books
blame
p michelle huneven richard russo once wrote is a writer of extraordinary and thrilling talent . that talent explodes with her third book blame a spellbinding novel of guilt and love family and shame sobriety and the lack of it and the moral ambiguities that ensnare us all . p the story patsy maclemoore a history professor in her late twenties with a brand new ph.d. from berkeley and a wild streak wakes up in jail yet again after another epic alcoholic blackout . okay whatd i do she asks her lawyer and jailers . i really dont remember . she adds jokingly did i kill someone p in fact two jehovahs witnesses a mother and daughter are dead run over in patsys driveway . patsy who was driving with a revoked license will spend the rest of her life in prison getting sober finding a new community and a husband in aa trying to atone for this unpardonable act . p then decades later another unimaginable piece of information turns up . p for the reader it is an electrifying moment a joyous fall off the couch with surprise moment . for patsy it is more complicated . blame must be reapportioned her life reassessed . what does it mean that her life has been based on wrong assumptions what can she cleave to what must be relinquished p when hunevens first novel round rock was published valerie miner in the los angeles times book review celebrated hunevens moral nerve sharp wit and uncommon generosity . the same spirit electrifies blame . the novel crackles with life and like life can leave you breathless .
hardcover farrar straus giroux 2009 isbn13 9780374114305 isbn10 0374114307
abridged n isbn 13 9780374114305 number in series 1 number of pages 291 publisher farrar straus & giroux release date 1251763200000