A review by juliescalzo
The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, by Robert Dugoni
4.0
“We realize it is in those quiet moments that each of us has the ability to make our lives extraordinary.”
This is our current book club choice, and I flew through it. It’s told in first person by the main character, Sam Hill. Sam was born with red eyes, a condition he would keep for the rest of his life. Because of his red eyes, he was teased, bullied, and excluded as a kid. However, Sam had a fierce mother. She was fiercely religious and fierce in her love and advocacy for him. Throughout this story, Sam tells of his struggles and triumphs in school, his friendship with the only Black student at the school, Ernie, finding his talent in writing, & his relationships with women, including his best friend Mickey. He also jumps ahead to adulthood, where he has an ophthalmologist practice with Mickey, helps support his parents, & encounters an old bully.
This is a story of family, friendship, and what makes a life. It does jump around quite a bit between Sam’s childhood and adulthood, so that was occasionally hard to follow. I really enjoyed Sam’s relationships with his friends and his family. I also enjoyed the theme of acceptance that this employed. I didn’t quite emotionally connect like I would’ve connected, but I did enjoy reading it overall.
This is our current book club choice, and I flew through it. It’s told in first person by the main character, Sam Hill. Sam was born with red eyes, a condition he would keep for the rest of his life. Because of his red eyes, he was teased, bullied, and excluded as a kid. However, Sam had a fierce mother. She was fiercely religious and fierce in her love and advocacy for him. Throughout this story, Sam tells of his struggles and triumphs in school, his friendship with the only Black student at the school, Ernie, finding his talent in writing, & his relationships with women, including his best friend Mickey. He also jumps ahead to adulthood, where he has an ophthalmologist practice with Mickey, helps support his parents, & encounters an old bully.
This is a story of family, friendship, and what makes a life. It does jump around quite a bit between Sam’s childhood and adulthood, so that was occasionally hard to follow. I really enjoyed Sam’s relationships with his friends and his family. I also enjoyed the theme of acceptance that this employed. I didn’t quite emotionally connect like I would’ve connected, but I did enjoy reading it overall.