The Good Deed

by Helen Benedict

Set in 2018 against the ironic backdrop of an overcrowded, fetid refugee camp on the beautiful, Homeric island of Samos in Greece, The Good Deed follows the stories of five women: Amina, who is nineteen and has just been released from one of Bashar al-Assad's secret and torture-ridden prisons in Syria; Leila, a Syrian widow with two little sons, who has lost her daughter and granddaughter to smugglers on a Turkish beach; Nafisa, who survived civil war and gang rape in Sudan only to see her entire family murdered, save for one daughter; Farah, Leila's lost daughter; and finally, an American named Hilma, who came from New York to Samos to escape her own dark secret, only to become entangled in conflict with the very people she wishes to help.

Drawing from four years of interviews with refugees on Samos, along with twelve previous years of work on the Iraq War, Benedict has written The Good Deed as a series of lyrical, intensely felt alternating voices, following these women’s everyday lives in the camp, as well each of their backstories—stories of families, love, secrets, violence, war, and flight. When Hilma, the American, unwittingly does a “good deed,” she triggers a crisis that brings her and the refugee women into a conflict that escalates dramatically as each character struggles for what she needs.

In essence, The Good Deed is about the struggle never to lose hope, even in the face of war and the world’s hostility to refugees; the complexities that arise out of trying to help others; the healing power of friendship; and the everlasting bonds between mothers and children.

Genres: Fiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published April 9, 2024

About the author

Helen Benedict is an award-winning novelist and nonfiction writer, and a professor of journalism at Columbia University. Her latest novel, The Good Deed, is due out in April, 2024, and addresses refugees, the problem with white saviors, and the relations between mothers and daughters.

The Good Deed draws on much of the material Benedict explored in her recent nonfiction book, Map of Hope and Sorrow: Stories of Refugees Trapped in Greece (Footnote Press) which was released in the UK in June 2022 and in the US in October, 2022.

Kirkus Review called it, "A powerful collection of stories from refugees stuck in asylum limbo in Greece… Gut-wrenching and necessary, this book sharply depicts an escalating humanitarian crisis that shows few signs of slowing down…An important, deeply felt look at lives in constant peril."

Benedict's seventh and latest novel, Wolf Season (Bellevue Literary Press) in October, 2017.

The novel tells the story of how, after a hurricane devastates a small town in upstate New York, the lives of three women and their young children are irrevocably changed. Rin, an Iraq War veteran, tries to protect her daughter and the three wolves under her care. Naema, a widowed doctor who fled Iraq with her wounded son, faces life-threatening injuries and confusion about her feelings for Louis, a veteran and widower harboring his own secrets and guilt. Beth, who is raising a troubled son, waits out her marine husband’s deployment in Afghanistan, equally afraid of him coming home and of him never returning at all. As they struggle to maintain their humanity and find hope, their war-torn lives collide in a way that will affect their entire community.

“No one writes with more authority or cool-eyed compassion about the experience of women in war both on and off the battlefield than Helen Benedict. In Wolf Season, she shows us the complicated ways in which the lives of those who serve and those who don't intertwine and how—regardless of whether you are a soldier, the family of a soldier, or a refugee—the war follows you and your children for generations. Wolf Season is more than a novel for our times; it should be required reading.”
—ELISSA SCHAPPELL, author of Use Me and Blueprints for Building Better Girls

“Fierce and vivid and full of hope, this story of trauma and resilience, of love and family, of mutual aid and solidarity in the aftermath of a brutal war is nothing short of magic. Helen Benedict is the voice of an American conscience that has all too often been silenced. To read these pages is to be transported to a world beyond hype and propaganda to see the human cost of war up close. This is not a novel that allows you to walk away unchanged.”
—CARA HOFFMAN, author of Be Safe I Love You and Running

Benedict's previous novel, Sand Queen, was published by Soho Press in August, 2011. The novel tells the story of a young female soldier and an Iraqi woman caught up in the Iraq War.

“Benedict’s writing is impressive, passionate, and visceral. . . . Reading this book is the best literary path to understanding the particular challenges of being female in the military during warfare.” —Publishers Weekly “Best Contemporary War Novel” citation

Publisher’s Weekly also called Sand Queen “a thrilling and thoughtful new novel.” Booklist said, “Funny, shocking, painful, and, at times, deeply disturbing, Sand Queen takes readers beyond the news and onto the battlefield."

Benedict is also the author of The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving Iraq (2009/10), and a play, The Lonely Soldier Monologues, which has been performed all over the US, and in France and the UK. In 2011, The Lonely Soldier inspired a class action suit against the Pentagon on behalf of military women and men who have been sexually assaulted while serving.

Her previous novels include The Edge of Eden, The Sailor’s Wife and Bad Angel.

Benedict’s books and articles have won the 2010 Exceptional Merit in

Reviews

[Noreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Benedict has translated her experiences researching and writing about refugees into this powerful novel. Beautifully written and often heart-breaking.

[Jill Dobbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful and fictional story based on truistic accounts of refugees on the island of Samos in Greece. The author uses her experiences researching refugees and refugee camps and turns them into a fascinating, dramatic, and all-too-realistic book.

Benedict writes about the harrowing adventures the refugees endured as they crossed the seas in flimsy-built boats, hooked up with crooked boat captains and smugglers who stole their money and the racism they felt from the locals who didn't want them on their island. However, the gist of the story was the strong relationships between the women who, despite what they had experienced find friendship with one another, giving each other hope as they fought for better lives outside of the refugee camp.

The Good Deed is an entertaining, nail-biter that reminds readers of what migrants and refugees are going through today as they leave their war-torn and impoverished countries hoping for better lives.

Thank you to Benedict, the publisher, and Netgalley for this ARC.

[Elizabeth O'Keefe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had a really hard time getting into this. I think the idea of the novel is great, but I think the writing style made it hard to get into.

Thank you NetGalley and Red Hen Press for my DRC.

[Violet Springs · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Good Deed is a powerful and deeply moving novel that unfolds amidst the poignant backdrop of an overcrowded refugee camp on the idyllic island of Samos in Greece in 2018. In this masterfully crafted narrative of the lives of five remarkable women, each with a unique and harrowing story to tell.

Amina has recently been released from one of Syria's nightmarish secret prisons under Bashar al-Assad's rule. Her journey to freedom is a testament to her resilience and strength. Leila, a Syrian widow grappling with the loss of her daughter and granddaughter to ruthless smugglers on a Turkish beach. Her determination to protect her two young sons is heart-wrenching and inspiring.

Nafisa having survived the horrors of civil war and brutal gang rape in Sudan, emerges as a pillar of strength, having lost her entire family except for one precious daughter. Farah, Leila's long-lost daughter, is another central character in this narrative, and her quest for reunion and closure drives a significant portion of the plot. Hilma, an American who has fled to Samos from New York, carrying her dark secret. Her intentions to help the refugees lead her to a complex and deeply affecting conflict, as she grapples with the very people she seeks to assist.

The storytelling is nothing short of remarkable. She weaves the voices of these women into a lyrical and emotionally charged narrative, seamlessly alternating between their perspectives. The result is a profound exploration of their daily lives in the refugee camp, as well as their deeply resonant backstories—stories of family, love, secrets, violence, war, and flight.

What sets this book apart is its unflinching examination of hope in the face of adversity and the world's often-hostile stance towards refugees. Benedict also explores the complexities that arise when trying to help others, revealing the intricate web of human connections that emerge in times of crisis.

At its core, it is a testament to the enduring bonds between mothers and children and the transformative power of friendship. Through its heartfelt storytelling, this novel shines a spotlight on the humanity and resilience that persist even in the darkest of circumstances.

It is a beautifully written and emotionally charged work of contemporary fiction. It sheds light on the indomitable spirit of individuals forced to flee their homes and navigate the complexities of a refugee camp, all while highlighting the extraordinary capacity for hope, healing, and connection in the face of unimaginable challenges.

[Beatrice Tibaldini · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that powerfully tells the story of refugees. We are on the island of Samos in Greece, where the author is conducting a series of investigations into the numerous refugees who have arrived there in search of a better life.

Thanks to his research and the immense human element embedded in his writing style, the story is very evocative. Many of the images described and brought to the readers' minds have a strong emotional impact because they depict the hardships these people face, their past, and sometimes the brutalities they had to endure to set foot on Greek soil.

The characters' stories in this novel blend seamlessly, weaving a dense and moving narrative that is greatly enhanced and strengthened by the portrayal of courageous and strong women in their wanderings.

This is a story that deals a lot with the past and the desire to look to the future to color heartbreaking stories with hope. At the same time, it serves as a valuable reminder of what people flee from when they choose—voluntarily or not, often being victims of circumstances and the impossibility of living in their war-torn and unstable home countries—to undertake such a desperate journey into the unknown.

A detailed article will be published in June on my Medium blog and social media. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to read this novel, which I appreciated in every aspect.

[Randy Cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

While reading The Good Deed, I was reminded of Continental Drift by Russell Banks. In that masterwork, Banks alternates the narrative between a blue-collar worker trying to find purpose in his life and a Haitian woman trying to sneak into America. Tragedy happens when these two plots converge. Likewise, Benedict alternates her narrative between an American artist visiting Greece in an attempt to distance herself from tragedy, and a group of refugees who are seeking asylum in Greece but are forced to stay in a hellish refugee camp while they potentially wait years for a hearing. Unfortunately, the comparisons with Continental Drift end with that storytelling structure. The first half of The Good Deed details how the main cast of refugees made their way to the camp, and the endless litany of horrors soon becomes numbing. The chapters focusing on Hilma have an interesting premise, that we see her good intentions turn into a delusional crusade that threatens to tear a family apart, but those also end up not being satisfying, the drama culminating in a revelation most readers will have guessed and is only explored for a couple of pages.

[Michele Herman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Good Deed is the best novel I’ve read in a very long time, and I’m a veteran writing teacher who reads a lot of good literary fiction.

I bow down before Benedict. She is equally adept at writing lovely sentences; creating an international cast of distinct, complex, smart characters who tag team as narrators; opening readers’ eyes to the collateral horrors of war without a single note of preachiness; and building so much suspense that my husband kept checking to be sure I was okay—apparently I was sucking in my breath repeatedly. All of this set on an idyllic Greek island where the migrant camp up the hill is bursting at the seams with traumatized people just trying to survive with an iota of dignity.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeously written, this deeply researched novel weaves a gripping and suspenseful about of a fateful collision between four women from very different circumstances. One is a tourist on the run from her past; the other three are refugees, stranded indefinitely in a refugee camp on the same Greek island. All four, in very different ways, are in search of refuge, and become embroiled in a desperate struggle for family, redemption and survival.

The depth of the author’s research makes each character’s world vivid and specific, as a result showing the devastation from which flee— and the humanity, resilience, complexity and bonds of love that sustain them through inhuman circumstances.

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

A tragic story very likely based on real experiences that's plagued by over-explanation, the tragedy of the plot is overshadowed by a slog-fest middle that crawls at a snail pace to the last act. Although the last act was definitely the best and most interesting part of the book, the journey it took to get there made the 300 page book feel like it has 600 pages and I ultimately finished the book feeling relieved that it has finally finished.

Also, the white savior complexes in this book... Wowee.

[Barbara Tsipouras · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an engaging novel set on the beautiful island of Samos in Greece. Four women, four different life stories full of grief. Helen Benedict describes all these points of view in a gripping little novel that will make you think differently about all these refugees who nearly drown trying to find a better life - only to find themselves in new very difficult circumstances.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling and important story.

[Heidi Duncanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling book weaving together the stories of refugees and an American tourist who stumbles into their midst. Experiences felt very authentic bases on the author's background.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, the voice of each character is as distinct and compelling as each of their stories.

[Angelique · Rating 5 out of 5]

I often think we move past grief so quickly that we don’t sit with it enough. This book helped me sit in my grief. A truly remarkable story of heartbreak and strength.

[Alisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written and gives a window into the refugee experience, but so depressing it took me 4 months to get through. The ending was anticlimactic.

[larryyy · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING

[Likestotravel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully written, heartbreaking novel about refugees - of countries, political strife, and devastating family situations. This interwoven story explores situations that others face as they seek better circumstances - whether for honor, asylum or self-care - and explores how misunderstandings, culture, and ego can impact those circumstances with irreparable harm. The Good Deed explores many aspects of a topic that we rarely glimpse except through representation such as in this poignant novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Red Hen Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.