Rating: 
Summary: Sparkling dialogue, Intersting Characters, So-So Plot
Review: I have to give Richard Price credit for creating realistic characters with dialogue that crackles and feels painfully real coming from this group of broken people. However by the time I finished I was left wanting more. The mystery surrounding who beat one time television writer and now teacher Ray Mitchell to death left me a bit cold. And when the person is revealed I can't even say I was surprised, but worse I didn't really care. I loved the book at the start and was expecting to tap into something I'd be telling eveyone to go out and buy. Again I thought the writing was great, I just didn't completely connect with this group of people, and so ultimately didn't connect with the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring and unbelievable plot
Review: I hoped this book would be interesting and enjoyable, but I soon noticed a quite annoying device: the author found it necessary to end declarative sentences with a question mark, as if there was an unsaid "you know?" Yes, I know people often speak that way in conversation, but I would have enjoyed the dialogue a lot more if correct punctuation had been used. Also the victim was brain-damaged due to a blow to the head and suffered a number of other injuries, his doctors kept entering the room to give various neurological tests---yet he was able to speak quite lucidly, and a great length, to the police officer, who seemed to have unlimited access to this patient in intensive care. The young teenaged daughter's portrayal, through Dad's eyes, was not in the least believable: uncommunicative, yet precocious; budding woman, yet childlike; you get the picture. And what father in his right mind would take her to a high-crime housing project at night, sit her down in a deserted playground amid mounds of snow, and start telling her stories of his youth? Maybe these observations are petty? Others might disagree with me? It may have been a better book with more editing? I'll try some of the author's other books, but I was definitely not impressed with this one---after reading about half of it, I gave up and didn't really care who attacked him.
Rating: 
Summary: Up there with Clockers
Review: I loved this book. It's funny, clever, tender towards its citizens and it's a compelling mystery with an explosive climax I definitely did not see coming. While 'Clockers' was all the above plus an education about a world I knew nothing about, this book described some of my own experiences very well. I once lived in a poor part of the city, tried some of the well-meaning things that the story's protagonist did, and now weeks after finishing the book, am still revisiting those episodes in my mind. I'm sure this will be one of my five favorite books of the year.
Rating: 
Summary: The motives of a do-gooder
Review: I read The Wanderers, Richard Price's first novel, when I was a teenager and have read every one of his subsequent (seven including the present one) books. Although I've liked some better than others, they've all kept me thoroughly entertained and intrigued with the gritty street life Price so expertly evokes. Samaritan, like his last two novels, takes place in Dempsey, the fictional but believable small New Jersey city only a tunnel ride away from Manhattan. Samaritan is a combination mystery and psychological study. The title refers to Ray Mitchell, a man in his forties who abandons a writing career in Los Angeles to return to his hometown of Dempsey to teach. Ray is at loose ends. A recovering drug addict, he is estranged from his ex-wife and Ruby, his teenaged daughter and has no concrete plans for the future. He hopes that by returning to the home of his youth and helping some young people he will find direction. It is his need to help and be appreciated that is his downfall. For Ray is not the kind of "samaritan" who only gives help when it is truly needed; he is the kind who desperately needs to feel appreciated and will do practically anything to meet this need. The story is told partly in the present, after Ray has been assaulted and nearly killed, and partly in flashback as the events leading up to the assault are revealed. A childhood neighbor of Ray's, Nerese Ammons, is the policewoman who tries to figure out who attacked Ray and why. The problem is, Ray won't tell her and she (and the reader) cannot understand why. Nerese, a black woman who is about to retire from the police force, has problems of her own; she is a single mother with a family that includes criminals and drug abusers. In describing all this, I realize that a lot of it may sound familiar, even cliched (e.g. the cop about to retire), but Price has an unusual talent for transforming such material into a compelling story. His knack for dialogue, especially that of the city streets, is unsurpassed. Some popular writers write dialogue that sounds like writing; with Price, you can always *hear* the words and inflections. Samaritan is also helped by several interesting supporting characters, such as Salim, a troubled youth who Ray may be harming more than helping, and Tom Potenza, an ex-addict who counsels people around the projects. Race is a major factor throughout the novel, especially the question of what motivates a white man like Ray in his quest to "save" people who are mostly black. If Samaritan were presented as some kind of lesson in ethics or race relations, it would be simplistic and heavy-handed, but it isn't really that. Ray is a complex character whose motives are not entirely noble, but he is not a mere hypocrite. The novel explores the fine line that divides helping people for genuine as opposed to selfish reasons. Samaritan, like its main character, has its flaws and it's not my favorite Richard Price novel, but it is still an enjoyable and thought provoking tale.
Rating:
Summary: Great writing, but couldn't keep my interest
Review: I usually read books within days. If the book peaks my interest, I can't put it down. This book was hard for me to finish and while the writing itself was great, the further into the book I got, the less interested in the plot I became.
The characters are well written and well rounded, but the plot seemed to be missing the spark that normally keeps me wanting to finish the book.
Rating:
Summary: The story is all too familiar...
Review: I was drawn into "Samaritan" from the very first page. Rare among novels in the "mystery" genre, Richard Price has found a harmonious balance between developing a nerve-racking storyline and convincing readers that his characters are as real as can be. This delicate equilibrium results in feelings of attachment and ubiquity. That is, instead of simply wondering who the "bad guy" is and what the dramatic climax to the story might be, we are made to truly care about and love the characters who live in Dempsy, NJ. Price has suceeded in creating Anytown, USA, penned a story we can all relate to, and has shown us that -- in many ways -- we are all the "Samaritan." Ray Mitchell, under mysterious circumstances, has left his high-paying job as a somewhat-accomplished television writer in Los Angeles and returned home to the New Jersey city that he grew up in. Settling down in his parents' old apartment, he attempts to put his life back together, recalling his past as a reject English teacher, a low-life cabbie, and a ruthless drug-user. He begins by giving back to the community that gave him so little while he was growing up -- his generosity knowing no bounds. He continues to give, and give, and give, clearly pleased at the response he receives from the needy tenants of the housing project he grew up in. Ray begins teaching a volunteer creative writing class at the underprivileged school he once attended, reconnects with his estranged teenaged daughter, Ruby, and makes several unwise loans to distant members of his even more distant past. It doesn't take long before Ray is able to bask in his reputation as a "good samaritan." In a bizarre twist of events, however, Ray is found unconscious in his apartment, the victim of a violent beating that brings him within an inch of permanent brain damage. Meanwhile Nerese Ammons, a childhood acquaintence of Ray, is becoming tired of the sell-short assignments she is being given in the last few weeks before her retirement from the police force. Indebted to Ray due to an incident when they were children, and desperate to take one final case before retiring to Florida, Nerese resolves to find out who Ray's attacker was. But Ray seems more afraid of the perpetrator being caught than he is of the perpetrator. The wonderfully eloquent and descriptive story meanders between past and present, switching between Ray's new life in Dempsy and Nerese's post-incident investigation. This structure makes it possible for Price to develop his characters in astounding detail, all the while keeping the reader gasping for more. The book has very few serious flaws. While some characters fail to develop into fully dynamic entities, most of the characters are both real and interesting. Nerese is one of the former, never quite coming into her own -- one of my few disappointments with the book. In addition to a few under-developed characters, the book's ending is not overly difficult to guess after a short time reading. The ending, however, is not where the payoff is, unlike most mystery novels. Watching the characters develop and change is much more exciting, and the satisfaction of finding out "the answer" is merely icing on the cake. Price takes us on a fascinating tour of a world where first chances are rare, second chances are unheard of, and generosity is golden. He shows us the danger of selfish giving, and the addiction that overpowers all others: the desire to be admired and praised. And finally, he shows us the end result when a person becomes so dependent on the high of giving that he loses track of reality. We all live in Dempsy, and we are all in some way like Ray Mitchell, making "Samaritan" one of the most powerful and captivating books I have read recently.
Rating:
Summary: Samaritan
Review: I'll admit it: I was a sucker for detective stories for years. Bring me a Spenser novel, a cup of black coffee and a Barca-lounger, and I'd be happy as a clam. I'll also admit that, as I grew older, the spate of new mystery novels by Parker and Grafton and others began to seem dry, lacking in vitality. Sure, their protagonist heroes spat their share of wisecracks, but no amount of one-liners could hide the fact that most current mystery novels were devoid of substance and feeling. With Samaritan, Richard Price ups the ante fivefold on the detective story. He breathes life into it by giving the story and its characters a remarkable human touch, by going after our hearts as well as our nerves.
We meet Ray Mitchell upon his return to his birthplace of Dempsy, NJ, so he can start his life over. There, he begins teaching a creative-writing class at his former high school, reconnects with the residents at the Hopewell housing project where he was raised, and attempts to rekindle a relationship with his thirteen-year-old daughter whom he lost in the aftermath of a divorce. Ray is often generous, which is impressive considering he's had a less-than-perfect past, involving the loss of his daughter, a lowly cab-driving job, a perpetual addiction to cocaine, and finally, a letdown after an ever-so-brief stint as a TV-writer comes to an unexpected close. Just as Ray begins to find his place again in Dempsy, he is found beaten almost to death in his apartment. Enter Nerese Ammons: a cop, a childhood friend of Ray, a former resident of Hopewell, and someone forever indebted to Ray for saving her life when they were just kids. Nerese feels morally obligated to take on Ray's case, but Ray obstinately refuses to identify his attacker and won't press charges. Nerese must now enter the abyss of Ray's past in order to solve the puzzle, while simultaneously working to keep her own life intact in the bleak and unforgiving Dempsy.
On the surface, Samaritan is made out to be a whodunit thriller, and it is, but to call it simply that would be doing the book and its author a great injustice. The strength of this book lies in the way it is written, and this is how Price brings his cast of characters to life. He records every nuance, every movement, every thought the characters possess behind their lines of dialogue, turning story characters into living, breathing people. They speak with mellifluous street-savvy, but don't be fooled. They may be hardened but their words simply glow with realistic emotion, at times expressing unrelenting urgency, at others, heartfelt compassion. Price gives all of his important characters vivid back-stories, important details of their lives and psyches, all of which may seem to some readers as unnecessary belaboring, but nonetheless clue us in to exactly what kind of people we are dealing with at certain points in the story. Simply put, Price makes us care about his characters and their various states because everything about them is real, filled with a kind of depth and humanity that can only be pulled off by an accomplished writer with an eye for the intricacies of human life.
Samaritan, all plot details aside, is about the powerful effect that adults have on children, and the similar effect children have on those adults. One of the many manifestations of this is shown in Ray's attempts to reconnect with his adolescent daughter, Ruby. Ruby has clearly distanced herself from her father following his return to Dempsy. Ray knows he's been guilty of poor fatherhood in the past and tries ceaselessly to mend the rifts, but Ruby is staunchly unyielding to her father's desperate attempts to reenter as an important part of her life. Without Ruby, Ray admits he feels as though he is nothing, hopelessly downtrodden. But Ruby is also powerfully affected by her father, shown by her stony revulsion towards him, the result of a debilitating sucker punch from her tainted past. The pain is felt by both: the child rejected by the adult and the adult rejected by the child, and the pain is felt heavily because the sacred relationship between father and daughter should be one of care, and not of heartache.
Price compels us to sink into the thriller he ravels for us, but in doing so, he never strays from the true meaning of the work. Each piece of the puzzle has a greater significance than its literal role in the mystery would suggest. We want to read on; we want to find out what happens not only for the sake of knowing Ray's attacker but also to learn a greater truth about life and people. It is as if we are a bit wiser by the end of the book, because we don't just know who dun it...we know what it is about the world that makes who dun it tick; the 'why' behind the mystery.
Richard Price thrusts us into a gritty, unfamiliar world with unfamiliar people, and by the end we couldn't feel more contrary. We know the town of Dempsy (love it or hate it we may), and we feel as though we grew up with these faces and their stories. We feel what they feel because we love them like people we intimately know. It's really for this reason that the story (and the mystery itself) has such depth: there are consequences for everyone involved in this web, not just the perpetrator. All of the characters must move their lives through the tumult of everything around them, some of them within inches of crumbling. In short, Richard Price has written a mystery novel where we feel something, where our thoughts and formulations coexist with our feelings and emotions quite harmoniously, and I believe that's precisely what a good reading experience should be.
Rating: 
Summary: Yecchh!
Review: If interracial relationships, seemingly unending harangues, and horrendously long sentences excite you, then this book is for you! I couldn't wait to finish it. Good luck!!
Rating:
Summary: Terrific
Review: In this masterful novel, former TV writer, cab driver, and drug addict Ray Mitchell moves home to Dempsey, New Jersey , after leaving a successful writing job in LA. Ray was raised in the projects, and now he wants to give back by teaching at his old high school. He also wants to be closer to his daughter, Ruby, who lives in nearby Manhattan. But before much of any of this can happen, Ray is assaulted in his apartment and in the hospital with a crushed skull. What he is not is giving out details to Nerese Ammons, the detective who's on the case. Richard Price takes the story from both Ray and Nerese's point of view and employs a flexible time line. Level after level of past and present are revealed to add depth, power, and real suspense to a completely engrossing and satisfying read. Price has a remarkable ear for dialogue, and knows places like Hopewell Houses in Dempsey inside and out. He is unsentimental about life in the projects. The characters are etched in such sharp relief that you know you've seen them somewhere. It is a kind of liberation for readers to be in such capable hands that you know that whatever happens, you will not be disappointed. There are no false steps in "Samaritan," no easy choices, and no plays for sympathy for Ray or anyone else. It's tough, good, and a learning experience about not only about what it means to be a samaritan, but about how a really good novel should be written. Don't miss it.
Rating:
Summary: Slow, Boring, Contrived
Review: Like the imaginary city this book takes place in, everything about it feels contrived. I never really cared about any of the characters...who they were or what they wanted. The protagonist is more of a dolt than a man fighting with internal conflict. The angst spills over to the reading experience, but not in the way the writer intended. The author also goes to great pains to describe locals and action to the point where I found myself saying, 'Enough already, tell the story!' After about 200 pages or so I tried to skim the book to discover 'who dun it'. No luck, as the reval was buried in the excessive description and endless dialogue. There are good novels and those not so good, but this one left a very bad taste in my mouth. Reader beware!
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