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The Apology
Adrian Pomeroy teaches English at an all-boys school 'full of bullshit artists in blazers'. When he finds himself at the centre of an allegation that might end his career, his life starts to unravel in spectacular fashion. With a police investigation underway, Adrian turns to his detective brother for help, but Noel is battling crippling demons of his own.
As the repercussions of this one accusation lead to the implosion of Adrian's family, he can no longer ignore the secrets buried in his own past. The Apology is an explosive and shocking portrait of the lies we tell ourselves and each other in order to survive.
As the repercussions of this one accusation lead to the implosion of Adrian's family, he can no longer ignore the secrets buried in his own past. The Apology is an explosive and shocking portrait of the lies we tell ourselves and each other in order to survive.
248 pages, Paperback
First published July 30, 2018
59 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 11, 2018
The Apology (UQP 2018), the debut novel by Ross Watkins, is a mesmerising psychological suspense family drama that explores memory – what we choose to remember, what we choose to forget and what we decide to reframe – and navigates the difficult territory of childhood trauma and the legacy it imprints into adulthood. This is a taut and tightly-controlled narrative that very cleverly doesn’t say too much, but leaves much to the reader’s imagination, with tense pacing that dares you to put it down. It is a story that poses many moral questions and does so by presenting views of the past from many facets and perspectives. With chapters from the viewpoints of different key characters, the reader is confronted with a complex dilemma – how to understand past actions which contradict the moral code; how to comprehend motivations we find difficult to accept.
At the centre of the story is Adrian Pomeroy, an English teacher accused of inappropriate behaviour. Circling him are other significant characters: Alex, a troubled student; Noel, Adrian’s brother coping with his own damning past; Nguyet and Tam, Adrian’s wife and child, undone by their family’s grief; and Riley, Noel’s trans son, coming to terms with his own identity. As the repercussions of Adrian’s actions shatter his family, and as he and Noel face up to their own actions of 30 years earlier, long-held secrets are unearthed, and lies and truths are exposed. With a critical and knowing eye, the story examines the powder keg ecosystem of school life, the emotional tinderbox of family life, and the dangerous sparks that could set everything alight.
Some of the first words Adrian utters in this book are ‘I’m sorry’. This story is about apologies and betrayal, about deception and forgiveness. It is about the lies we tell ourselves in order to survive the past, the truths we ignore in order to live in the now, and the people we protect in order to go forward into the future. This book will make you question your own recollections of childhood events, and make you think twice about the genesis of the actions of others. How much of our behaviour can be excused by past transgressions against us? What is the legacy of that behaviour on the future sins of others? What does it take to break the cycle? And whose responsibility is it to do so?
This book grabbed hold of all my expectations and shook them around. I felt compassion and understanding in unexpected places. I began to second-guess my own reactions and question my preconceptions. This book really made me think.
At the centre of the story is Adrian Pomeroy, an English teacher accused of inappropriate behaviour. Circling him are other significant characters: Alex, a troubled student; Noel, Adrian’s brother coping with his own damning past; Nguyet and Tam, Adrian’s wife and child, undone by their family’s grief; and Riley, Noel’s trans son, coming to terms with his own identity. As the repercussions of Adrian’s actions shatter his family, and as he and Noel face up to their own actions of 30 years earlier, long-held secrets are unearthed, and lies and truths are exposed. With a critical and knowing eye, the story examines the powder keg ecosystem of school life, the emotional tinderbox of family life, and the dangerous sparks that could set everything alight.
Some of the first words Adrian utters in this book are ‘I’m sorry’. This story is about apologies and betrayal, about deception and forgiveness. It is about the lies we tell ourselves in order to survive the past, the truths we ignore in order to live in the now, and the people we protect in order to go forward into the future. This book will make you question your own recollections of childhood events, and make you think twice about the genesis of the actions of others. How much of our behaviour can be excused by past transgressions against us? What is the legacy of that behaviour on the future sins of others? What does it take to break the cycle? And whose responsibility is it to do so?
This book grabbed hold of all my expectations and shook them around. I felt compassion and understanding in unexpected places. I began to second-guess my own reactions and question my preconceptions. This book really made me think.
December 23, 2018
What is says on the front of this book and the synopsis on the back is a little too far removed from the inside of the book. It sounded great, started off quite well when Adrian Pomeroy was accused of doing something to Alex “Akker” Bowman a student in his yeat 11 English class.
It was never revealed what that “something” was but that didn’t really matter as the book was more about Adrian’s family dynamics and secrets from the past which were hinted at but never fully revealed, not to my satisfaction anyway.
Each chapter has a different character, mostly the two brothers Adrian and Noel. A few chapters were devoted to Akker. Both wives got a chapter, Adrian’s Vietnamese mail order bride and Wendy, Noel’s wife. Glenda the mother of the brothers got a chapter. Riley who is or was Noel and Wendy’s twelve year old daughter, now son got a chapter.
I felt I got to know the characters and I didn’t particularly like any of them but the whole book fluffed around the actual issues which left me wondering what did I actually read when I finished it.
It was never revealed what that “something” was but that didn’t really matter as the book was more about Adrian’s family dynamics and secrets from the past which were hinted at but never fully revealed, not to my satisfaction anyway.
Each chapter has a different character, mostly the two brothers Adrian and Noel. A few chapters were devoted to Akker. Both wives got a chapter, Adrian’s Vietnamese mail order bride and Wendy, Noel’s wife. Glenda the mother of the brothers got a chapter. Riley who is or was Noel and Wendy’s twelve year old daughter, now son got a chapter.
I felt I got to know the characters and I didn’t particularly like any of them but the whole book fluffed around the actual issues which left me wondering what did I actually read when I finished it.
February 9, 2021
Holy moly this book was amazing. I wasn't sure what to expect when I bought this book as the blurb doesn't give away too much, but I was not disappointed I was hooked from the first page. Highly recommend :)
October 30, 2023
this was bone-chilling
August 9, 2018
This book packs a punch.
Adrian is a high school English teacher somewhere in western Sydney at an all-boys school. For the most part, the students seem apathetic but every now and then you get one that you think you might be able to make a difference with. After almost a decade in the job, Adrian is called into the principal’s office and told that there’s an allegation against him. It’s the sort of allegation that ends careers, means jail time and destroys lives. He’s placed on leave effective immediately and then has to deal with a police investigation and the fallout with his wife and family.
The narrative is split between quite a few characters – Adrian, Adrian’s brother Noel, Noel’s wife Wendy, the person who makes the allegations, Adrian and Noel’s mother Glenda, one of Noel and Wendy’s children, and Adrian’s wife. Noel is a police officer and he and his family live in Perth but they travel to Sydney to be there during Adrian’s time of trouble, which brings an awful lot of unresolved issues and childhood incidents bubbling to the surface.
There’s so much this book is addressing – adolescence and the struggle of identity and sexuality, family relationships and dynamics, childhood sexual abuse, domestic violence, gender identity, it’s quite a list. But the way in which it is written makes each issue feel thoughtfully explored and even though this isn’t a long book, it doesn’t feel rushed or crammed full. Each of the characters are given ample time for the reader to gain insight into them, their thoughts and feelings, actions and their relationships to other characters. It’s messy and complicated at times, but what family isn’t?
The book seems deliberately ambiguous in the beginning as to whether or not Adrian might be guilty of what he’s accused of, like it’s encouraging the reader to make a snap decision based on what they know of Adrian so far (which actually isn’t much – and there are a couple of scenes that are enough to ask the question) but it is almost like it’s not about that. The allegations are simply a means to an end, a catalyst that brings Noel and his family back over the east coast and the issues between him and Adrian rising to the surface. I didn’t expect a lot of what unfolded over the course of the novel – there were definitely some surprise and it kept me guessing how things were going to pan out. Adrian has cause to feel very wronged by Noel from their childhood and it’s clear that there’s never been a discussion or conversation about what happened when they were both children.
I was in two minds about a lot of what happened in this book – and I liked that. It made me really think about a lot of things, such as the young teen that makes the accusation towards Adrian at the beginning of the book. It’s easy to go one way in your thoughts but then there’s more of a background and I think that there was a real struggle going on in that boy’s mind and the lines just got very blurred. It was almost like a cry for attention, to be noticed in some ways – that’s not okay and it’s not the right way to go about it and strict boundaries have to be in place for many reasons. But I still couldn’t help feeling for him and the mess of negotiating high school in that situation. I’m reluctant to say too much because it’d be really easy to spoil things about this book!
Forgiveness is a funny thing – sometimes you give it without even thinking about it. And other times it can be the hardest thing in the world to truly forgive someone for something that they’ve done. This book poses the question that how much is too much to forgive and I feel that there were truly some forgiving people in this story. It’s interesting that the person who often struggled in this story, was the one seeking or needing the forgiveness, not necessarily the person who had been wronged. Or maybe their struggle was just less obvious, something that they’d learned to deal with in a more effective way. Guilt can be a very powerful thing as well. The longer things are left, the more invasive they can become.
This book builds slowly but expertly, ramping up the tension with each new chapter and each new reveal and development. It’s a total page turner – there were so many things I wanted to know, so many things I wanted to see resolved. And like I mentioned, it went places I really didn’t expect. The ending isn’t perfect, but it’s an ending that the story seems to warrant. Not everyone is destined to come out unscathed.
I really enjoyed this and I’ll definitely be looking out for Ross Watkins’ next book.
***A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of an honest review***
Adrian is a high school English teacher somewhere in western Sydney at an all-boys school. For the most part, the students seem apathetic but every now and then you get one that you think you might be able to make a difference with. After almost a decade in the job, Adrian is called into the principal’s office and told that there’s an allegation against him. It’s the sort of allegation that ends careers, means jail time and destroys lives. He’s placed on leave effective immediately and then has to deal with a police investigation and the fallout with his wife and family.
The narrative is split between quite a few characters – Adrian, Adrian’s brother Noel, Noel’s wife Wendy, the person who makes the allegations, Adrian and Noel’s mother Glenda, one of Noel and Wendy’s children, and Adrian’s wife. Noel is a police officer and he and his family live in Perth but they travel to Sydney to be there during Adrian’s time of trouble, which brings an awful lot of unresolved issues and childhood incidents bubbling to the surface.
There’s so much this book is addressing – adolescence and the struggle of identity and sexuality, family relationships and dynamics, childhood sexual abuse, domestic violence, gender identity, it’s quite a list. But the way in which it is written makes each issue feel thoughtfully explored and even though this isn’t a long book, it doesn’t feel rushed or crammed full. Each of the characters are given ample time for the reader to gain insight into them, their thoughts and feelings, actions and their relationships to other characters. It’s messy and complicated at times, but what family isn’t?
The book seems deliberately ambiguous in the beginning as to whether or not Adrian might be guilty of what he’s accused of, like it’s encouraging the reader to make a snap decision based on what they know of Adrian so far (which actually isn’t much – and there are a couple of scenes that are enough to ask the question) but it is almost like it’s not about that. The allegations are simply a means to an end, a catalyst that brings Noel and his family back over the east coast and the issues between him and Adrian rising to the surface. I didn’t expect a lot of what unfolded over the course of the novel – there were definitely some surprise and it kept me guessing how things were going to pan out. Adrian has cause to feel very wronged by Noel from their childhood and it’s clear that there’s never been a discussion or conversation about what happened when they were both children.
I was in two minds about a lot of what happened in this book – and I liked that. It made me really think about a lot of things, such as the young teen that makes the accusation towards Adrian at the beginning of the book. It’s easy to go one way in your thoughts but then there’s more of a background and I think that there was a real struggle going on in that boy’s mind and the lines just got very blurred. It was almost like a cry for attention, to be noticed in some ways – that’s not okay and it’s not the right way to go about it and strict boundaries have to be in place for many reasons. But I still couldn’t help feeling for him and the mess of negotiating high school in that situation. I’m reluctant to say too much because it’d be really easy to spoil things about this book!
Forgiveness is a funny thing – sometimes you give it without even thinking about it. And other times it can be the hardest thing in the world to truly forgive someone for something that they’ve done. This book poses the question that how much is too much to forgive and I feel that there were truly some forgiving people in this story. It’s interesting that the person who often struggled in this story, was the one seeking or needing the forgiveness, not necessarily the person who had been wronged. Or maybe their struggle was just less obvious, something that they’d learned to deal with in a more effective way. Guilt can be a very powerful thing as well. The longer things are left, the more invasive they can become.
This book builds slowly but expertly, ramping up the tension with each new chapter and each new reveal and development. It’s a total page turner – there were so many things I wanted to know, so many things I wanted to see resolved. And like I mentioned, it went places I really didn’t expect. The ending isn’t perfect, but it’s an ending that the story seems to warrant. Not everyone is destined to come out unscathed.
I really enjoyed this and I’ll definitely be looking out for Ross Watkins’ next book.
***A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of an honest review***
August 23, 2018
Adrian Pomeroy teaches English at an all-boys school ‘full of bullshit artists in blazers’. The starting point for this book is the nightmare for many teachers – an allegation of inappropriate sexual contact.
However, the book is really about the secrets and lies buried within a family and the ways in which childhood events can haunt adults.
One reviewer said: “…there are other problems and ‘skeletons’ that complicate the process. Certainly there is little black and white here, rather gradations of motive and involvement that are well and sensitively pursued. Apart from the student making the allegation, there is the treatment of the school setting and Adrian’s family including wives and children including one young trans – it was at this point I felt a little cluttered by this element though it was carefully explored.” (https://queerreaders.wordpress.com/)
Events are explored in a low key way. I quite enjoyed this book without being bowled over.
However, the book is really about the secrets and lies buried within a family and the ways in which childhood events can haunt adults.
One reviewer said: “…there are other problems and ‘skeletons’ that complicate the process. Certainly there is little black and white here, rather gradations of motive and involvement that are well and sensitively pursued. Apart from the student making the allegation, there is the treatment of the school setting and Adrian’s family including wives and children including one young trans – it was at this point I felt a little cluttered by this element though it was carefully explored.” (https://queerreaders.wordpress.com/)
Events are explored in a low key way. I quite enjoyed this book without being bowled over.
September 4, 2020
The Apology sat on my shelf for a little longer than it should have, but once I picked it up, I couldn’t stop reading. Ross’ writing is the kind that you read and wonder why you bother writing yourself, continually beckoning you back a few sentences, just to digest the words again, and again. It’s minimal yet has a sense of urgency; even though it’s not explicitly laid out, you know there’s something bubbling under the surface, teasing out the tension and building the story slowly. And just when you think you’ve got it figured out… you haven’t. :)
The plot of The Apology is centred around an allegation – but that’s not really what the book is about. It’s about family dynamics, memory, identity, abuse, forgiveness, and how the past never really leaves us. And, of course, it’s about apologies... but, as the cover says, how much is too much to forgive?
This is one of those books that makes you second guess your judgements – the kind you keep thinking about long after you’ve read it.
The plot of The Apology is centred around an allegation – but that’s not really what the book is about. It’s about family dynamics, memory, identity, abuse, forgiveness, and how the past never really leaves us. And, of course, it’s about apologies... but, as the cover says, how much is too much to forgive?
This is one of those books that makes you second guess your judgements – the kind you keep thinking about long after you’ve read it.
November 5, 2018
An exceptionally accomplished novel on many levels. For me the standouts were the believable characters, their behaviours, the connecting of the Pomeroy's family history with the present circumstances in their lives and the authenticity of the confusion around sexuality and gender. It would be simplistic to say that this book has a gay theme, however as a gay man who grew up in a sexually repressed period where being gay was a criminal offence, I connected very strongly with Alex's (Akker) responses to his sexuality. This isn't a story that takes a moral stand and yet the reader is drawn into contemplating a range of actions and behaviours which raise questions about values and provide insights into the characters and their identities. Powerful reading!
August 28, 2019
This is a terrific psychological thriller that builds tension beautifully and slaps you right in the face with its raw and troubling subject.
When a teacher in Sydney is accused of sexually abusing a student, a lifetime of issues within his own family, and especially his relationship with his brother (who lives in Perth) begin to unravel. The one accusation sets of a train of events and revelations that are shocking and sad - and the apology is not necessarily what you expect.
I thought it was brilliant. Clever, engaging and thought provoking. A great debut novel. I'll be looking out for more of his books.
When a teacher in Sydney is accused of sexually abusing a student, a lifetime of issues within his own family, and especially his relationship with his brother (who lives in Perth) begin to unravel. The one accusation sets of a train of events and revelations that are shocking and sad - and the apology is not necessarily what you expect.
I thought it was brilliant. Clever, engaging and thought provoking. A great debut novel. I'll be looking out for more of his books.
May 20, 2020
I did not enjoy reading this - here's a brief explanatory list:
-Reads like an uninspired AITSL vignette for the first half
-So many vaguely related plots and too many perspectives that result in too many loose ends to count. The glaring one: what really happened between Akker and Adrian? You know, the reason we began the story? Literally no explanation is given.
-Noel's many plotlines are totally unnecessary and so underdeveloped that they complicate the story with no payoff.
Ultimately, this book tries to cover way too many issues in too shallow a depth to really achieve anything meaningful. Would not recommend.
-Reads like an uninspired AITSL vignette for the first half
-So many vaguely related plots and too many perspectives that result in too many loose ends to count. The glaring one: what really happened between Akker and Adrian? You know, the reason we began the story? Literally no explanation is given.
-Noel's many plotlines are totally unnecessary and so underdeveloped that they complicate the story with no payoff.
Ultimately, this book tries to cover way too many issues in too shallow a depth to really achieve anything meaningful. Would not recommend.
February 28, 2019
Well written book by an Australian author with an interesting premise, but I felt it could've been much more fully fleshed out and the issues explored in more depth. Would be well suited to being adapted into a film.
August 23, 2018
Lindsay Bookclub 2018
March 28, 2019
3.5 stars
April 2, 2019
What a page-turner! I devoured this book, wanting to know what the apology was for...
I really enjoyed the author's writing style. Gripping and confronting.
I really enjoyed the author's writing style. Gripping and confronting.
April 6, 2020
For me it was a page turner, a well plotted out story. Looking forward to reading Ross's other work.
November 16, 2025
Brilliant novel!! Can’t stop reading it.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews