'The Nix' by Nathan Hill

The Nix, Nathan Hill (4.0)

I am hoping that this is not based on the author’s experiences, though the parallels are unnerving. Samuel, the main character, has led a sad, relatively unfulfilled life. The book begins with a remembering of how his mother abandoned he and his father when he was 11. We then jump to real time, where a 60-something woman attacks a politician, throwing rocks during a campaign stop. Quickly we come to realize this is, in fact, Sam’s estranged mother. Her lawyer reaches out to Sam in order to help her with her pending criminal case. While not inspired to come to her defense, he realizes the opportunity to write her story can benefit them both. The rest is a back and forth between the current events and Sam’s process of discovering his mother’s colorful past. The plot is very compelling with some interesting characters (though I could have done without the cheating college student – luckily none of my students are so horrible!). My only complaint is that I found the ‘bad’ things of his mother’s past and other characters did not feel nearly so bad. Maybe I’ve watched too many movies or times have changed considerably, but the damage done to the family based on the events seemed avoidable to me