Review: 'Sam,' by Allegra Goodman

Some writers hone a signature style, while others reinvent their approach to suit each book. With her sixth novel, "Sam," Allegra Goodman set aside the descriptive, lyrical prose style of her prize-winning novels and New Yorker stories to craft a stripped-down, elemental voice out of fidelity to her sturdy young protagonist. Sam is a straightforward girl who suffers hard knocks and learns to climb rocks as she undergoes the traumas and revelations of growing up from age 7 to 19.

"Sam is seven and she never stops," Goodman writes as the novel begins. Sam lives near Gloucester, Mass., with her mother Courtney and her two-year-old brother Noah in a rental house belonging to Noah's father's parents. Sam's father, Mitchell, is a delightful but unpredictable free spirit, who gigs around performing juggling and magic shows, struggles with addictions, and occasionally surfaces to show Sam the time of her life.

Sam's perspective on his periodic arrivals conveys the joy they bring: "'We're outta here!' shouts Mitchell, and they are hurtling down the road. The day is faster. The trees are brighter, the road is twistier."

After Sam shows promise in climbing, Mitchell takes her to the YMCA for lessons. Sam is a natural at climbing, while at school, she struggles. "A day in school is like a year," Sam thinks. Sam has trouble learning to read. "A lot of words look the same and you can't guess," she reports. "For this reason, she goes to Miss McCabe. Miss McCabe works in a closet, but she is organized."

Sam's observation that the reading specialist works in a closet-sized office is characteristic of her honesty. She often repeats phrases adults have told her, adding her own frank observations.

Goodman faithfully creates the perspective of a child doing her best to understand the complicated adult lives around her and to figure out how to satisfy everyone's demands in a way that's reminiscent of Beverly Cleary's classic Ramona Quimby books. None of the nuances of adult dramas are lost on Sam, and Sam's instinct to gravitate toward the activities she enjoys cannot be dampened by rules or obstacles. Goodman conveys the protagonist's emotions so precisely that the reader feels them, too.

As Sam grows up, she becomes a gifted climber but her life is hemmed in by what Courtney can provide as a low-income single parent while Mitchell goes off the grid, Noah's dad becomes a threat, and Noah is diagnosed with disabilities. As Sam navigates these troubles, Goodman performs the magic trick of evolving Sam's perspective, chapter by chapter, to match her age.

"Sam" is a novel for anyone who's witnessed a kid grow up, felt nostalgic, and yearned to watch the process all over again. "Sam" captures that unique magic of human development through the story of one steadfast girl.

Jenny Shank's story collection, "Mixed Company," won the Colorado Book Award and the George Garrett Fiction Prize and her novel, "The Ringer," won the High Plains Book Award.

Sam

By: Allegra Goodman.

Publisher: Dial Press, 316 pages, $28.