In 1963, shortly after getting married and starting what feels like her adult life, Tricia finds herself in Saigon, where her husband has been stationed. Always shy, Tricia struggles to navigate her new home. Then she meets, Charlene, the wife of a prominent executive who has been living in Saigon for a few years. Charlene seems to take an interest in Tricia, and invites her to join in her efforts to raise money to provide support for injured children in Vietnam. As Tricia finds herself drawn deeper into Charlene's world, she comes to see that what so much of what seemed simple -- including her marriage and what is happening in the war -- is actually much more complex. Over 50 years later, Charlene's daughter reached out to Tricia, prompting the two to reflect about their overlapping time in Saigon and what has become of their lives since then.

This is a powerful novel about marriage, motherhood, and altruism. Well written and with strong and nuanced characters, the book is a perceptive story about how we choose the lives we lead.

Highly recommended!

I read about half of this and am giving up on it. I’m struggling to find value in this story. It feels like she’s criticizing her own story the whole time, but then why tell the story at all?

Patricia writes a letter reminiscing on her time living in Saigon, during the Vietnam War, as a member of the isolated American dependants- the family members brought over by advisors and workers - to Rainey, the daughter of a woman she knew there. Rainey remembered Patricia for her kindness as an adult then, and reached out for the story of their strange lives there, on the periphery of war, and the way her mother Charlene did business and charity in the turbulent city.

This was a beautifully written book, and for someone like me (a non-American with little knowledge of the Vietnam War) quite fascinating. It’s a complicated portrait of everyone involved in this weird colonial community, and also an exploration of the white saviour complex. Not as ponderous as I wanted it to be at times, it was still a well-framed story.

Absolution opens at a garden party in Vietnam in the early 1960s. Newlywed Tricia has just arrived with her engineer husband and is slowly falling into the role of expat wife among the other "bright young men and their pretty little wives rising." She is somewhat uncomfortable with the privileged position which she now holds in the human hierarchy of Saigon but has no doubts about the appropriateness of her country's presence in Vietnam or its military endeavors. Tricia is intent on being a "helpmeet" to her husband and hopes to soon begin a family. She has few ambitions beyond those when she is suddenly swept under the wing of Charlene, a glamorous and enterprising mother-of-three and wife of an American businessman.

Tricia is at first mystified at first as to why Charlene would take such an interest in her but she accompanies her nonetheless to various charity and fund-raising opportunities providing stuffed animals to children and silk clothes to lepers. Slowly she begins to see that her own shy and saintly demeanor have been useful to Charlene in opening doors and purses for the other woman's various causes. Tricia questions to herself whether these acts of charity are truly helpful to the Vietnamese people, and in a future timeline she reflects on the role of Charlene as a white savior.

Later sections of the book are narrated by Charlene's daughter Rainey whose identity was also strongly shaped by her self-asserting mother. Rainey is aware that some of her family's wealth came from business deals that took advantage of the political situation in an unstable country but she was a child in Vietnam and has few memories of that time. Rainey is a sympathetic character and I appreciated her chapters of the book but McDermott deprives us a section narrated by her enigmatic mother. All the better to allow the reader to judge her choices and motives perhaps?

This novel will make an excellent book club selection. Tricia, Rainey and Charlene are all fantastic characters to dissect and some of the pivotal decisions that they make create significant consequences for others.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a digital review copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

Alice McDermott's quiet, thought-provoking new novel, Absolution is a masterpiece in storytelling. Weaving the past and present and multiple lives together, then novel is a story of reckoning with the past and one's place in it. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!

Fans of Anne Patchett and Elizabeth Strout will relish in this beautiful story! Highly recommended!

4.5. Alice McDermott is a masterful storyteller and I have so enjoyed her other books. I’ve also had the privilege in years past to see her speak at my book groups. Her new novel, Absolution, did not disappoint. In fact, she hit it out of the ballpark. Although her other books seemed to focus on the stories of Irish Americans, this one less so. The story focuses on two women, Tricia and Charlene. They are both in Vietnam in the early 60s, having dutifully followed their husbands for their work without question. The novel involves letter writing between Tricia and Charlene’s daughter, Rainey, many years after they left Vietnam, with Rainey describing times with her mother and it’s impact on her and her family.. Rainey and Tricia were brought together many years later through Dom, a sweet, ethical and moral GI who knew Charlene and Tricia through their charitable good deeds. This is a very poignant novel encompassing so many themes. Charlene and Tricia had a very complex yet dynamic relationship during the short time they were in Vietnam together. They were alike in many ways, as in being “do gooders,” yet they also were very dissimilar. Charlene was very manipulative, and often woukd cross many lines to get what what she wanted for her “benevolent and charitable” deeds. Tricia was very straight laced yet had her moments, too, of crossing the line with her “white lies.” Therein, one of the themes of the appropriate title Absolution. As in her other novels, Ms. McDermott utilized religion in this book. Tricia and her husband were devout Catholics, and religion permeated throughout Tricia’s life with her family, her husband, friends, education, upbringing and her moral compass. The novel also focuses on the constraints and adherence to conformity women experienced prior to the feminist movement not too long after this time. In my view, Charlene we’ll exemplified the woman trying to remove the constraints on women. Tricia was a conformist in many senses but also had an independent streak as demonstrated in her college and post college summers with her friend Stella. Ms McDermott’s apt descriptions of the times, the hot and humid landscape in Vietnam, and the moral issues were right on point. While the Americans had their garden and evening parties, galas, and charitable events, the war was raging not too far away, with people displaced, poverty, traumatic injuries, debilitating illnesses and death. All characters are so well defined, but most particularly the women whose incredible strength is so well depicted, the protagonists, the families, friends, and acquaintances, but also the Vietnamese women. However, the men were also so well defined, as in Dom, Tricia’s and Charlene’s husbands, and the business and military men in Vietnam. The theme of absolution is also predominant through forgiveness, redemption, penance, but also the constraints of “moral obligation” and “inconsequential good.” Although this is a wonderful historical fiction of the grueling, tempestuous and fast living times, this novel is much more than that. It is beautifully written. A true masterpiece on so many counts. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an advance copy in exchange for an honest and candid review.

Absolution gives us a view into the lives of well-off American women living in Saigon during the Vietnam War. These society women engage in what one character refers to as “inconsequential good” - token acts of charity that allow them to feel good about themselves, arguably much more than they actually help. All while surrounding themselves with all manner of Vietnamese servants, which they treat quite similarly to children or pets.

The character of Tricia provides the primary narration, with biting and incisive wit and observations, as she holds herself apart from the colonial culture and at the same time engages in it to varying degrees, eager as anyone else to fit in and find a place.

McDermott paints a rich tapestry of life in this time and place, and a layered and nuanced commentary on these women, which could easily be applied in a much broader scale to the charitable privileged classes en masse. There’s so much to think about, with what is clearly not a black-and-white issue, and she handles it with skill, while still providing an entertaining tale and lively characters.

A phenomenal read which I will definitely be revisiting in the future.

Thank you Alice McDermott, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

A beautifully written novel of women and acts of kindness that reverberate in ways both good and bad down the years from 1963 Vietnam. Patricia-who Charlene calls Tricia- has lived a small life and, newly married to Peter is more than a little at sea when they move to Saigon. She's appalled by Charlene at first but taken by her young daughter Rainey, who will also tell part of their story later in the novel. Charlene wraps Tricia into her good works, into creating Barbie dolls dressed in Vietnamese clothing, into helping at a children's hospital, and, most critically, into going with her to a leper colony. Charlene is brash but she's also tender when it's needed. Rainey's story is twined with that of Dom, who was a conscientious objector serving as a medic - and who was with the women at the hospital and leper colony. This unfolds sneakily with bits that will surprise. McDermott writes in a somewhat mannered way but she wraps you into caring about these characters more than you might imagine. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A terrific read.

I have conflicted feelings about this novel. The writing is excellent, descriptions of locale are atmospheric, and characters are pretty well developed. But there are some instances in the story that seem egregious by today’s standards that I wish would have been addressed in the final “current day” chapter. Without using spoilers, a couple of these are dressing a white American Barbie in traditional Vietnamese clothes for the kids, and assuming a baby will have a better life in America away from her/his native land. As infuriating as the women are portrayed—passive, subservient, entitled, shopaholics—much of that does reflect the role many women played in the late ‘50s and early 60s.

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrah, Straus, and Giroux Books for the ARC to read and review.

Reflective story of an American woman’s experience living in Vietnam in the early 1960s. Examined in the present, the protagonist looks at a pivotal time in her life that transformed her into the woman she became. Strong character development. The shifting structure of the story at the end of the novel could have been introduced earlier. Some storylines were not fully realized.

It is 1963 and Tricia is a young wife newly arrived in Saigon in 1963 with her husband, a lawyer who is on loan to the Navy. She’s nervous and unsure of herself, but desperate to make a good impression in the community of high ranking military personnel and their spouses. She comes under the influence of Charlene, a sheer force of nature who has decided to use her time in Vietnam to do good. Charlene pulls Tricia into her schemes - having a Vietnamese maid make dolls clothes to sell to raise funds, distributing gifts to children and their families in hospital, providing nice sets of silk clothes to those living with leprosy - often giving Tricia credit for her own ideas.

The storyline of their charity work was really well done. On the one hand the reader could feel for those women who had skills and talents but little to occupy their time, with even the mundane tasks of cooking, cleaning and childcare, handed over to servants. On the other hand, and especially when viewed through a twenty-first century socio-political lens, it is clear they knew little about Vietnam, it’s people and the issues they faced. Rather than talking to locals to find out what they might reasonably help with, Charlene and her friends acted unilaterally, doing whatever made them feel good. At best it was a mere drop in the ocean; at worst it may not have actually been needed or wanted, and possibly put people in danger. I really like the way McDermott left the reader to mull over the moral ambiguities, rather than hit them over the head with a message.

This is a quiet understated book, something aided by it being told in long letters between Charlene’s daughter and Tricia sixty years after their time in Vietnam. This provides time and space for the benefit of hindsight and for reflection. McDermott expertly captured the slightly claustrophobic atmosphere of the military ex-pat community, its classism, sexism and racism. Her main characters were vividly brought to life. The contrast between Charlene, very imperious, so dynamic and sure of herself, and Tricia, still struggling to feel like a full adult, naive and lacking in confidence, couldn’t have been stronger.

I do want to mention here that Tricia struggled with infertility and there is a trigger warning for miscarriage. Her struggle to have a baby also leads to one of the most jaw dropping scenes in the book. That it felt entirely true and authentic while still getting my jaw to hit the floor is testament to McDermott’s skill as a writer.

One aspect of this book did give me pause though and that is it’s ableism. In the second part of the book we are introduced to Jamie, a minor character who has Down Syndrome. He is twenty years old but is referred to by other characters as a poor kid and a damaged child. Someone mentions the age of his mother and questions whether she’d had amniocentesis - presumably implying that she should have had an abortion. This is balanced slightly by mention of some positive albeit stereotypical qualities attributed to those with Down syndrome and the fact that Jamie was adopted - in other words deliberately chosen. None of it was essential to the story though and it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Overall though I really enjoyed this reflective character driven novel. It’s a study of a young woman at a key juncture in her life, a portrait of a complicated friendship, and offers a new lens through which to view America’s involvement in Vietnam.

Many thanks to @netgalley and @fsgbooks for the ARC. Absolution releases on 31 October.

In 1963, the culture of the US was on the precipice of change. The women’s movement, opposition to war and minority rights were soon to come. But in this tightly wound novel, for two corporate wives in Saigon life is supposedly all about taking care of their households and husbands, having babies and managing their place in society. These women are (quietly) more than that. Through wonderfully drawn characters and plot, McDermott explores misplaced good intentions, identity and power and privilege.

Unlike many war novels, this one focuses on the wives of engineers and other top military men who have relocated to Saigon during Vietnam War. To many degrees, the life these women live almost seems like the war isn't happening around them as they are in their gated communities, surrounded by servants, swimming pool, elaborate happy hours, and nonstop social gatherings. Yet, there are a "cabal" of women who follow Charlene, a gutsy wife who engages in blackmarket shenanigans and traveling to areas where civilians are not permitted, as she gathers her followers to bring gifts to those who live in leper colonies, orphanages, and are in hospitals. Oddly, her gifts also involving selling Barbie dolls dressed in garb sewn by Vietnamese women, women who probably make very little of the $25 the dolls sell for to Americans as gifts to bring home.

Tricia is a young, newly married wife, who becomes friends with Charlene, and feels brave going on these adventures that her husband knows nothing about. Tricia also suffers from several miscarriages, and Charlene, also had a more or less blackmarket adoption scheme going on also that challenges Tricia's strong Catholicism and moral compass.

Eventually, decades later, one of Charlene's daughter, Rainey, the one who the story is basically being told to through letters, connects with Tricia after she meets a man who was friends with her mother in Saigon. The novel then is sectioned off with Patricia (Tricia) telling her story and Rainey revealing what it was like to be Charlene's daughter, and how her life changed as an adult.

This is an honest novel about the privileged life of those who lived in Saigon while those around them suffered from starvation, separation of family, and death. The author creates characters who question the role of these engineers and their exploration of oil, which tends to be the root of many wars. We see a glimpse of this horrific war from another view, the view of two women of different ages, and the impact the war, or at least living in Saigon during the war, made on them.

The first part of the book, Part I, was somewhat interesting and informative. Being of the same generation as the women in Part I and knowing many people who wound up in Vietnam in those early years, I appreciated her insight.

But then came Part II with a jump from 1963 to, I guess, the current time. The first person account in Part II was from the child of one of our leading ladies in Part I.

Part I was written as a [fictitious] memoir. Part II involved memories of the child’s time in Vietnam, but not written as a memoir.

The story got more and more jumbled and confusing.

I appreciate this early readers’ copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I"m a huge fan of Alice McDermott and this one might be my new favorite. It turns in some unexpected directions and I did feel I wanted more of the original storyline, before I shifted and then shifted back again. But I think wanting more is a compliment really. The story and the writing are so good, it almost feels like she's toying with us, she can give us more or pull back and it's all still so good.

Absolution is a book about the role of the American wives in Vietnam in 1963 and some follow up years later. Alice McDermott introduces us to some of these women. The main characters and situations seem alive and true. Morality, class, forgiveness, volunteering and infertility are among some of the issues tackled. Absolution is a well written, compelling read.

Clearly, I'm going to be in the minority here, but I just don't get the praise for this. If anything, this is very "White People Taco Night" or "Chicken Broccoli" if that makes any sense?

Yes, yes, the writing is beautiful, and it's a reflection on a specific time in history and a slice of life for these over-privileged, white women who were married to military officers who were stationed in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) during a very specific time. There's a very veiled discussion of race and guilt, but honestly, it's just so convoluted and mixed and jumbled within the 300+ pages that it's really beside the point. Tricia's part and her past timeline, as well as her timeline in Vietnam, is strange. Her guilt over not having children is interesting because it's what is so expected of women of her time.

Tricia's tales of Charlene's 'good works' show some good intentions but again, it's the white savior complex that so often comes with books and films. The continual misnaming of Ly as Lily in the book was infuriating. Ly clearly said that it was her name and yet Tricia said that she just couldn't adjust.
The leper village, the officer's club, the Barbies....

I feel that there is so much more going on during this time in Saigon that could be explored, way more than what these women were doing. Their shopping and lunching were so meaningless. The lives of the women working for these women were more interesting to me. I wanted to know more about them, where did they go at night? Where were their families? What happened to them when the white people left? That is interesting to me, not what sort of house someone moved into afterward.

This is what I mean by "White People Taco Night". This is the oatmeal version of a war story so that it's palatable for white women to read and sleep at night. I don't need a continuation of the white savior that no one asked for.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Alice McDermott is one of my favorite authors and this new titles does not disappoint. Triscia, rechristens from Patsy by her new friend Charlene, is the wife of an engineering advisor in South Vietnam as war is eminent. While
Triscia is less than adventurous, Charlene brings her along on missions to help the people of Vietnam. Most historical fiction of this period center on the male experience. I LOVED this book!

You know those quiet books like Brooklyn/Colm Toibin..or any of Alice McDermott’s others? This is right there. Set it Saigon, a group of ex-pat women and their lives as Wives - such a fascinating time and the character were 💯.

Truly a masterful exploration of the complexities of marriage and societal expectations set against the backdrop of 1950s suburban America. The story begins with Tricia, a dutiful wife and mother, whose life revolves around catering to her husband's needs and maintaining the facade of a perfect home. Set in a time when women were expected to be the ever-loyal helpmeet, Tricia's character becomes a poignant symbol of the stifling roles placed upon women in that era. McDermott skillfully portrays the stifling conformity of the era, where women were often expected to find their absolution in servitude to their husbands and families. All this is explored through the lens of Saigon, Vietnam where Tricia,her husband and another woman (Charlene) and her husband were stationed.

The title, 'Absolution,' takes on a multi-layered significance as the novel progresses. It not only refers to the religious sense of forgiveness and redemption but also serves as a commentary on the personal sacrifices and penance that Tricia and many women like her, must undergo to navigate the restrictive norms of the time. McDermott's use of Christianity as a recurring theme in her novels is evident in 'Absolution,' where it shapes the characters' moral compass and decisions. The veil of secrecy that shrouds the characters' lives adds depth to the narrative, highlighting the tension between societal expectations and personal desires.

In 'Absolution,' McDermott crafts a character-driven narrative that delves into the moral obligations and ethical dilemmas faced by individuals in the period leading up to the Vietnam War. Through Tricia's journey and those around her, the novel compellingly portrays the silent struggles of an era and underscores the power of forgiveness, both from a religious perspective and as a means of self-acceptance. Alice McDermott's 'Absolution' is a thought-provoking and beautifully written exploration of the intricate web of secrets, sacrifice, and redemption that defined an era and continues to resonate today.