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Samaritan (Abridged) Audiobook
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(3.03) - 1,010 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
After a lucrative television writing career comes to an abrupt end, ex–high school teacher Ray Mitchell returns to the New Jersey city of his birth—to rethink his life, reconnect with his teenage daughter and to spread the wealth on the housing project that reared him. He begins teaching again, embarks on an affair with a married woman from the old neighborhood and becomes a mentor to a former student recently released from jail. Then, disaster: he is found beaten nearly to death in his own apartment. He knows who did it, but he’s not talking, and he refuses to press charges. It is up to Detective Nerese Ammons—a childhood acquaintance from the projects—to get Ray to tell her what happened. Alternating between investigations of the people in Ray’s life most likely to do him harm and listening to his fevered ramblings about their shared past as he slips in and out of consciousness, Nerese is charged not only with uncovering the perpetrator of this assault but with understanding what kind of victim is more afraid of the truth than of his potential murderer. The Washington Post Book World has hailed Richard Price as having “the best equipment a novelist can have—that combination of muscularity, insight and compassion we might call heart.” Samaritan is an electrifying story of crime and punishment, of character and place, of children and their keepers—a novel of literary suspense that explores what happens when, caught up in the drama of one’s own generosity, too little is given, too little is understood and the results threaten to prove both tragic and deadly.
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"Reading Richard Price is all about enjoying the dialogue. The verbal interactions are just superb - at times funny and at times crushingly sad, but always, always brilliantly observed. Like Clockers and Lush Life (the other Price novels I've read) it's set in the less glamorous parts of New York and the stars of the tale are all from 'the projects', the high rise public housing built for low and moderate income families. I won't tell you how the story unfolds but I would urge just about anybody to give this a try - I think there's something here for all tastes."
— Andrew (5 out of 5 stars)
Samaritan Listener Reviews
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" Simple, predictable plot, but very interesting characters. I love this guys ability to show the psychological complexity involved in being human. "
— Rena, 2/13/2014 -
" I absolutely could not put this book down! Price, the author of "Clockers," writes the dialogue so effectively it felt like the characters were having their conversations right in front of me. It's pretty gritty, but absolutely one of the most fun reads I have had in a while! "
— Sarah, 1/25/2014 -
" Not bad. Plot moved along well, although I could have done without the last sevral chapters. Hated the main character--he's a total moron, very irritating. The whole book seemed to be trying to hard to be street-smart. "
— Shannon, 1/20/2014 -
" The Wire owes a lot to Richard Price - he writes great dialogue "
— Adam, 1/20/2014 -
" The way he built the plot is interesting, and you've got to love the very natural dialogue. Don't expect a complicated intrigue, just enjoy the flow and you'll feel like you're in the scene. "
— Damarindah, 1/17/2014 -
" this was my third book by Richard Price. the guy is so warm, has so much insight into people and our imperfections ... any of his books are so worth the read and have received a lot of critical acclaim. Price was one of the writers for The Wire, wrote Clockers and the screenplay for Color of Money, and more ... "
— Barbara, 1/8/2014 -
" I'm on a Richard Price kick- but this wasn't as good as Clockers or Lush Life. "
— Tory, 1/7/2014 -
" pretty cool police procedural/character study with lots of streetwise dialogue and jersey flavor. different than what i usually read, so i enjoyed it for that. "
— Zeke, 12/18/2013 -
" A little risque, but very well written. "
— Jim, 11/24/2013 -
" This is a well written book, but a bit drawn out so far... "
— Kimberly, 11/8/2013 -
" Well written, very real characters. Some of it is grim and sad, but I really wanted to know who injured Ray. His relationship with his daughter is so typical. I really liked this book. "
— Kakkyl, 11/6/2013 -
" great read, wonderful main character, now I have to read some more by Richard Price. "
— Mimi, 11/4/2013 -
" Not unusually my genre but picked it up at a beach house. Thought it was dull and went on for too long. "
— Lmoran, 7/29/2013 -
" Such a sad book - poverty, drugs, bad family life, bad decisions. A person does a good deed, and others want a free handout. This book is realistic but it just made me sad and angry to read it. "
— Kelly, 7/5/2013 -
" Read this one before - in my top 5 favorite authors. Now, listening to as an audiobook, oddly enough experiencing it more slowly, noticing all the gestures, the details. "
— Joanne, 1/26/2013 -
" Ray Mitchell is trying to give back to the neighborhood in NJ that helped make him, and he gets assaulted--why? His childhood friend, Nerese, also a former project kid and now a detective, tries to untangle the crime. Price is amazing at dialogue and character. "
— Kim, 1/24/2013 -
" Started gangbusters but the more I read the less I cared what happened to Ray Mitchell. "
— Craig, 10/13/2012 -
" This particular book sees Price moving somewhat away from his earlier form in a Tom Wolfe sort of a direction. Not ideal, but still a well-told story. "
— Eric, 5/13/2012 -
" I've enjoyed everything I've read of Richard Price (Clockers, Freedomland). He's got a nail-on gift for inner-city dialogue, and his character development is gritty and absolutely believable. The story's not as interesting as Clockers, but still deserves a 5-star for his prose. "
— Steve, 9/19/2011 -
" Action-packed, but a sweet story of friendship too. And a vivid portrait of New York, New Jersey. By the screenplay writer for 'The Color of Money" and "The Sea of Love." "
— Eileen, 8/15/2011 -
" Good read. Not as thrilled with the ending, but captivating. "
— Ksnitselaar, 7/5/2011 -
" I've been on chapter four of this book for the past 5 years. I go back to it to restart it because it haunts the back of my mind in those 4 chapters. It's intriguing enough that I've sworn to finish the book before I die, which should be just enough time. "
— Greg, 6/10/2011 -
" Crime novel set in New Jersey. "
— Frances, 1/31/2011 -
" A very solid Price novel. I really enjoyed the read. I love the setting of Dempsey NJ. "
— David, 1/22/2011 -
" finished this a few months back. not as compelling as some of price's other novels, but the characterizations are especially strong, and they stick with you. "
— Jessek, 12/8/2010 -
" Not nearly as good as Clockers, but still a very well written crime story that doubles as an intimate portrait of life in our cities. "
— Mat, 11/5/2010 -
" Hit a little close to home. Good characters. They're in every big city. "
— Johnny, 9/26/2010 -
" Picked up for £1 in the WH Smith sale, hurrah. One of the writers on The Wire so you know it’s good stuff and he wrote Clockers, a few scenes of which turned up in The Wire too. I wasn’t disappointed. "
— Marceline, 8/1/2010 -
" After reading Lush Life which I really liked, this was disappointing. The main character was too preachy, telling stories from his childhood, etc. Also, the use of flashbacks was annoying. "
— Barb, 7/21/2010 -
" I loved Lush Life, and Samaritan kept me gripped with good writing and a drag-you-along story...in the end, all credit to Price - he had shown me the human failings of our Samaritan, and I was so disappointed in him, I wished I hadn't ever wasted my time on him. "
— Sallie, 7/19/2010 -
" I'm a huge fan of Richard Price. Deep characters, accurate dialogue, and all surrounding a crime mystery. "
— Andy, 4/5/2010
About Richard Price
Richard Price is the author of six previous novels, including the national bestsellers Freedomland and Clockers, which was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. In 1999 he received a Literature Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His fiction, articles, and essays have appeared in Best American Essays 2002, New York Times, New York Times Book Review, New Yorker, Esquire, Village Voice, and Rolling Stone. He has also written numerous screenplays, including Sea of Love, Ransom, and The Color of Money. He lives in New York City with his wife and daughters.
About Michael Boatman
Michael Boatman is an Earphones Award–winning narrator and twice winner of the prestigious Audie Award for narration. He is a versatile television, film, and stage actor whose work on the hit TV show Spin City garnered him a GLAAD Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and nominations for two NAACP Image Awards. For his work playing Stanley Babson on the long-running HBO series ARLI$$, he was nominated five times for the Image Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.