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For readers of Jonathan Franzen and Richard Russo, Jonathan Dee’s novels are masterful works of literary fiction. In this sharply observed tale of self-invention and public scandal, Dee raises a trenchant question: what do we really want when we ask for forgiveness?
Once a privileged and loving couple, the Armsteads have now reached a breaking point. Ben, a partner in a prestigious law firm, has become unpredictable at work and withdrawn at home—a change that weighs heavily on his wife, Helen, and their preteen daughter, Sara. Then, in one afternoon, Ben’s recklessness takes an alarming turn, and everything the Armsteads have built together unravels, swiftly and spectacularly.
Thrust back into the working world, Helen finds a job in public relations and relocates with Sara from their home in upstate New York to an apartment in Manhattan. There, Helen discovers she has a rare gift, indispensable in the world of image control: She can convince arrogant men to admit their mistakes, spinning crises into second chances. Yet redemption is more easily granted in her professional life than in her personal one.
As she is confronted with the biggest case of her career, the fallout from her marriage, and Sara’s increasingly distant behavior, Helen must face the limits of accountability and her own capacity for forgiveness.
Praise for A Thousand Pardons
“A Thousand Pardons is that rare thing: a genuine literary thriller. Eerily suspenseful and packed with dramatic event, it also offers a trenchant, hilarious portrait of our collective longing for authenticity in these overmediated times.”—Jennifer Egan, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of A Visit from the Goon Squad
“Hugely enjoyable . . . Dee is a snappy, cinematic writer. . . . A Thousand Pardons moves fast. It’s a mere 200 or so pages, and it packs a lot of turns of fate within there.”—The Boston Globe
“Dee’s gifts are often dazzling and his material meticulously shaped. . . . [He] articulates complex emotional dynamics with precision and insight.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Some stories begin with a bang. And some begin with a roaring fireball of truth. Jonathan Dee’s latest novel belongs in the latter camp.”—O: The Oprah Magazine
“Dee bounds gracefully among Helen’s, Ben’s, and Sara’s points of view as they try to reassemble their lives. Their stories feel honest, and the prose is beautiful.”—Entertainment Weekly
“A page turner . . . What a triumph.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Graceful prose and such a sharp understanding of human weakness that you’ll wince as you laugh.”—People
“Propulsively readable.”—The Millions
“Dee continues to establish himself as an ironic observer of contemporary behavior. . . . The plot is energetic. . . . But most compelling is the acuteness of the details.”—The Atlantic
1
Helen tried not to look at her watch, because looking at your watch never changed anything, but it was already a quarter to seven and her husband's headlights had yet to appear at the top of the hill. Evening had darkened to the point where she had to press her forehead to the kitchen window and frame her eyes with her hands just to see outside. Meadow Close was a dead end street, and so even if she couldn't make out the car itself, the moment she saw headlights of any kind cresting the hill there was a one in six chance they were Ben's. More like one in three, actually, because by turning her face a bit in the bowl of her hands she could see the Hugheses' car parked in their driveway, and the Griffins', and that obscene yellow Hummer that belonged to Dr. Parnell--
"Mom!" Sara yelled from the living room. "Can I have some more seltzer?"
Twelve was old enough to get your own fanny out of the chair and pour your own third glass of seltzer. But it was Tuesday, and on Tuesday evening guilt always ruled, which was why Sara was eating dinner in front of the TV in the first place, and so Helen said only, pointedly, "Please?"
"Please," Sara answered.
She couldn't help stealing a look at the kitchen clock as she closed the refrigerator door. Six-fifty. Mr. Passive Aggressive strikes again, she thought. She wasn't always confident she understood that expression correctly--passive aggressive--but she referred to it instinctively whenever Ben failed to do something he had promised her he would do. Sara was sitting on the couch with her plate on her lap and her feet on the coffee table, watching some horrific show about rich girls; she still wore her shin guards but at least she'd remembered to take her cleats off. Helen placed the seltzer bottle on the table at a safe distance from her daughter's right foot.
"Thank you?" she said.
"Thank you," Sara repeated.
Then they both turned to watch a beam of light finish raking the kitchen, and a few seconds later Helen heard the lazy thump of a car door. Instead of relaxing, she grew more agitated. She hated to be late for things, and he knew that about her, or should have. Ben walked through the front door, wearing his slate-gray suit with an open collar and no tie. When he was preoccupied, which was his word for depressed, he had a habit of pulling off his tie in the car and then forgetting it there; last Sunday Helen, passing his Audi in the garage, had glanced through the window and seen three or four neckties slithering around on the passenger seat. It had sent a little shudder through her, though she didn't know why. His eyes moved indifferently from Sara to her dinner plate to the TV as he trudged past them toward the hallway, but his expression didn't change; he was sunk too deep in whatever he was sunk in even to make the effort to convey his disapproval. Helen followed him into their bedroom. He finished emptying his pockets onto the dresser and then turned toward her without a trace of engagement, as if she were trying to talk to a photo of him.
"We're late," she said.
He shrugged, but did not so much as consult the watch right there on his wrist. "So let's go," he said.
"You're not going to change?"
"What for?"
She rolled her eyes. "It's Date Night?" she said.
He scowled and started taking off his pants. Really, it was like having two adolescents in the house sometimes. So that he wouldn't lose focus--he was perfectly capable,...
Anonymous
Posted March 16, 2013
Jonathan Dee writes so well, and he's a mighty good storyteller. You will get caught up in the story from the first chapter. The following one focusing on Helen is even better. Dee writes characters well, both men and women, but especially women. His dialogue is natural, enviably tight and almost always unexpected. What struck me days after finishing the book is that, for a story about wrongdoings and the possibility of forgiveness, there are no VICTIMS. How refeshing is that in a world that often seems filled with only victims--even the criminals are pitched as victims. To read the book is to be awestruck by the artistry of the writing and to naturally want more. Enjoy!
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 23, 2013
This book went nowhere. Too many story lines started and never seen through to fruition. The characters were shallowly written and neither lovable nor hateable. I am shocked that this is considered a page turner by so many when, in my opinion, there wasn't an ounce of suspense in one of the measley 206 pages.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 15, 2013
Great read. The story kept me interested, and it was hard to put down. Great for the summer!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.An enjoyable book with an interesting premise. Would really give it 3.5 stars
Although I would not class A Thousand Pardons by Jonathan Dee as one of the best books I have read, I did enjoy it. The problem is, I can't quite decide what it is about the book that drew me in. The item in the book that sets the story in motion is a glaringly bad decision made by Ben Armstead, a middle aged lawyer in the midst of a mid life crisis. When Ben decides to have a fling with a summer intern in his office, not only does his whole life start to unravel, but so do the lives of his wife, Helen, and daughter, Sarah. Dee spends the rest of the book detailing how these three characters work to get their lives back on track.
Eventually Helen becomes aware that she is going to have to go to work, and surprisingly, lands a job at a one-man PR firm in Manhattan. It is in the pursuit of doing her job that Helen comes into her own, counseling clients that a sincere apology can do a lot more for your image than trying to hide from the truth will. I have to admit, I found this idea of taking responsibility for your actions and living up to your commitments refreshing. It is probably the best thing about this book, and something that I feel is sorely lacking in large portions of our current society. The more respect and success that Helen garnered by promoting this idea, the more I liked the book. I also liked the contrast that the author presented during the one crisis when Helen deviates from this approach. It is the inclusion of this crisis and what it highlights about business as usual in today's society that really made the book for me.
Another plus was the straightforward method of telling the story that the author used. This is not a complex and twisted story of what motivates people and drives them to make the choices that they make. If it were, I may have given it 5 stars. As it is, I enjoyed the straightforward method that he used in telling his story, and again, found it refreshing.
The characters in the book were certainly not it's strongest draw. I can only think of one character who did not come across as mostly weak and ineffectual. That character was Helen's first boss and he did not have a very large role in the book. That is not to say that the other characters did not have short moments of brilliance, but they were just too few and far between for me. They were, though, somewhat redeeming and the things that kept me reading.
In the published description of the book the overlying theme of the book is stated as "what do we really want when we ask for forgiveness?" I felt it was more along the line of, "what are we really looking for when we realize that we have made a mistake?", but all in all, I felt the question raised was worth exploring and that Jonathan Dee did a reasonable, although not exceptional, job of exploring it. As such, I am giving the book 3 stars, but it is probably more like a 3.5 star book.
I would like to thank both Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
lucieparis2011
Posted April 2, 2013
A beautiful picture of contemporary society
Very nice work on the skids of life, forgiveness, appearances and the art of public relations.
It all starts with Ben, a lawyer, who tries to spice up his boring life by lusting after a trainee. In an instant, everything change. After a few law pursuits, he finds himself without a job, without family and money. He is required to reflect on his actions and the mess in which he put himself.
Helen, Ben's wife, is an innocent accomplice of the collapse of her husband. By closing her eyes and accepting his excuses, she left her marriage to waste away. Privileged housewife for years, the scandal and the need for money forced her to give a new meaning to her life. Looking for a job in New York, a fluke sent her into the world of PR.
In a society accustomed to lying as if it was breathing, soon the confessions and penances withdrawn from her customers made the buzz.
Through this couple and the various characters you came accross, the author tells simple stories of dissatisfaction, acceptance of a monotonous routine without daring to make some changes.
The private jail you put yourself into, caused by the lies told to people that are watered by our beliefs, are easy to forget with alcohol. But sometimes, honesty and sincerity can relieve yourself from deeper troubles than a bottle of Jack Daniels.
Then, there are the stories related to Sara. An adopted teenager who is undergoing many changes as she tries to find her own place in life. The coldness of her relationship with Helen shows the complexity of mother-daughter relationships and the difficulty to meet the expectations and desires of all members of the same family.
A beautiful picture of contemporary society portrayed through the events that shook a bourgeois family. A heavy emphasis on the world of PR and image that you want to show off.
A nice read with characters who make mistakes, but still go forward.
Lucie
newbooksonmyselves.blogspot.fr
Anonymous
Posted March 15, 2013
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted April 8, 2013
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
For readers of Jonathan Franzen and Richard Russo, Jonathan Dee’s novels are masterful works of literary fiction. In this sharply observed tale of self-invention and public scandal, Dee raises a trenchant question: what do we really want when we ask for forgiveness?
Once a privileged and loving couple, the Armsteads have now reached a breaking point. Ben, a partner in a prestigious law firm, has become unpredictable at work and withdrawn...