ellieb_reads 's review for:

Absolution by Alice McDermott

4.5

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

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Absolution is a beautifully-written, character-driven novel that wasn’t what I expected, but that I really enjoyed all the same. From the title and the description, I expected the story to center on some major transgression committed by the main characters. Instead, this was a much more subtle commentary on who we help, and how, and why. It touches on white saviorism, religion, privilege, and war, primarily through the actions of two military wives in pre-war Vietnam. Their characters are flawed and very human, and author Alice McDermott is incredibly effective in giving them a lot of depth and development. I think I would have liked the book to stay in the Vietnam setting for longer, but I was pleasantly surprised by the change in the narrative in the last third of the book.