Rating: 
Summary: Great First Novel, with a few flaws
Review: I think Stephen Carter has written a great first novel. That he could find the time to teach law at Yale, write nonfiction books, and write this legal thriller is amazing. The book is a bit overlong, yet it is fascinating in its description of the African American bourgeoisie of Washington D.C., even for those of us quite familiar with them (people like me, having attended college with the same crowd, at Brown, and also being the son of an African American physician). It also gives a great window into the academic legal community that I never knew about. To see how even in elite legal circles politicking goes on, and that even African Americans of the stature and achievement of a Carter must fight condescension, is revealing. And it told me about what I long suspected due to the experiences of my college classmates who went on to prestigious law firms. That it really isn't worth it, working in such circles. The only criticisms I have are that Carter suffers from what so many African American authors seem to suffer from: the need to impress Caucasians with how well-read they are. If his views are anything like his main character, Talcott, he also seems to feel as though African Americans shouldn't be so quick to mimick their Caucasian oppressors. I see such a tendency as totally understandable, at the same time that it repulses me. Thus, I will defend their right to be petty and overly obsessed with status at the same time that I refuse to participate. We need to lighten up on ourselves. All told, again, this is an impressive first novel. I look forward to Carter's next.
Rating:
Summary: a 3.9 on a scale of 1 to 5-Excellent in parts but too long
Review: I like long books. However, I like them when there is a reason for length-War and Peace for example. This book just needed a strong editor to cut out the fat.
However, the bones of this book are excellent. Carter depicts the upper crust of African American society in unsparing, and at times unflattering, detail. He has an intelligent, low key sense of humor that keeps you chuckling throughout the book. I particularly appreciated and relished the descriptions of the hero's wife "Kimmer," a woman who belongs in books on other segments of contemporary upper middle class society such as "The Nanny Diaries," and "The Devil Wears Prada."
I also found the legal mystery aspect of this book entertaining. Grisham structures better and faster paced plots. However, Carter has a more intelligent and thoughtful take on the genre.
I would recommend this book for several different types of readers. If you are interested in immersing yourself in one demographic of today's society-the well educated, affluent African American population with their winter homes in connecticut and summer homes in Martha's Vineyard-you will enjoy this book. If you like legal thrillers, you should like "Emperor," though that depends on your patience level. Once again, be prepared for a lengthy and meandering read-if you want fast paced, Thurow and Grisham are your men. Finally, if you enjoy an intelligent, thoughtful, self-deprecating hero, and you want to see the world from his vantage point, "Emperor" will satisfy you.
Rating: 
Summary: Stick with Grisham/Turow
Review: Stephen Carter is a well-known African American legal scholar, and this first novel, a legal mystery, offers an intriguing glimpse of upper middle class black society. It's well-written and gets off to a promising start, but bogs down pretty quickly, as the author tries to unravel the tangle of his father's life, and at the same time deal with an unfaithful and pretty nasty wife, his failures as a professor, impenetrable faculty politics, a crazy family, being frequently followed, and his anger at his own race. Carter's rather astute observations of this segment of American society are overwhelmed by a complex plot and multiple characters, and I was soon skimming through it just to get to the end, which I thought was fairly improbable. I kept thinking some of the plot lines were heading somewhere--that Talcott's self-obsessed, unfaithful wife, would end up being on his side, for example, or hand him the clue, or turn out to have been faithful after all--but no--she's as unlikeable at the end as she is at the beginning. And the mysterious Maxine--a new love interest perhaps? But she drops out as quickly as she dropped into the plot. If you're stuck in the airport you might pick it up, but if there's a Grisham or Turow you haven't read yet, go for that instead.
Rating: 
Summary: How does this compare to Grisham????
Review: Usually don'tlike mainstream novels but this one was an exception.
Does Grisham write this well?
If so which books?Will Sperry
Rating:
Summary: Much more than a suspense book...
Review: This book started out a bit slow, but the author's keen observations about relationships, race, and human nature, along with the intriguing plot, kept me turning those pages, and boy was it worth it! I usually find whodunnit-type books boring, but Carter has such an interesting way of looking at things that I found myself reading as much for the thought-provoking situations and thoughts of his characters as for the suspenseful ending.
Rating:
Summary: The best I've read in ages
Review: It's so refreshing to read a book about African-American characters who are complex and literate. This is a slow starter, but those who stick with it will be rewarded with a page-turning plot, and characters that seem ever so real. The murder mystery is not the point here, but the family dynamics will really draw you in. If you like a good read, BUY THIS BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: Glad I made it through
Review: This is not a novel for anyone looking for a quick read. The book is well over 600 pages, contains 60+ chapters. I listened to the book on CD, all 20 CDs. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the novel. Like just about everyone here, I found the book to be a little long, and for those who enjoyed it the "arrangements" kept me listening to the bitter end. I would recommend this novel to others. My only added suggestion is that you might need a dictionary to understand some of the words (smile).
Rating:
Summary: the endless read
Review: So Mr. Carter has a prestious vocabulary.........I actually had to renew this book at the library to get through it. In my opinion all of the characters in this drawn out "who cares?" saga deserve each other. Talk about getting a life! I was determined to finish this opus as I hate to be defeated by any author but it was touch and go all along. Other books were beckoning and perhaps I should have heeded the call. Never again unless Mr. Carter is able to write something under 400 pages.
Rating:
Summary: first rate thriller- (some may enjoy the abridged CD better)
Review: Yale law professor Steven L. Carter's first novel, The Emperor of Ocean Park is a hard book for people to classify. It is both a first-rate literary novel and a page turning thriller. Although the book can definitely be classified as "African American Literature," it is likely to please lovers of traditional legal fiction. One thing that is book is not is a typical popular thriller. Throughout the book, Carter takes pains to distance himself from the better selling thriller authors such Grisham, Patterson, and Turow. To his uninitiated readers, Carter introduces what he refers to as "The Darker Nation." This is the segregated upper class of blacks that, before integration, vacationed in the black areas of the Hamptons and Martha's Vineyard and played on Black Country clubs. One of the most politically influential and prominent families in "the Darker nation" is the Garland family. The story begins with the death of the family's iconic patriarch, Oliver Garland, a corrupt and disgraced federal judge who once was nominated for the Supreme Court. The scope of this novel is amazing. It spends an equal amount of time exploring the upper crust of 'the Darker Nation,' the halls of an Ivy League law school, and the power offices of in Wahington DC. Carter uses an interesting Chess problem 'The Excelsior" as a thematic metaphor for Talcott solving the mystery of 'the arrangements.' Although the scope of the novel is impressive, the heart of any mystery is the logic and the details. This is where Carter deserves the gold medal. There are no loose ends in this book. Every major character has a role to play in the conspiracy or in helping (or hurting) Talcott in his task of solving it. The mark of a truly great mystery is that the careful reader can determine the answer before the conclusion of the book, based on the clues the author leaves in the text. I must admit, that I read this book twice. I listened to an abridged version on CD in the car and I enjoyed it so much I read it after that. The only thing taking away from this book is that Carter is too wordy and longwinded. I assume this is either a symptom of his law professor background or an unnecessary attempt to distinguish himself from more popular authors of legal fiction. The audio abridgment of The Emperor of Ocean Park a much 'tighter' novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Officious Tedium
Review: Yes-It is way too long, but, moreover, Mr. Carter seems much more intent on developing in the reader appreciation for Carter's knowledge of law(ho hum)and his knowledge of chess(HO HUM)than in really developing characters that are either likeable or believable.The protagonist is a pontificating jerk. His wife has to be an airhead to fall for a pretty dumb basketball player-and she's a potential U.S.Circuit Court nominee-I don't think so! The rest of the characters are the biggest conglomeration of misfits, wierdos, neurotics and crooks I ever read about, especially "the family". I also am a lawyer, a chess player and have taught at prestigious law schools, and, frankly, law faculty and lawyers generally just ain't this bad. First time out-hope it's the last.
|
