Waiting on Wednesday--A Thousand Pardons

 

The Waiting on Wednesday concept is a weekly feature of the Breaking the Spine blog.  It's a great way to share information about a forthcoming title that is on my radar screen with other readers.

 This week's anticipated book:

 

A Thousand Pardons by Jonathan Dee 
Publication Date:  March 12, 2013 
Publisher:  Random House Publishing Group
Preorder now from online and bricks and mortar bookstores

From barnesandnoble.com:
For readers of Jonathan Franzen and Richard Russo, Jonathan Dee’s novels are masterful works of literary fiction. In this sharply observed tale of self-invention and public scandal, Dee raises a trenchant question: what do we really want when we ask for forgiveness?

Once a privileged and loving couple, the Armsteads have now reached a breaking point. Ben, a partner in a prestigious law firm, has become unpredictable at work and withdrawn at home—a change that weighs heavily on his wife, Helen, and their preteen daughter, Sara. Then, in one afternoon, Ben’s recklessness takes an alarming turn, and everything the Armsteads have built together unravels, swiftly and spectacularly.

Thrust back into the working world, Helen finds a job in public relations and relocates with Sara from their home in upstate New York to an apartment in Manhattan. There, Helen discovers she has a rare gift, indispensable in the world of image control: She can convince arrogant men to admit their mistakes, spinning crises into second chances. Yet redemption is more easily granted in her professional life than in her personal one.

As she is confronted with the biggest case of her career, the fallout from her marriage, and Sara’s increasingly distant behavior, Helen must face the limits of accountability and her own capacity for forgiveness.

My thoughts:  The story line is evocative of some of the high profile marriages that garner headline news and public attention nowadays.  I am interested in how the subject is handled by author Jonathan Dee, a Pulitzer Prize-finalist.

Enjoy life with books.

Catherine

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Waiting on Wednesday--A Thousand Pardons was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.