Samaritan (novel)
| Author | Richard Price |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Knopf |
|
Publication date
|
2003 |
| Pages | 400 |
| ISBN | |
| Preceded by | Freedomland |
| Followed by | Lush Life |
Samaritan is a novel by Richard Price, first published in 2003. It tells the story of a wealthy screenwriter who returns to his impoverished neighborhood in Dempsey, New Jersey, where he begins to help others. His motivations and their ramifications are explored. Throughout the novel, various characters help others, with each good deed having different repercussions.
As the novel opens, Ray Mitchell is lying in a hospital, having been attacked and gravely injured by being hit over the head by a large vase. He refuses to press charges and it appears he will survive, so the police drop the case. However, an old friend of his from childhood, Nerese Ammons, pays a visit to her (and Ray's) old high school, to give a talk to the kids, and the principal tells her of a man who has been volunteer teaching at the school, and who was almost killed in an attack. When Nerese learns that the man involved is Ray, she is pleased. Nerese has a philosophy of always repaying acts of kindness—it helps her make sense of the world, and Ray once did her a great kindness: when she was around 10 years old and Ray around 12, she received a bad cut on her face during a game of stickball, causing all of the children present to run away... except Ray. He stanched the blood with his shirt, helped take her to the hospital, and sat with her and comforted her throughout the ER visit. She therefore begins to pursue the case, despite Ray's refusal to cooperate and refusal to press charges. The novel then alternates between scenes of the events leading up to the attack, and Nerese's investigations.
When Ray leaves his job as a TV writer, he becomes unemployed so volunteers as a writing teacher at his old high school, where he says encouraging words to his students, though may not be teaching them much. He has an extreme need to please people and make them feel better, and in return be given gratitude. One day an old student from 10 years earlier, Selim, shows up. He was once a promising art student and Ray set him up with an appointment at an art school and gave him a lot of art supplies, but Selim never showed up for his interview and did not pursue the lead. Selim has been in jail for the past six years, largely because he handles situations badly and makes stupid mistakes. He spins a story of aspirations he has, but Ray can see right away that he's not trustworthy and his stories don't hold together. Nevertheless, he can't help himself and he gives him $1000 to help him get on his feet.
Prior to the attack, Ray was trying to forge a relationship with his daughter, Ruby. Their relationship was awkward because for the first few years of her life, he was a cocaine addict. Then he was kicked out of the house by his wife, and seldom saw Ruby. He cleaned up from the drugs, then had a relapse, until an old student of his from his days as a teacher offers him a job as a writer on a TV show in Hollywood. Ray cleans up and moves out to California, and therefore does not see Ruby much. Now that he is back, he is always being awkward, trying to buy her things, being overly solicitous. When an old acquaintance from childhood, Carla Powell, calls him up to tell him her son has died and asks if he can help donate funds for the funeral, Ray, seeing a way to impress his daughter, impulsively decides to give her the full amount of $3200, which he does in person, at her Dempsey housing project apartment, with a flourish, so his daughter will see and appreciate. But his gesture does not go as well as planned. His daughter is a little disturbed by the surroundings, and senses the real reason for his generosity. Carla, who is a proud woman, is humiliated by the gift, and insists she will pay him back. And Carla's daughter, Danielle, also seems to see through him.
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