Mar 21, 2018lukasevansherman rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
"Everything breaks if you hit it hard enough."
This third book from Hannah Tinti is intense and raw, like a wound that won't quite heal and you just keep poking at it. Ewww. Hawley, a drifter with a dark, criminal past, and his daughter Loo arrive in a small New England fishing village and try to make a fresh start. But if you've ever read a book before, you know that's not going to happen. The narrative alternates between the present and Hawley's story. Each of his 12 bullet scars (hence the title) gets a chapter. I found Loo far more compelling and thought 12 bullets was maybe 3 or 4 too many. Tinti pitches camp in the gritty, dirty realism school of Carver, Russo, and Dubus, but adds more of a James Lee Burke-like thriller element. A striking read, at the very least.
Comment
The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley