Such Good People
A Novel
Such Good People is a hearty novel about injustice that is nonetheless infused with hope.
In Amy Blumenfeld’s multifaceted novel Such Good People, a fateful encounter impacts a close friendship and exposes troubling criminal-justice disparities.
Neighbors April and Rudy grow up in Brooklyn and enjoy a sibling-like bond. They work at the same bagel shop during their summer vacations and remain friends after April begins attending college. April invites Rudy to a student event in Manhattan, where April is harassed by Bailey, a wealthy and influential “drunk jerk.” Rudy hurries to April’s defense, flashing a small pocketknife just for intimidation; after a brief “scuffle,” April and Rudy hurry back to Brooklyn.
Later, the friends learn that Bailey has been hospitalized and that the police plan to arrest Rudy. The assault charge is upgraded to homicide after Bailey’s death. Rudy then becomes caught up in a nightmarish vortex of interrogations, public accusations casting him as the “Brooklyn thug versus the suburban prince,” legal entanglements, and a coerced manslaughter plea. While April avoids criminal charges, she is expelled from college and loses her scholarship.
Weaving the past and the present together into a swift, engrossing narrative, the book’s rotating perspectives include Rudy; April and her husband, Peter; and Jillian, a journalist and April’s college acquaintance. Over a decade after Bailey’s death, Rudy is still imprisoned, while April lives in Chicago with Peter and their children. Peter runs for district attorney, but his campaign is jolted by revelations of April’s prison “pen pal” and involvement in a presumed murder.
The book is enhanced by its vivid scene setting, as with its coverage of Chicago’s dazzling “lakefront metropolis” and April’s occasional yearning for the close-knit familiarity of Brooklyn. Legal and medical details are incorporated in a way that broadens understandings of Rudy’s trial and conviction, along with later inquiries into the true nature of Bailey’s death.
April is a compelling heroine as she tries to reconcile her married happiness with her lingering feelings of guilt and a need for personal atonement. Rudy is a curious contrast of emotionality and stoicism, never blaming April for his troubled situation even as he endures a prison environment. His reentry into the world is gradual and heartening; he adjusts to life beyond incarceration and navigates remembered yet transformed landscapes. But tenacious Jillian proves to be the most intriguing character, redirecting her otherwise career-driven journalistic talents into an earnest investigative pursuit of deferred justice for Rudy.
The novel reaches a healing, hopeful conclusion, with only the rapprochement of Peter seeming somewhat tenuous. When a news story is first published about the “scandal” in his wife’s past, Peter fears that his political ambitions may be impacted; his longstanding empathy regarding April’s link to Rudy turns to anger and disgust. Though his attitude changes in time, his focus on voters’ opinions and reliance on his public relations “guru” is off-putting. His idealized vision of a supportive wife and “beautiful, lovely better half” also hints at April’s potential confinement within the exacting demands of an image-driven partnership.
A complex and moving novel, Such Good People is about misfortune, forgiveness, and second chances.
Reviewed by
Meg Nola
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
