- Paperback: 342 pages
- Publisher: Wheeler Publishing; Lrg edition (June 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1587240548
- ISBN-13: 978-1587240546
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.2 x 2.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 531 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,965,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Penzler Pick, June 2000: After reading a strong debut, I am always eager to see the author's next offering. Will it live up to the potential of that first book, or will that book remain a flash of brilliance, never to be equaled? No worries here. Reardon's first book, Billy Dead, was an outstanding first novel in a year of excellent first novels, and her second book more than confirms that we have a major new talent in our midst.
While not a mystery in the strictest sense of the word, there is a killing. Blameless, however, is not about who did it, or even why. It is about the effect that killing has on one member of the community: the woman who discovered the body. Mary Culpepper, a school-bus driver, is strong, fearless, independent, and seemingly in command of her life. Sure, her husband left her for her best friend, but she's over that, and when the novel opens, Mary is waiting to testify in the death of one of her charges. She will have to take the stand and tell what she witnessed. As Mary tries to keep her mind off the upcoming trial, she enters into an affair with a local guy who plays softball with her. A dream man, except that he's the father of another of her charges.
All this drama does nothing to keep away the Night Visitor, the stone monster who, each night, climbs onto Mary's chest and destroys her sleep. As we get to know Mary, we understand that she, like many of us, chooses very carefully what she does and does not witness. Layer by layer, Reardon peels away the protective covering that Mary has grown until the explosive finale when Mary will have to come to terms with her past and the way she has chosen to live her life. This novel explores moral accountability and the way we all look away from what we don't want to see, and in that way Blameless is both profoundly disturbing and utterly compelling. --Otto Penzler --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Again basing her fiction in a small, blue-collar community, the author of the well-received Billy Dead has produced an insightful, empathetic novel about a woman coming to terms with her past. Divorced at 34, Mary Culpepper drives a school bus in a working-class town in northern Michigan and reigns as the leading hitter on the local softball team. She has also recently returned from a short stay in a psychiatric ward after a nervous breakdown she cannot explain to her family and friends, or to herself. A lifetime of repressed grief and anger lies beneath her insouciant attitude, and struggles to find expression. Reardon reveals crucial information about Mary's life in small increments, generating a fine narrative tension. Mary's best friend, Amy, married Carl, Mary's former husband, after a year-long clandestine affair, and Mary, unable to confront either of them, vowed to remain friends, even serving as Amy's bridesmaid. Mary's relationship with her mother and two younger sisters is also filled with secrets and unspoken resentment. She keeps all three at arm's length, unable to face her feelings of failure or to address the memories of her past: as a child she went bar-hopping with her philandering father; later, she was traumatized by a botched abortion. Mary finds a soulmate in one of her school-bus charges, 12-year-old Julianna. But when she meets Julianna's father, John Coleros, she gives in to the powerful force of mutual attraction. Other tensions include the death of a six-year-old girl, whose body Mary discovered on her bus route. Mary's testimony at the ensuing trial, coupled with a tragic accident that decides the outcome of her relationship with John, provides the catalyst she needs to finally address her pain and anger. Her struggle to learn emotional honesty and responsibility makes Mary a compelling heroine, and the many details of small-town life (bread-baking competitions, softball leagues, card games at the neighborhood bar) add texture to the narrative. Agent, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh. 4-city author tour. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great author! Definitely worth a read.,
By R.K.M. "RKM" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Blameless (Paperback)
I got this book because I was at a reading of Ethan Hawke's Ash Wednesday and he recommended the author. However, after I got it I let it sit on my shelf for six months. When I finally did pick it up I found myself disliking it and decided I would read the obligatory 50 pages and then discard it. On page 50 it grabbed my attention and held it, more or less consistently, throughout. Lisa Reardon is a very talented writer. She has little gems of phrasing that twinkle up at you, and she writes with emotion in ways I have not experienced before. I really connected with some of the parts of this story, and enjoyed the characters. I definitely recommend this book and am looking forward to reading her other novel, Billy Dead.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling,
By
This review is from: Blameless: A Novel (Hardcover)
Blameless is the story of Mary Culpeper, a bus driver living in a small town in Michigan. Mary is a strong woman - she lives alone, plays softball, and enjoys nights out at her favorite bar. However, as the book begins, she feels as though she is losing her strength. Mary is awaiting a murder trial. She is not the defendant, but the witness for the prosecution, expected to tell how she found the body of a small child on her bus route. Her distress at the impending trial is disturbing her sleep, and causing her to do things very out-of-character, such as beginning an affair with a married man.Ultimately, this is a book about Mary's search for truth. She must face up to the truth about what happened to the murdered girl, her family's past, and the importance of relationships to her. This search for truth is, in the end very compelling, and an important read for anyone looking for similar things in their life.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Unlike the others, I was very disappointed.,
By Jules Munro, Ph.D (Santa Fe, NM) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Blameless: A Novel (Hardcover)
Though Billy Dead was one of the best works of fiction I have ever read, Reardon's sincerity is lost in her latest. She is trying altogether too hard. I found myself, sadly, desiring to skip entire paragraphs and when I did, I missed nothing. Then I did the unthinkable. About 80 pages in I skipped to the last two chapters just to get it over with. Much like overacting, she is over exerting herself as she tries to develop believable, empathy evoking characters. Had I never read Billy Dead, I would not read her again. But knowing the talent of which she is capable, I await her next work, with hopes that she relaxes and tells me a story that compels me to read every word.
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