- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Jun 3 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0151004552
- ISBN-13: 978-0151004553
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.7 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 476 g
- Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,311,448 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Howard Fast has written over 40 novels, everything from April Morning, a historical novel about the Revolutionary War, to An Independent Woman, the last book in his series about an immigrant family in California. In Redemption, the author dabbles in the world of suspense fiction.
Ike Goldman, the smart and gentle 78-year-old retired law professor who is the heart of the novel, is probably a version of Fast's current self--a veteran of all kinds of political and social wars who has opted for a quieter life of non-involvement. When he spots a woman about to jump from the George Washington Bridge late one night, he stops almost automatically to talk her out of it "because I've opened that door myself a hundred times..." But he knows that you can't really save a life that easily. What he's not prepared for is falling in love with a woman 30 years younger than him.
Elizabeth Hopper, the depressed and abused former wife of a crooked Wall Street wheeler dealer, is equally surprised and delighted by her growing love for Ike. They overcome differences in age and religion and plan a wedding. Then, six weeks after they meet, Elizabeth's ex-husband is found shot to death. A note written in lipstick matches her own brand; the gun used in the crime belongs to Ike, missing after a robbery. Goldman recruits one of his former students to defend Elizabeth, but as evidence of her apparent guilt accumulates his own doubts increase. We share those doubts, even though in our hearts we know that Howard Fast the novelist is too shrewd to let Ike Goldman live out his remaining years without the woman he loves. --Dick Adler
From Publishers Weekly
Veteran author of more than 40 books, octogenarian Fast (Spartacus; The Immigrants) pastes together courtroom drama with a May-December romance in this eminently readable but equally forgettable novel. Elizabeth Hopper is about to jump off the George Washington Bridge when retired Columbia Law professor Ike Goldman intervenes. Despite differences in age (he's 78, she's 47), religion (he's Jewish, she's convent-raised Catholic) and vocation (his is contract law, hers art history), they fall in love while sharing the Sunday New York Times, takeout from Zabar's and his Riverside Drive apartment. After two months, Ike proposes. Then Liz is arrested for the murder of her ex-husband, a violently abusive, dishonest investment banker. Though Ike loyally pulls together a defense team and support group from former students and colleagues, in his heart he cannot stop questioning her innocence. Poetic and courtroom justice triumph with satisfying if not always credible certainty as the black female public defender puts the aggressive prosecutor to shame. While the story is laid out with competence, the development is thin, especially the courtroom scenes. And the character portrayal is dangerously facile: Liz's evil ex-husband is nearly a caricature, the real murderer is a convenient walk-on. Even Ike lacks complexity: he is another of Fast's righteous heroes, Liz another good woman who just needs a man to protect her. Threatening their love, and the story's pace, is Fast's penchant for inner dialogue, which makes the reader yearn for the muscular prose and fiery idealism of Fast's early work. Literary Guild selection. (July)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
NOT VERY REDEEMING,
By Nancy Martin (Pennsylvania (orig. NY)) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Redemption (Hardcover)
I must have been having a nostalgic moment, trying to recapture the enjoyment I felt reading The Immigrants back in the 70's, when I purchased Howard Fast's latest book Redemption. It was NO Immigrants and I wasn't able to capture much enjoyment. The one redeeming thing about Redemption is that it's a quick read.Ike Goldman is a 78 year old widow who was once a law professor at Columbia University. Riding home one night from an engagement, he sees a young woman who he believes is getting ready to jump off the George Washington Bridge. He, of course, convinces her not to jump and, as a result, feels responsible for her. She is Elizabeth Hopper, ex-wife of wealthy investment executive William Sedgwick Hopper. When he is found dead in his office, all fingers are pointed at Elizabeth. By this time, Ike has fallen for 45 year old Elizabeth and uses all his connections to have her represented in the best way possible. While this May to December romance was sweet in some ways, it bordered on the unbelievable -- older man saves younger woman's life and the result is they fall in love. It should only be so easy. I guess you could categorize this book as romantic suspense. While Ike is having his own doubts about whether or not Elizabeth is guilty, so is the reader. Fast is definitely a skilled writer but this book is nothing compared to those generational sagas that made his name so synonomous with that genre many years ago.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not the best..but not the worst, either.,
By
This review is from: Redemption (Hardcover)
I read this book in one sitting. I liked all the characters, especially the saucy Sarah, who ultimately "saves" Elizabeth Hopper from a prison sentence. I liked the courtroom scenes and I liked the romance. I agree with other reviewers that the language, proofing, and editing could have been better, but it was, for me at least, a good night's read.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Put any sensitivities aside.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Redemption (Hardcover)
This writer is coasting on his reputation. Where was his editor? Repetition and lack of imagination fill every page. And if you are Catholic, Irish, female, Caucasion, don't have liberal views, and alot more, you may want to skip this boring read. He seemed just way to "perfect" for my liking.
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