The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester – Book Review

The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester
UK Paperback – 9 May 2023

by Maya MacGregor 

This work of fiction was recommended to me a little while ago and was intriguing in many ways. It’s written by an autistic author; the main character is autistic; and the story involves a cold case investigation of a death recorded several decades ago. Crime seems to be a popular interest in neurodivergent communities these days, so I was curious to know how this would be woven into the story surrounding the central character, Sam.

The blurb on the back of my copy explains that Sam has collected stories of children who died before they reached the age of 19 and suggests that they almost died themselves at one point. Given Sam’s interest in children’s ‘half-lived lives’, their own near-death experience and the fact that they are fast approaching 19, it is not surprising that they are looking ahead with some trepidation.

Sam’s near-death experience is referred to early in the book, but the details are, in true suspense style, not fully revealed until later. However, there is plenty to keep the reader absorbed before that.

Sam has moved into a new area with their father and starting school and life in a new home. School brings its inevitable challenges in terms of trying to fit in and deal with unaccepting peers, but home is also a source of tension. Not in relation to their father – who has fully embraced Sam’s autism and works hard to understand and support them – but by the fact that the house was occupied by a teen who died young, and in suspicious circumstances. Sam is naturally compelled to find out the truth and persists in their efforts with admirable autistic tenacity.

I’m not usually a big fan of fiction and don’t often read children’s books – I think an internet rating puts the book in the 12+ category – but I was happily surprised by my engagement with it. I found myself cheering Sam in their new friendships and in the way they dispense with the nay-sayers. I wanted them to succeed, knowing the trauma they had experienced before, and was intrigued by the twists and turns, as certain characters became suspects in the mysterious death.

The prose is absorbing and thought-provoking and, happily, we have what I think is a believable representation of what autism can be like for one autistic person. From the anxieties, masking and shutdowns to the sensory perceptions and overloads, thinking styles and special interests. Other contextual features add interest and contemporary relevance, such as those regarding Sam’s father, Sam’s sexuality and Sam’s gender identity. There’s also a little romance, episodes of bullying, poisoning, murder, humour and sadness.