Official Review: Samuel by Samuel kidstar

SPasciuti · Post by **SPasciuti** » 10 Apr 2018, 00:36

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Samuel" by Samuel kidstar.]

2 out of 4 stars

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Samuel: My Life Story by Samuel Kidstar is a deeply interesting memoir about the life of a young man who grows up to be an ironworker as he goes through a great many hardships, one of which centers largely around the abusive nature of his father. His life is chronicled through the many changes and layoffs faced by ironworkers over time, including the input of new safety regulations and the availability of work due to major crises and based on location. Samuel was a first responder to the attacks of September 11, 2001. He spent a fair amount of time moving from place to place as he followed jobs across the country and he found a great deal of love in an activity known as skydiving.

I have mixed feelings about this book and, for the longest time, was unsure how I would rate it. I really enjoyed reading about all of Samuel's experiences, but they did get a little repetitive after a while particularly where his work was concerned. As someone who genuinely knows very little about ironworkers and what they have to face, it was a welcome enlightenment to read about their regular struggles and experiences. Samuel's voice was very entertaining and held pieces of wisdom that were a true pleasure to read. I was most enamored with his opinion of religion, something that I found refreshing as not many people speak so bluntly when they have a belief such as his. For this reason, however, I do not think I would recommend this book to most Christians.

What I loved most about this book boils down to three things: the author's voice, his connection to his family (his grandparents in particular), and the abundance of new information I learned about the experiences of ironworkers, especially those who had to work through changes in the industry. Kidstar has a strong narrative tone, one he uses well to portray his experiences and views. I am also one who is always looking to learn something new and I don't know if I would have ever learned much about this particular topic without having read this memoir.

While I was excited and pleased to be reading about and learning new things from a world that I have no experience in and little knowledge of, there were times that I felt Kidstar did not fully anticipate the idea that someone who was not an ironworker would be reading his book. There were a number of terms used throughout the course of the book that I wasn't familiar with and sometimes had to look up. I'm not very familiar with worker's unions and therefore had no idea what Kidstar meant when he referenced Local 55 and numerous others. I think his book definitely could benefit from including some more information in a way that allows readers who are not aware of specific terms to easily understand what he is talking about as it can become rather distracting.

I definitely left this book feeling as though Samuel had an interesting life and was glad to have read about it, but I did feel that the pacing of the book was somewhat strained. Kidstar spends much of his time merely detailing various events in his life, putting them in a very stiff chronological order. The book's chapters felt poorly organized as experiences were simply lumped together based on the age the author was when they occurred rather than connected to each other in a way that flowed. This, I feel, is what led to some repetitiveness in various descriptions regarding his work.

Finally, while I loved reading about his experiences as a skydiver, I had a hard time connecting those experiences to the rest of his memoir. In the strangest of ways, it almost felt as though it didn't fit with the story that was being told but I could feel how truly meaningful and important these moments were to Kidstar's life. There was a strong emotion mixed with it and I felt truly happy for his ability to have continued on with this activity that he loved so much.

Ultimately, I was not a fan of the way he sectioned his story and I feel that Kidstar could benefit greatly from finding a way to make it flow in a more natural way. The beginning of his book does feel rather stiff at times and his language can, at times, fail to be sensitive. While I was not immensely bothered by this, I do recognize that it will likely offend some others. I definitely think this book would be a great read for other ironworkers and anyone looking to learn about the lives they lead. I am giving Samuel: My Life Story a rating of 2 out of 4 stars. While I did deeply enjoy reading this book, I do believe there is a lot of room for improvement and I don't think it's for everyone. If the pacing of the memoir had been executed in a more succinct manner, I feel as though I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

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Samuel
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Libs_Books · Post by **Libs_Books** » 11 Apr 2018, 05:34

This is a very thorough review. He does sound like a really interesting person, but I'm not sure that I could maintain interest through all the stuff about ironworking - the the trade union side might interest me.

Post by **kandscreeley** » 11 Apr 2018, 08:52

It does sound like Samuel had an interesting life, but I think it would be a bit too repetitive too me. It sounds like the author should have condensed it a bit. Thanks for the thorough review.

PaigeA · Post by **PaigeA** » 11 Apr 2018, 10:59

Thanks for the review! Seems like it is quite an experience to read this book!

stacie k · Post by **stacie k** » 11 Apr 2018, 13:07

With ironworking, skydiving, and being a first responder to 9/11, Samuel does appear to have led a very interesting life. I wonder if he would have been better off to develop one of these aspects, especially since you felt the ideas were difficult to connect. Thanks for your thorough review. I can see that you put much thought into it.

kfwilson6 · Post by **kfwilson6** » 11 Apr 2018, 14:25

Sounds like some of Samuel's experiences could be really interesting to read about while others might bog down the book. Of course, when writing of your own life it is hard to skip all the dull moments as all of us can say a lot of our lives are spent on mundane things we wouldn't want included in an auto-biography! Very thorough review. I feel like I can pass on this one with good reason (because you gave it to me). Talk of unions is quite boring and I can't say I'm particularly interested in the life of an ironworker.

Mercelle · Post by **Mercelle** » 11 Apr 2018, 15:28

I agree with you that the author's experiences need to be organized in a more appealing manner. Although I would love to read about the author's skydiving experiences, the technical jargon relating to ironworking will be a chore to sail through.

crediblereading2 · Post by **crediblereading2** » 11 Apr 2018, 21:26

I agree that too much repetition of anything can make it seem boring. Authors should desist from this practice, as it will cause their works to appear simplistic.

Post by **Eileen R** » 12 Apr 2018, 04:11

Samuel does seem to lead an interesting life. The review was quite comprehensive. I look forward to reading the book

revna01 · Post by **revna01** » 16 Apr 2018, 05:36

Thank you for a fair and thorough review. It was interesting observation that you noted the skydiving felt out of place from the rest of the material. The strict chronology would probably perturb me a bit as well! Great job!

Christinabooklover · Post by **Christinabooklover** » 27 Feb 2019, 17:46

Reading a book is like diving in a new world, this time the irnomworkers world. From your review, I understand that there is a lot of information about irnomworkers and their life which is really intriguing. I have not read the book, but I also believe that repetition makes a reading disagreeable.
Thanks for the great review. It is was really thorough.

Annija Marta Meldere · Post by **Annija Marta Meldere** » 21 Dec 2023, 08:35

Seems like this would help peope learn more about ironworkers, but only given they are interested enough to read through the parts they don't understand.

Also, the way one structures their story is very important indeed.