2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting tale, May 5, 2007
This review is from: Blameless (Paperback)
Dean of the colleges Arts and Humanities, divorced Dr. Alexis Hartnett is a take charge person who never shows emotion. Divorced Professor Joseph Barnes is a highly regarded teacher in spite of his cynical outlook. This pair could never find an attraction at least on the surface, but they do. Meanwhile Alexis office assistant Lucy Conn is upset with her boss for neglecting her duties while pining over Joe; Lucy is a minority of one who loathes Joe.
Lucy concludes that Joe has dark secrets that he prefers hidden, but she will learn them and expose him. Meanwhile Joe works on a Hawthorne paper that parallels his precarious position at the school. He is falling in love with his superior, but knows nothing will come of it as he would have to reveal his sordid past to her. Alexis reciprocates in every way including fear of testing love as she has ghosts too that she hides, but mostly worries that the new professor, after a great start, is beginning to fail at the job.
The cautious relationship between the two middle age educators is cleverly developed so that the audience understands why each hesitates when it comes to love. The contemporary tale links to biblical Job and more so Hawthorne is brilliantly interwoven into the solid inspirational story line as Joe especially learns losing all is not necessarily the end because starting fresh might lead to something better and more meaningful. Although the key element leading to exposing Joe is Lucy detests him; yet her obsessive need to investigate the object of her hatred never comes across as plausible since readers never learn why she is so fixated on destroying him. Inspirational readers will enjoy Thom Lemmons insightful tale.
Harriet Klausner
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A modern-day Job, April 5, 2007
This review is from: Blameless (Paperback)
Thom Lemmons is a good writer. He uses too many metaphors and similes for my taste but some of them are quite lovely--"the day hung low and gray like tattered drapes." The story moves along nicely and if covers sell books, Blameless should do well. The cover is beautiful, made even more meaningful once you read the book.
I've spent much of my life in ministry and I was intrigued by the reference to Job. That said, I wanted to like this book more than I do. To be fair to Mr. Lemmons, I read the book, read the book of Job, then read the book again. However, it just doesn't work for me as "a modern retelling of the biblical story." Job's story is an inundation of catastrophic events--a number nine on the Richter scale. It's filled with drama and angst. Blameless is barely a blip on the screen.
We live in a world where most people get laid off at least once, the majority of people live from paycheck to paycheck and a full third of the population are without health insurance. Therefore, I found it hard to get very concerned about a divorced professor, with a small apartment and no bills, who gets a pink slip and is brought up on ethics charges because he had coffee with one of his students and she kissed him once.
I'm not even sure it works for Joe Barnes, our modern-day Job. Joe is the first to admit that he's still got connections in the publishing industry and he's not likely to starve. The worst fate he and his colleagues can imagine is that Joe might have to put in a term or two as a substitute teacher.
I understand that the story's main connection with the biblical story is the love between Joe and his boss Alexis and its similarity to Job's relationship with God. That analogy doesn't really work for me either.
Joe and Alexis' relationship consists of two meals, a glass of wine and a handful of encounters. This is a not love--not yet. It needs more time--and so does Blameless.
The metaphor would be better served with a longer book and more room for character and plot development. And Thom Lemmons has the talent to write that book.
Armchair Interviews says: Heed this reviewer's comments.
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1.0 out of 5 stars
Blameless, February 3, 2010
This review is from: Blameless (Paperback)
I found this book to be pointless and very scattered. Not one I would recommend.
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