Review: The Good Samaritan

The Good Samaritan by John Marrs
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When this book ended, I was left making a face similar to the one you might make if you smelled something akin to the overwhelming scent of Abercrombie & Fitch’s trademark cologne during the summer of 1999 – equal parts captivated and slightly offended. Also, shout out to my fellow millennials who can vividly recall the exact fragrance I am referencing and it takes you back to a simpler time, a time when you walked the mall with your middle school friends and passed Abercrombie, where you were literally assaulted by and forced to chew on and swallow that overpowering shitty cologne. You obviously didn’t dare go in, though, because you were both too broke and also too chubby to fit into any of their sized XXS t-shirts, but you claimed it was because you were “so not into that lame preppy look – let’s totally get an Auntie Anne’s pretzel and walk around Spencer’s instead”. Anyone else relate to that very specific stride down memory lane?

Regardless, I don’t know how to feel about this one, but more than that, I am not sure how one SHOULD feel about it. I am honestly surprised that this book has such a high star rating on Goodreads because, while I am not personally troubled by taboo topics such as suicide and suicide assisted by a delusional psychopath (and there is a LOT of suicide within these pages), I wouldn't think it was most people’s cup o’ tea. I did find it interesting that Laura’s obsession with (successfully) convincing people to kill themselves wasn’t villainized more. I mean, I am all for dark characters with f*cked up psyches, so I guess what I am trying to say is I am more impressed than anything else at what the author was able to do here, and clearly, do well enough to still receive an overall positive response from the masses. But, it's always a refreshing reminder that there are other warped individuals on this forum just like me, and that's comforting.

I would also like to call out that while I don’t think it was the intention, it did feel slightly disconcerting that the authors note at the end of this book directed readers to a suicide prevention organization. So let me get this straight, we just spent 401 pages dedicated to the narrative of a sociopathic, Dr. Kevorkian-esque suicide hotline volunteer, who’s primary joy in life was enthusiastically and unsympathetically pushing callers to end their lives in a “sir, let’s not forget how miserable you are, and how miserable you make everyone around you just by existing. So really, offing yourself as quickly as possible is the best option for everybody, you’re actually a selfish bastard for not doing it sooner. On that note, would you like me to be on the phone with you while you hang yourself?” manner - yet this novel closes with the recommendation that we as the reader should consider reaching out to a similar organization? …..Laura…is that you…..? ...I see what you did here. You really are one clever bitch.



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