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3.03 AVERAGE
3.03 AVERAGE
shannoninnis's review against another edition
3.0
SPOILER ALERT! Depressingly realistic regarding SOME human nature. I didn't like Ben, for obvious reasons, and didn't like Helen either. She was such a sad version of a woman, who feels the responsibility to clean up men's messes. The fact that she went back to Ben made me want to scream!
buddha_chic's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't understand this book while reading it as it was meant to be understood. Apparently, the author Dee wrote in a parable format. That is, not to extrapolate any opinions along the way, but to leave the growing and learning for the readers themselves. Knowing that, I think I would actually rate it more highly - there are MANY themes for a parable to have been pointing out, including sacrifice, forgiveness, rebirth, and redemption. The character development is superb and the book is a well-written, fast read. 3.5/5 stars.
mommydiva79's review against another edition
2.0
Everyone in this book (the kid included) was a hot mess but that's not why I gave this 2 stars. It started off strong (the end of the first chapter had me like OMG WTF), then it just dragged on from there. Helen was a human doormat but I'm supposed to believe she was a PR maven after being out of the workforce for over a decade? Yeah, no. Ben and Hamilton were poor excuses for men and Sarah needed her a$$ beat. It was a bad story written beautifully. I could have had a V8.
boommtl's review against another edition
2.0
J'ai été déçu par ce roman... Il est annoncé comme ayant comme sujet la gestion de crises et les relations publiques mais il s'agit beaucoup plus d'une histoire sur le divorce d'une famille bourgeoise en banlieue de New York. Dommage.
khmoore75's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. I think this book is well written and can easily be counted out but I think there's a quiet beauty in its simplicity and overriding theme of truth and redemption. In a way that has me pondering after completing the book. There's a line that I love by Helen in the book where she says . . . I forgot to find anything else to want from life. I just think each of these characters hit a point in their life like many of us where you're just tired of the mundane aspects of life. But as in Bens case you have to be careful what you wish for and careful of what you already have but are taking for granted.
amyredgreen's review against another edition
3.0
Three and a half. I love Jonathan Dee's writing, and he has a way of getting me to care about characters even when they are deeply flawed. I didn't get as invested in this as his others, but still a solid read. I think this could actually have benefited from being a little longer; I would have liked more development of Helen's career and more scenes of Ben's life.
nancf's review against another edition
2.0
I won this book, an Advance Reader's Edition, from Goodreads.
Someone compared Dee to Franzen and I can see some similarities. Unfortunately none of these authors' books that I have read rank high on my list.
A Thousand Pardons is full of unlikeable characters: Ben and Helen Armstead, their daughter, Sara, Hollywood star, Hamilton, Bettina, Helen's coworkers, Ben's attorney/boss. I didn't like, or want to champion, any of them. I didn't even care what happened to them or that the ending failed to really tie up any of the loose ends. After they seemingly weathered their crises, they just all returned to their previous lives.
On the good side, the book was short, just 214 pages, and a fast read.
Someone compared Dee to Franzen and I can see some similarities. Unfortunately none of these authors' books that I have read rank high on my list.
A Thousand Pardons is full of unlikeable characters: Ben and Helen Armstead, their daughter, Sara, Hollywood star, Hamilton, Bettina, Helen's coworkers, Ben's attorney/boss. I didn't like, or want to champion, any of them. I didn't even care what happened to them or that the ending failed to really tie up any of the loose ends. After they seemingly weathered their crises, they just all returned to their previous lives.
On the good side, the book was short, just 214 pages, and a fast read.