Bevor we talk more in detail about SLAM, it could be helpful to learn more about the background of the novel. Where and when does it take place, what's the perspective in the book and many other intersting things.
Let's get started!
Slam - what is the novel about?
Sam is sixteen and Tony Hawk, the famous skateboarder, is his hero. When he meets Alicia everything seems perfect. Life seems to be ticking on nicely, when suddenly one moment changes their lives forever and presents him with new responsibilities he can't run away from even though he tries to.
The novel is written from the perspective of the main character Sam as you can see that the author Nick Hornby uses the first person, e.g. "I talk Tony Hawk, and Tony Hawk talks back." (p. 11)
Slam - what is the novel about?
Sam is sixteen and Tony Hawk, the famous skateboarder, is his hero. When he meets Alicia everything seems perfect. Life seems to be ticking on nicely, when suddenly one moment changes their lives forever and presents him with new responsibilities he can't run away from even though he tries to.
The novel is written from the perspective of the main character Sam as you can see that the author Nick Hornby uses the first person, e.g. "I talk Tony Hawk, and Tony Hawk talks back." (p. 11)
Where does the novel take place? When does the novel take place?
After reading the first chapter of the novel it's given that the story doesn't take place in the US. We suppose that it happens in Great Britain after we know that the main character is an English native speaker.
Sam tells his story and explains us that the story took place a few years ago, so we know that Sam isn't a teenager anymore.
"This was a couple of years ago - this time when things were ticking along OK - so I was fifteen, nearly six." (p.10)
Sam - the main character of the novel
Sam is the main character of the novel and he talks about his life, and with him as the narrator. He's nearly sixteen years old and he lives with his mother Annie.
His hobby and passion skating occupies a large part of his life. His hero and idol Tony Hawk is very important for him,
"But he was who I wanted to be (...)" (p. 9).
I suppose that Tony Hawk is kind of a father symbol for Sam especially since we know that Sam's parents are divorced.
Besides skating, Sam's very artistic, "Mrs Gillett, my art and design teacher, took me to one side after a lesson and asked wether I'd thought of doing art at college." (p. 9).
For Sam, skating is a kind of art and he spends hours at learning new tricks.
Sam is a very caring person and take responsibilities for those he loves,
"And you don't need to be Sherlock Holmes or whatever to work out that Alicia was a girl who meant something to me." (p. 10)
To sum it up we can say that Sam is a very intersting protagonist who loves his mother and his hobby. He's very artistic and he sees his passion skating as a kind of art.
I can't wait to see what's going to happen next.
See you in my next post!
Elena
Sam tells his story and explains us that the story took place a few years ago, so we know that Sam isn't a teenager anymore.
"This was a couple of years ago - this time when things were ticking along OK - so I was fifteen, nearly six." (p.10)
Sam - the main character of the novel
Sam is the main character of the novel and he talks about his life, and with him as the narrator. He's nearly sixteen years old and he lives with his mother Annie.
His hobby and passion skating occupies a large part of his life. His hero and idol Tony Hawk is very important for him,
"But he was who I wanted to be (...)" (p. 9).
I suppose that Tony Hawk is kind of a father symbol for Sam especially since we know that Sam's parents are divorced.
Besides skating, Sam's very artistic, "Mrs Gillett, my art and design teacher, took me to one side after a lesson and asked wether I'd thought of doing art at college." (p. 9).
For Sam, skating is a kind of art and he spends hours at learning new tricks.
Sam is a very caring person and take responsibilities for those he loves,
"And you don't need to be Sherlock Holmes or whatever to work out that Alicia was a girl who meant something to me." (p. 10)
To sum it up we can say that Sam is a very intersting protagonist who loves his mother and his hobby. He's very artistic and he sees his passion skating as a kind of art.
I can't wait to see what's going to happen next.
See you in my next post!
Elena
