The Ending of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

         The ending of the novel took me by surprise a little bit. After Joe had left for the extended period of time, Sammy created a life and family in his absence. He grew close with Rosa Saks even though he never had the same connection as Joe had but nevertheless, they had a strong connection. Their relationship was described as partners and that seemed fitting since they were both working together to raise Tommy. For Sammy to just leave all of that behind was a little surprising since he clearly had a strong connection with Tommy as well. Right before he left, he stood in Tommy's doorway thinking about their past together and all the time they had spent together. He seemed to have fond memories of Tommy's childhood and he especially seemed to value their relationship. When Sammy laid in bed with Tommy and they had a moment to talk, Tommy still referred to him as his dad. This was after he had learned that Joe was his real dad and for Sammy to just get up and disappear was dissatisfying and it would clearly affect Tommy negatively. Tommy at least deserved an explanation and a proper goodbye. 

        Despite the ending being unsatisfying and a little disappointing, Sammy had done his job. Sammy never left Tommy like Joe had and he kept his promise that Tommy would never feel abandoned by his father. Sammy had been filling in for Joe all those years and once Joe returned from all of his adventures, he felt comfortable enough that he could leave and start from scratch. It was interesting that Joe wanted to repay Sammy for his help by purchasing Empire Comics for him. Joe might have been unaware of it but Sammy clearly disliked and despised Empire Comics. I doubt Sammy wanted to help manage the company that he wouldn't even allow Tommy to buy comic books from. Despite this, the gesture from Joe was nice. It seemed a little bit like Joe was trying to make up some of the lost time with Sammy by reembarking on their Kavalier & Clay adventures, but it was just too late and Sammy was no longer interested in what they once had. The fact that Joe bought Empire comics was a little surprising in general, he had enough money to support Rosa, Tommy and Sammy but instead he bought Empire Comics which Anapol was selling for a reason.