I absolutely loved this book. I read it because of a recommendation of a coworker who knows I'm obsessed with The Wire - I never would have picked up this book on my own, even though I knew he wrote some episodes for the show. I didn't think I was capable of enjoying a crime novel. So I was pleasantly surprised when it was clear early on in the book that the crime mystery was actually secondary - it provided a good structure for the novel that I think kept the story focused throughout, even through Price's (brilliant) digressions.In a nutshell, the story is about a white Jewish man, Ray, who grew up in the projects in Jersey and went on to make it as a screenwriter for an Emmy-winning TV show. He returns to the projects, existentially lost and with a good amount of money in his bank account. He volunteers at the local public school. He wants to do good. He gets assaulted in his apartment, almost dies, and the underlying plot is a crime mystery of who assaulted him. He's alive but not helpful - he says he had it coming.His depiction of life in the projects is perfect. The dialogue, the chaos in the characters' lives, the everyday hypocricy - he nails it. I hear Richard Price is highly acclaimed for his dialogue (rightly so), but his prose is equally impressive.THEN, while I'm enjoying the story and the writing and the descriptions and passively following along with the crime plot, the crime plot comes to the forefront and I find out what happened and who did it and why (don't worry, I won't say it), and I'm stunned and it's BRILLIANT.You realize you should have already known it, sort of, and like he said, he had it coming, and this revelation completely captures Ray's major flaws. All Ray wants is to do good and to help people, but you come to realize that, while you do like him throughout the novel and you know his intentions are good, he's really messing up. He wants to do good because he wants to feel good about himself - not really in a selfish way, more in a self-absorbed way. And while that doesn't undermine his good intentions, he doesn't realize the harm he inflicts on people when he enters their lives (their desperate, needy lives - I think that's a key part of it), does something good for them, and then moves on.I won't say anymore because I'll ruin it, but you should definitely read this book, especially if you, like me, think The Wire is the best TV show ever written.
Although I've heard about Richard Price's books for years and have seen a couple of films based on his work, I had never read one of his novels until Samaritan. I'm always looking for a writer who can craft dialogue approaching Elmore Leonard's excellence, but, as many readers have noted, it's difficult to do. Price comes close, though. The characters in Samaritan are well rounded, the story moves along quickly, and the mystery angle, though not great, was intriguing enough to keep me interested. Oh, I almost forgot: the dialogue. It's fresh, quick, and compelling throughout. The exchanges between the two main characters, Ray Mitchell - former screenwriter and current volunteer creative writing instructor at the inner city high school he attended years before - and Nerese Ammons - the soon-to-retire detective who attended the same high school as Ray and is investigating his assault, are crisp and nuanced, with the right amount of hesitation to make them realistic.Although the ultimate outcome was predictably sad but not surprising, I think I'll try some more of his work so as to enjoy a writer with that feel for language that doesn't come along often.
Do You like book Samaritan (2004)?
Samaritan was the first Richerd Price novel I read. I did so because Price introduced the re-issued Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby, Jr., and being a huge fan of Selby, I had to read someone who became a writer because of Selby, as I had a very similar experience. Anyway, I was not disappointed. Price does not have the pyschological depth of Selby, but he has a clear, distinct voice that has plenty to say. Samartian is gripping pyschological tale of a man done in by his own deeds. Price is poignant in his delivery and authentic in the scenes he creates.
—Scott Holtzman
Ray Mitchell lived in the housing projects in Dempsey, New Jersey when he was a kid, but, despite many setbacks, he has become successful, writing for an award winning TV series about inner city high school students. He’s divorced, with a 12 year old daughter that he hardly knows, and hell bent on making life easier for folks still living in the projects. Richard Price knows the language and characters of the streets. His descriptions and dialog create fully formed images in your head of the characters he writes about. Drug use, adolescent angst, money woes, prison visitations, parental responsibility and sex are the main ingredients in the mean streets that run through this book.
—Melody
This book was lent to me by a friend who didn't have the time to read it. At first I put it off for a while, thinking that it was just a standard run-of-the-mill crime novel - which I love, but have to be in the right mood for. However, within reading the first few pages of starting to read this I realised I had seriously underrated it.The 'whodunnit' of this novel is the attack that the main character Ray suffers, but the solving of the crime is second to the fascinating character study that unfolds. The investigation and Ray's recovery from his injury is interspersed with the events leading up to the attack, and each chapter reveals more and more about the characters involved.The most vivid character for me was Ray, who was the 'samaritan' of the title. As the depth of his personality emerged, I found myself drawn into his strange compulsion towards shame, his selfish need to be altruistic. He's probably one of the most engaging characters I have ever read about and he will be difficult to forget.I also loved the style in which this book is written. There's an effortless blend of beautiful prose with this stilted, awkward dialogue that makes 'Samaritan' read like some drug-induced dream. The dialogue stood out to me as very well done. The characters spoke with a realism that was just amazing. I loved their speech patterns.I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in reading a crime novel that is something different and well-written.
—Batsap
