggles to fit in at the local high school.
Growing more and more curious about the mother she never knew, Loo begins to investigate. Soon, everywhere she turns, she encounters the mysteries of her parents' lives before she was born. This hidden past is made all the more real by the twelve scars her father carries on his body. Each scar is from a bullet Hawley took over the course of his criminal career. Each is a memory: of another place on the map, another thrilling close call, another moment of love lost and found. As Loo uncovers a history that's darker than she could have known, the demons of her father's past spill over into the present--and together both Hawley and Loo must face a reckoning yet to come.
Praise for The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley
"A master class in literary suspense."--The Washington Post
"Tinti depicts brutality and compassion with exquisite sensitivity, creating a powerful overlay of love and pain."--The New Yorker
"Hannah Tinti's beautifully constructed second novel . . . uses the scars on Hawley's body--all twelve bullet wounds, one by one--to show who he is, what he's done, and why the past chases and clings to him with such tenacity."--The Boston Globe
"The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley is an adventure epic with the deeper resonance of myth. . . . Tinti exhibits an aptitude for shining a piercing light into the corners of her characters' hearts and minds."--O: The Oprah Magazine
"An achingly beautiful story. . . . Tinti's language is precise and beautiful."--The Dallas Morning News
"Gripping. . . Tarantino-like in its plot twists, action, and violence, the novel sweeps across the country and back and forth in time."--Interview
Synopsis
"A gripping American-on-the-run thriller . . . a brilliant coming-of-age tale and a touching exploration of father-daughter relationships."--Newsweek "One part Quentin Tarantino, one part Scheherazade, and twelve parts wild innovation."--Ann Patchett, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Commonwealth
NATIONAL BESTSELLER - NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR - The Washington Post - Paste
Samuel Hawley isn't like the other fathers in Olympus, Massachusetts. A loner who spent years living on the run, he raised his beloved daughter, Loo, on the road, moving from motel to motel, always watching his back. Now that Loo's a teenager, Hawley wants only to give her a normal life. In his late wife's hometown, he finds work as a fisherman, while Loo struggles to fit in at the local high school.
Growing more and more curious about the mother she never knew, Loo begins to investigate. Soon, everywhere she turns, she encounters the mysteries of her parents' lives before she was born. This hidden past is made all the more real by the twelve scars her father carries on his body. Each scar is from a bullet Hawley took over the course of his criminal career. Each is a memory: of another place on the map, another thrilling close call, another moment of love lost and found. As Loo uncovers a history that's darker than she could have known, the demons of her father's past spill over into the present--and together both Hawley and Loo must face a reckoning yet to come.
Praise for The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley
"A master class in literary suspense."--The Washington Post
"Tinti depicts brutality and compassion with exquisite sensitivity, creating a powerful overlay of love and pain."--The New Yorker
"Hannah Tinti's beautifully constructed second novel . . . uses the scars on Hawley's body--all twelve bullet wounds, one by one--to show who he is, what he's done, and why the past chases and clings to him with such tenacity."--The Boston Globe
"The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley is an adventure epic with the deeper resonance of myth. . . . Tinti exhibits an aptitude for shining a piercing light into the corners of her characters' hearts and minds."--O: The Oprah Magazine
Hannah Tinti on PowellsBooks.Blog
Part coming-of-age story, part literary thriller,
The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley is a father-daughter story that explores what it means to be a hero, and the cost we pay to protect the people we love most. After years spent living on the run, Samuel Hawley moves with his teenage daughter, Loo, to Olympus, Massachusetts...
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