Leah
Written on Dec 1, 2011
Firstly, put yourself in Arlen’s position. If you were sent to jail for a crime you didn’t commit, and were released 9 years later, how messed up/angry would you be? I’d be pretty angry. Furious, in fact. Then, put yourself in the shoes of Lauren Matthews, the woman who put Arlen in jail, believing he was guilty. Arlen’s subsequent release would give you pause, no? Would make you want redemption from the man, who by rights, should hate you? Then you have Will, Arlen’s best friend and the man who’s putting him up now he’s out of jail. Will is massively protective of his friend, but there’s something about Lauren that makes Will agree to help her in her bid to make amends with Arlen… As Lauren tries desperately to prove to Arlen she’s sorry and as she and Will spend their days together, picking, Arlen tries to get his life back onto some semblance of normal… They all have issues, and they all have stumbling blocks to overcome, but can they?
It’s really quite a simple novel in terms of how it all is. Lauren wants forgiveness; Will wants to protect his friend; and Arlen doesn’t necessarily know what he wants. The way the novel is written allows you to see all of the characters as they are. We see Lauren struggle with issues pertaining (it seems) to her guilt over Arlen. We see Arlen struggling to re-adjust to life outside of prison. We see Lauren and Will bonding which seems improbale, but isn’t. That was probably my favourite part of the novel, actually, the bonding between Lauren and Will, who both want the best for Arlen in their own way and for that to happen, they need to trust each other, which they don’t. So Will tells Lauren that if she wants to get closer to Arlen, she’ll need to help him with his picking (Will owns an antique shop, so he needs to “pick” his, er, things to sell) and so we get to see a lot of interaction between the two and Will begins to see Lauren in a different light.
It’s the kind of novel that has you asking questions. There must be many, many people sitting in jail cells across the world who were wrongfully convicted and it’s nice to see that covered in a Chick Lit/Women’s Fiction novel. I found Arlen’s re-entry into society to be fascinating and heart-breaking (after all, he was innocent! Nine years wiped away!). But, mostly, the novel is about truth and forgiveness and second chances. Those are the themes and Dale writes them all very well. It’s not a case of Lauren simply apologising to Arlen and it all being rosy. It’s real. At the end of the day, why the hell would Arlen want to see Lauren ever again? Y’know? But it also shows the other side of that, that although Arlen may not trust/believe Lauren, Will is willing to, somewhat and I just enjoyed the complex characters, I enjoyed the situations and I thought the setting, of Richmond, Virginia was somehow perfect.
I really, really enjoyed A Promise of Safekeeping. From the troubles the characters face, to how they all try and sort through those troubles. I’d have liked an Epilogue at the end of the novel, set perhaps a year later, because the ending is a bit dramatic, and it is a bit rushed, so an Epilogue would have rounded off a pretty good novel perfectly. I thought it had the brilliant line between romance (yes, there is romance, woohoo!) and between the serious stuff. I’d really recommend the book, because it was a book I enjoyed and a book that will speak to a lot of people. It makes you think, but it also has its lighter moments, it isn’t just a novel about what’s wrong with the Justice system, it isn’t saying everyone that’s convicted is innocent, instead it covers all bases and I just found it all so fascinating and the characters really bring the novel to life.