Slam

Poignant was how the usual reviewers coming from the different Times, Posts, Heralds, across America described Nick Hornby's 2007 book Slam about a young Brit caught between the web of what life has to offer a 16 year old, Tony Hawk adoring skater when a bump comes to shove and a push became a pull in his supposed to be simple life complicated by a push and a pull and a bump with his girlfriend. I am still checking wikipedia what poignant means.

Sam Jones likes to skate and talks to Tony Hawk's poster. The weird thing is that the poster talks to him through the superstar skater's biography. Sam lives with his MILF like mother (as the book described her). 32 years old that even Sam's skate companion Rabbit wants a piece of her.

Alicia, Sam's girlfriend, got pregnant after a few weeks of going out and even when they were doing protected sex after meeting at a party. It was rambuncious when Sam's mother got pregnant and her child who is Sam's half sister, is younger than Sam's son Rufus. Or it may not be that rambuncious after all with real life copying fiction. It was the sex, the unprotected sex I guess that formed the story as Sam tried to escape by running away with 40 quid in his pocket only to go back after finding out the harshness of life away from his comfort zone that ultimately became uncomfortable in the long run with the baby and their way of looking at sex, love, and relationships.

The story is a study on contemporary western family values on relationships and sex, and love and the complexity of what is supposed to be a simple set-up of a family composed of a father, a mother, a brother, sister, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

The sincerity of the characters draw out the sweetness and bitterness of the events and outcomes that somehow molded Sam and Alicia to whatever they came to be. Sam tried running and escaping but in the end, his good nature shone through as he thought: Life would be easier if I did'nt give a shit. But I do.

Books with Nick Hornby's name on it never fail to excite me after reading his "High Fidelity" but I guess I just have to take his writings one book at a time.