At the start of the story Sam tells us that he is happy with his life. There are no major problems at home or at school; he has friends and spends his free time skateboarding. Then he meets Alicia and suddenly his life becomes very complicated indeed. In his head he is still a sixteen year old boy but because of ‘a little accident’ he is expected to behave like a responsible adult.
Nick Hornby is skilful in his portrayal of Sam; we enter Sam’s head and heart and share his thoughts and feelings. If I had any criticism, I would say there is too much detail and this slows down the narrative. On the other hand, one could say that this detail is necessary for us to have a clear understanding of Sam’s character and the confusion he experiences.
There is much humour in this story – sometimes it is ‘laugh our loud’ funny – but it is a very moving story too. In the second half of the book I felt great sympathy for Sam and was very touched by his attempts (not always successful) to ‘make things OK’. I think this novel reflects real life; as Sam discovers, wisdom, confidence and strength arise from the difficult times not the easy ones.
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SLAM Nick Hornby (I read on and was glad I did!)
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