Apology: A Novel

by Jon Pineda

Overview

An immigrant takes the blame for his nephew’s mistake, changing both of their lives, in this “acutely observed” novel by a prize-winning author (Publishers Weekly).

When nine-year-old Tom Serafino’s twin sister Teagan suffers a debilitating brain injury at a Virginia construction site, a police investigation implicates his playmate Mario’s uncle—an immigrant transient worker known as Shoe. Innocent of the crime but burdened by his own childhood tragedy, Shoe takes the blame for what is in fact an accident caused by his young nephew, ensuring Mario’s chance at a future publicly unscarred.

The lines between innocence and guilt, evasions and half-truths, love and duty are blurred. Can a lie born from resignation, fear, and love transform tragedy into hope? And is the life of one man worth the price of that lie? Apology explores how the decisions we make in an instant reverberate in the years to come, and paints a portrait of sacrifice within two immigrant families raising first-generation Americans. It explores the measure of duty we have toward one another, and the extent to which abandoning the wreckage of family and the past often leads to unexpected consequences.

“Apology is a page-turner of ideas, and it shows us how our actions spin out in crazy directions, marbles that roll under our lives’ furniture and come out in the most surprising times. I loved it.” —Darin Strauss, author of The Queen of Tuesday

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781571311047
Publisher:	Milkweed Editions
Publication date:	06/04/2013
Series:	Milkweed National Fiction Prize
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Jon Pineda was born in Charleston, South Carolina and raised in Chesapeake, Virginia. He is the recipient of a Virginia Commission for the Arts Individual Artist fellowship, and the author of the memoir Sleep in Me, a Barnes & Noble “Discover Great New Writers” selection and a Library Journal “Best Books of 2010” selection. His poetry collections include The Translator’s Diary, winner of the 2007 Green Rose Prize from New Issues Poetry & Prose, and Birthmark, selected by Ralph Burns as winner of the 2003 Crab Orchard Award Series Open Competition. His newest manuscript was a finalist for the 2011 National Poetry Series. He teaches in the low-residency MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte and lives in Virginia with his family. Apology is his first novel.

Editorial Reviews

Pineda’s debut novel (after the memoir, Sleep in Me) is told in short scenes spanning decades and involving a handful of characters, leaving the reader to, if not put the pieces together, at least fill in the interstices of the story, which begins when young Tom ignores his twin sister Teagan so he can play with his pals. Notable among these is Mario, “a dumpy kid with a bowl cut,” whose uncle, known affectionately as “Shoe,” is staying with Mario’s family, and dreaming of the idyllic domestic life of his married brother. Teagan goes to a construction site and is bullied by Mario until she hurts herself badly. Shoe, working at the site, discovers her and protects his nephew by taking legal responsibility for her injuries, changing the lives of all involved. Teagan suffers brain damage, consigning her to the world of special education. Both Tom and Mario live under burdens of guilt, of very different kinds. Mario turns into an overachiever, becoming a respected surgeon and intermittently working for his uncle’s release from prison, while Tom grows into a wary and tentative adult, afraid of commitment. Shoe seems to live most fully in the moment, both in prison and after getting released. An acutely observed if sometimes frustrating novel. Agent: Terra Chalberg, Chalberg & Sussman. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"This hauntingly poetic first novel about mistakes, love, and sacrifice... Reminiscent of Alessandro Baricco's Silk, this novel will appeal to lovers of literary fiction."
—Library Journal (starred review)

"Apology is a perfectly paced, deeply satisfying novel. Jon Pineda renders his characters with a compassion that refuses to lapse into sentimentality.” — Ron Rash, New York Times best-selling author of Serena and The Cove

"A spare and powerful novel about guilt, sacrifice, and the cruel butterfly effect sometimes triggered by our seemingly inconsequential acts. Pineda writes with precision and humanity." — Jonathan Evison, author of West of Here and The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving

"Jon Pineda has written a novel that is, by any standard, an impressive success. Apology is a page-turner of ideas, and it shows us how our actions spin out in crazy directions, marbles that roll under our lives' furniture and come out in the most surprising times. I loved it." — Darin Strauss, author of Half a Life and Chang and Eng

"Apology hits bookstores today. Run, don't walk, to get it."
—David Abrams, The Quivering Pen

"Funny, heartwarming….about living with mistakes, learning to cope with consequences and seeking forgiveness."
—The Virginian-Pilot

"Completely engrossing.... With a careful, poetic tone, Jon Pineda has written a story rich with humanity."
—River City Reading

"Incessant editing is something that comes from Pineda's poetry background. So, too, is the way he tells the story: in a long line of tiny, imagistic scenes that often focus attention on small things going on in the background. The resultant prose is tight and stretched over the lean frame of a book weighing in at just under 200 pages. But those pages pack a punch."
—Virginia Living

"Acutely observed." — Publishers Weekly

"A harrowing and heartwarming story of familial bonds, struggle, and redemption." — Jack Hannert, Brilliant Books, Traverse City, MI

"In simple and elegant prose, Pineda explores the consequences of a tragic accident in the lives of two families. Pineda is a poet and a master at suggesting rather than describing, involving the reader at a deeper and more personal level." — Pierre Camy, Schuler Books, Grand Rapids, MI

From the Publisher

A tragic childhood accident haunts two families for years to come. This first novel, simple in essence, is fumbling and convoluted in the telling. Picture a deserted construction site. In it is a deep hole with a discarded shovel. As a 10-year-old girl jumps across, a football whizzes past her; she lands badly, falling in, as Mario, the dumb kid who threw the ball, takes off. First to arrive at the site next morning is Mario's uncle, who lives with the family. They are from an unidentified Latin American country, settled now in Norfolk, Va. The uncle's name is Exequiel, nicknamed Shoe. He's well-meaning but not the sharpest knife in the drawer. The girl, Teagan, is hurt but alive. Shoe scrambles away, taking his nephew's football, and calls the company, anonymously, reporting the girl's whereabouts; back home, a remorseful Mario confesses to his uncle. It had been a prank gone wrong. Shoe's actions look suspicious, though; there will be a trial and jail time for the innocent construction worker. Pineda serves up his story in bite-size pieces, focusing on moments he deems special. A poet, his intention is that these moments will crystallize into a luminous whole. It doesn't work out that way. Key events, like the trial and incarceration, get barely a page between them. Teagan's condition is left blurry; she survives, brain-damaged, and that's about it. Attention devoted to Teagan's family should have been spent on Shoe and Mario; theirs, clearly, is the central relationship. Flashbacks overemphasize the point that Shoe has been a loser since age 9, when bandits kidnapped him, demanding he bring them guns. A nonsensical demand culminated in an absurd torture, scarring Shoe for life. Back in the present, Mario makes important life changes. A sloppy melodrama.

Kirkus Reviews