The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2018

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Part 1, Foreword-Chapter 7Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1: “A Stain on the Carpet”

Part 1, Foreword Summary

The novel’s narrative is nonlinear; the protagonist, Sam Hill, narrates from an unspecified point in his adulthood and jumps back and forth through time as he charts out the story of his life.

In the Foreword, Sam does not directly chronicle a portion of his life but discusses fate and the meaning of the phrase “God’s will.” He has rejected most of the tenets of his strict Catholic upbringing. Life is too random and chaotic for him to believe in providence, though he wishes he could believe in the concept as his mother did. He ponders how fate has allowed certain events in his life, such as the death of David Bateman, the school bully of his childhood. Sam does, however, want to believe that a benevolent divinity sent him Ernie Cantwell, “the only African American child in my class, [… and] the friend I so desperately needed” (i). His other childhood friend, Mickie Kennedy, also had a significant impact on his life. Sam now lives two blocks from his childhood home despite vowing as a kid to leave. The church is nearby, and he hears the bells, reminding him of his mother’s faith and so many other people from his past.

Part 1, Chapters 1-7 Summary

The narrative jumps to 1989: A 32-year-old Sam is at Dr. Kenji Fukomara’s to get a vasectomy, but even in the doctor’s office, he can hear church bells. They remind him of his childhood; his mother, now dead, raised him in strict Catholicism. Sam is having second thoughts about the procedure despite knowing that his partner, Eva, a jet-setting flight attendant, is adamant about it. The doctor leaves Sam to think it over, and Sam thinks about a conversation he once had with his father, who is now in a nursing home after a stroke. His father told him that at some point in a person’s life, they will look back instead of forward. Something about the memory compels Sam to skip the procedure. He knows Eva will be displeased with his decision, but he feels too shaken up at the thought of his family line ending with him.

The narrative shifts again as Sam’s narration describes his mother’s countless retellings of the story of his birth: On March 15, 1957, in Burlingame, California. Sam’s mother, Madeline Hill, went into early labor. Her water broke in the living room, leaving a stain on the carpet: “The stain, an amoeba-shaped discoloration that no cleaner known to man could remove, served for years as a reminder of my untimely arrival” (9). Madeline prayed while Sam’s father, Max, grabbed the suitcase. They sped to the hospital, and after a 32-hour labor, Sam was born. Sam’s eyes were closed when he arrived, but when he opened them, the doctors were stunned to discover his eyes were red. His parents decided to name him Samuel James Hill, but he was later nicknamed Sam Hell.

The narrative jumps to 1957, when the infant Sam is taken to a Stanford University medical specialist named Dr. Charles Pridemore, who will become a life-long friend to Sam. The doctor diagnoses Sam with ocular albinism, a rare condition affecting the pigment of the iris: “The color was more subtle, bordering on pink” (16). Not much is known about the condition at the time, and no one knows if it will affect Sam’s vision, but Madeline believes his condition to be “God’s will.” She dotes on her son and decides early on to meticulously document every stage of his “extraordinary life” in photo albums (Sam will later credit these albums and the time spent talking with his father at the nursing home for giving him a picture of his childhood).

Sam’s paternal grandmother does not come to visit him after his birth, but his paternal grandmother, Grandma O’Malley, comes by bus. She is Irish Catholic and says nothing about his red eyes. Sam’s parents take him to his first mass at Our Lady of Mercy. This is also the first time someone makes an insensitive comment about the baby’s appearance, as a young boy in the pew behind the Hills loudly asks his mother “what’s wrong” with Sam’s eyes.

Sam takes his first steps in 1958. His mom holds out the rosary to entice him forward. “Mary” is his first word. Madeline takes this as a sign God has blessed his life.

Part 1, Chapters 1-7 Analysis

The author employs short chapters in an episodic format that mimics the way memories flash in and out of the mind, but the narrative begins in a point in time that, while unspecified, is far enough in the future of the narrative’s main events that the narrator-protagonist can observe a sprawling panorama of his personal history. Just as the Foreword establishes the first-person narration, it also sets the tone of the novel: As Sam Hill takes a long glance back at his life and tries to piece it together to make sense of all he has endured, his longing for meaning is palpable. The Foreword also establishes Sam’s mother as an important influence. Though Sam no longer practices the Catholicism in which Madeline indoctrinated him, her strong belief in God remains deeply ingrained in him to the extent that he wishes he could somehow still share her faith. His mother’s spiritual presence even pervades the setting; as Sam lists several important people in his life, his narration conveys a strong sense of place, and, detailing some of the concrete particularities of where he lives, he describes the ringing church bells. The bells symbolize his past, their chime a constant reminder of his mother, her spirituality, and the tradition of his upbringing.

The first chapter opens in 1989 with Sam considering a vasectomy, a semi-permanent form of sterilization. Because this scene immediately follows the Foreword’s focus on Madeline’s Catholicism, the notion of a vasectomy makes an especially discordant entrance, since Catholicism condemns both contraception and nonmarital sex. The narrative thus immediately reinforces Sam’s distance from his mother’s worldview. There is also symbolic significance in how this vignette prefaces Sam’s childhood flashbacks: He is considering physically cutting off his chances of reproduction as he is about to launch into the history of his birth and early life. Moreover, the sound of church bells, which he hears even from within the doctor’s office, reminds him of his family and compels him to reconsider his decision after he recalls a conversation with his father. The author establishes the theme of memory and the importance of family in this chapter. It is also in the context of all these conflicted considerations that the narrative introduces Sam’s partner, Eva. The two disagree on marriage and children, and against the backdrop of Sam’s disquiet, the manner of Eva’s introduction does not bode well for their faltering relationship.

As Sam tells the story of his birth and first years of life, the common thread in every moment is his mother, who holds tightly to her deep Irish Catholicism and her belief in Sam’s exceptionality. Madeline’s spiritual tenor is of such narrative importance that it even dictates the novel's title: To her, Sam is “extraordinary,” and she sees his condition as a blessing. Sam’s condition does make him unique, but the reader can see trouble ahead as the outside world will view him as frightening. This contrast—Madeline’s religious idealism versus the world’s harsh realities—creates an irony that finds pithy expression in the protagonist’s nickname “Sam Hell.” Indeed, Sam faces his first instance of public humiliation (though he is too young to be aware of it) when a child at church comments on his unusual feature. This moment, too, is ironic, as the church should be a place of universal acceptance and love. Despite this, Sam outlines many adults in his early life who looked beyond his eye color and loved him unconditionally.