Samaritan

Written by Richard Price

Narrated by Richard Allen

Ray Mitchell, a former TV writer who has left Hollywood under a cloud, returns to urban Dempsy, New Jersey, hoping to make a difference in the lives of his struggling neighbors. Instead, his very public and emotionally suspect generosity gets him beaten nearly to death. Ray refuses to name his assailant, which makes him intensely interesting to Detective Nerese Ammons, a friend from childhood, who now sets out to unlock the secret of his reticence. Set against the intensely realized backdrop of urban America, the cat and mouse game that unfolds is both morally complex and utterly gripping.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio
• Release date: Sep 6, 2002
• ISBN: 9780736697873

Richard Price

Richard Price is the author of several novels, including Clockers, Freedomland, and Samaritan. He won a 2007 Edgar Award for his writing on the HBO series The Wire.

Reviews for Samaritan

[daftboy1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a very good read.Clever and original Keeps you reading. Ray who is a writes for TV moves back to New Jersey to give something back. He helps children write. He gets attacked in his house, his old school friend Nerese a retiring Police woman investigates. Ray is very reluctant to talk but after a while Nerese works it out. Lots of interesting characters in this book.

[hagelstein_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ray Mitchell grew up in public housing in Richard Price’s fictional city of Dempsy, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City. After a stint as an English teacher, then as a cocaine-addled cab driver he worked for a former student as a television writer in L.A. When that’s over he returns to New Jersey, teaches a class at his old school, and tries to help a few of the people that now live where he used to.Ray’s story is one of guilt and unintended consequences. He truly wants to help the downtrodden, but his motives are questioned. Ray’s teenage daughter lives with his ex-wife in New York but guilt overwhelms his relationship with her too.Ray really is a good guy and tries to do right, but with Samaritan Price seems to be saying that you can’t always help those that need help, and sometimes it’s best not to try. But I think he’s thankful there are people like Ray Mitchell that don’t realize it.

[gary10_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Innner city story of the clash between black street culture and a middle classs white guy. Convincing.