A Thousand Benjamins [Hardcover]

Michael Kun (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1990

After twenty years of marriage, Marry Jude has had enough of Benjamin. "A thousand Benjamins couldnÂ’t make me happy," she says. Lost in the numbness of habit and the undertow of memories, Benjamin meets Kim, a woman eighteen years his junior who bears a sadness in her green eyes that is connected to a scar that runs from the base of her throat to her ribs. Slowly, these two people, who for entirely different reasons believe themselves beyond repair, begin to admit that this might actually be the time of their lives.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Rarely is a first novel as graceful, polished and mature as this debut by a 27-year-old attorney. A wistful tale about two sad and lonely people, it resonates with bittersweet insights. Benjamin Sacks, 40, is a salesman with a tragic past and a recent divorce. Kimberly Cassella is a green-eyed 23-year-old waitress with a secret: a disfiguring heart-surgery scar. Their romance, set in Kun's native Baltimore, forces Benjamin to confront himself and his feelings about the people in his life; by the end of the book we feel great affection for this fragile man who hides his own light under a bushel of woes. Kun's writing has a tone of quiet humor tinged with despair, evoking J. D. Salinger's stories about the Glass family. (There are in fact several Salinger references.) Although most explicitly dramatic moments are related as part of Benjamin's past, the story has a quiet power that belies the absence of a twisting plot or shocking event. This novel deserves serious attention as the herald of a truly interesting new voice.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

A bittersweet story about love, guilt, and forgetting pain, this book was written during Kun's last year at law school. Tenuous lovers Kim and Benjamin must remember the past in order to make sense of the present. When newly divorced Benjamin, recovering from his parents' tragic deaths, meets Kim, who is recovering from recent heart surgery, Benjamin needs "to figure out what my life means." Flawed emotionally and "feeling small beneath the universe," he cannot cope with Kim's physical flaw, a disfiguring scar. Their search for bonding and happiness, and an escape from pain and loss, is the focus of the action as all the characters realize the need to work out their feelings in order to go forward. Recommended.
- Ellen R. Cohen, Rockville, Md.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 338 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Pr; First edition. edition (April 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871133458
• ISBN-13: 978-0871133458
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,993,221 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Kun was born on November 28, 1962. He is the son of Richard and Beatrice Kun. He is a graduate of The Johns Hopkins University, as well as the School of Law of the University of Virginia.

Michael sold his first novel, A Thousand Benjamins, while he was in law school. The novel was published in 1990. After many rumors of his death, which can be read right here on amazon.com, Kun returned with The Locklear Letters in 2003.

Since then, Kun has published two more novels -- My Wife and My Dead Wife, and You Poor Monster, the latter of which he used to propose to his wife. He has also published a short story collection, Corrections to My Memoirs, and has co-authored The Baseball Uncyclopedia and The Football Uncyclopedia.

Michael has never had a cavity.

He also has no tattoos or piercings.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Looking Forward to "The Locklear Letters"!, February 6, 2003

By 

Avid Reader (Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Thousand Benjamins (Hardcover)

Last summer, my wife and I attended a wedding in Michigan. It was a lovely affair by all accounts, but there is one thing in particular that we will always remember, and that I suspect everyone else in attendance will always remember as well: the toast by the best man. The best man was a rather nondescript looking man in his mid-30s. Even now, I couldn't tell you what he looked like other than to say he was about 5'10" and had curly hair; he may have had glasses. When we were all gathered in the banquet room, he took the microphone and began to speak. And, for the next 10 minutes or more, he held us all in the palm of his hands like I've never seen before in my life. He was charming, he was witty (he told one joke about how the groom once claimed to like to brush up on his Spanish by watching CSPAN), he was self-deprecating, he paused at the right moments and for exactly the right length of time. He was, simply, brilliant. Then, when he had us laughing loud and long, when no one dared to move because they might miss something he said, he pulled the carpet out from us like a magician and ended with such a sweet and touching comment that left most people in tears. It was stunning, absolutely stunning, and he clearly understood that by making us laugh at first he was softening us up for the good stuff later. As soon as he was done, he was mobbed like some kind of pop star. I've never seen anything like it before, particularly at a wedding. Everyone had to talk to him. We asked who he was, and got a number of answers: he was Mike Kun, the groom's brother; he was some hot young trial lawyer; and, finally, someone said, "He's the best writer you'll ever meet, but he doesn't write anymore." My wife was too nervous to talk with him, but I grabbed his ear for about 5 minutes and left wishing I had a daughter to introduce him to. He's a remarkable young man, as I've since confirmed by reading "A Thousand Benjamins," his first novel. I've recently learned that he in fact hasn't stopped writing, and a new book called "The Locklear Letters" will be out shortly. I understand it's something of a comedy. If it's half as charming as his best man's toast, I'll bet it'll be a bestseller.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where Are These Stupid Rumors Coming From?!, September 6, 2000

By 

Hippy Chick (Towson, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Thousand Benjamins (Hardcover)

I was just checking in to see if Mike had written a new book when I read the last two e-mails. Mike Kun dead from a car accident? Very doubtful. I knew Mike -- heck, I used to date Mike -- and he was the safest, s-l-o-o-o-o-w-e-s-t driver in the world. Anytime you tried to get him to speed up, he'd say the same thing -- "I've got some pretty precious cargo with me" -- then, when you smiled, he'd pretend he wasn't talking about you, but about something in his trunk. But I'd heard the rumor about the car accident, too. In fact, we here in Baltimore have heard a lot of rumors about Mike since he disappeared a few years ago, most of which aren't even remotely plausible. Died of a drug overdose? Yeah, right -- Mike doesn't even drink. Died in a mountain-climbing accident? Mike wouldn't go mountain climbing for a million dollars -- afraid of heights, don't you know. Drowned on a vacation? Well, I guess that could happen to anyone, but we would've heard about it. And that rumor about him dating Jewel? Are you on crack? Sure, she looks like the kind of girl Mike would date, but have you read Jewel's poetry? The truth of the matter is that Mike wrote two great books -- A Thousand Benjamins and Our Poor Sweet Napoleon -- then stopped writing. He won't talk about it, but he had his heart broken by a girl he went to law school with and just lost the desire to write. Don't remember her name, but she's one stupid chick. Maybe he'll write another book someday, which is why I check this website every once in a while, but I wouldn't bet on it. He will always be one of the sweetest, kindest, most generous people I have ever met, and by far the FUNNIEST.

And, Mike, if you happen to read this review -- still love ya, baby!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Book From Mike Kun! Hip Hip Hooray!, January 17, 2003

By 

Portia Lloyd (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Thousand Benjamins (Hardcover)

I was just checking on amazon and saw that Mike Kun has a new book coming out in June called "The Locklear Letters." I've been smiling since the moment I saw that, and I imagine I'll be smiling until the book comes out! I can't pretend to be unbiased: I knew Mike back in college, have always thought that he was a PHENOMENAL writer, and, to my husband's dismay, I've had a mad crush on him for almost 20 years. Mike is probably the most talented person I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, and people who have only had the opportunity to read "A Thousand Benjamins" are missing out on a lot. The same guy who wrote that sweet and tender book is also the hands-down funniest writer ever to walk on this planet. Anyone who's ever read his short stories knows that he has an impeccable sense of comic timing. God only knows whether "The Locklear Letters" will be one of his sweet books, or one of his funny ones (or both), but I have no doubt that it'll be terrific.