Starred review from April 22, 2002
Carter, a Yale law professor and distinguished conservative African-American intellectual known for his nonfiction (The Culture of Disbelief), has written a first-rate legal thriller guaranteed to broaden his audience. The narrator, Talcott Garland, is a law professor at Elm Harbor University whose occasional Carteresque editorializing about politics and justice are saved from didacticism by his abiding existential loneliness. The mystery at the heart of the novel stems from Tal's father's disgrace: Judge Oliver Garland (a Robert Bork meets Clarence Thomas type) was nominated by Ronald Reagan for a Supreme Court seat, but brought down in the Senate hearings when it was revealed that he had a friendship with Jack Ziegler, a wild-card former CIA agent now rumored to be an organized crime kingpin. When the judge dies of what looks like a heart attack and Ziegler turns up at his funeral, Tal is initiated into a quest to uncover mysterious "arrangements" his father made in the event of his untimely demise. Various shady entities observe Tal chasing down the judge's clues, which include a cryptic note ("you have little time.... Excelsior! It begins!") and derive from chess strategy. Meanwhile, Talcott is going through a rough patch: his wife, Kimmer, a high-powered attorney, is probably cheating on him, his Elm Harbor law school colleagues are suspicious of him and a fake FBI man is following him around. As Talcott digs deeper, he uncovers a vein of corruption that runs all the way to the top, and his own life becomes threatened. This thriller, which touches electrically on our sexual, racial and religious anxieties, will be the talk of the political in-crowd this summer. (June)Forecast:A dual main selection of BOMC, a main selection of QPB and an alternate selection of the Literary Guild, Mystery Guild and Black Expressions, this title should bring Carter the wide recognition he deserves as a novelist.
August 5, 2002
Audio reviews reflect PW's assessment of the audio adaptation of a book and should be quoted only in reference to the audio version. Fiction THE EMPEROR OF OCEAN PARK: A Novel Stephen L. Carter, read by Peter Francis James. Random House Audio, abridged, five CDs, 6 hrs., $29.95 ISBN 0-553-71338-8 In his first foray into fiction, Yale law professor and noted social commentator Carter (The Culture of Disbelief) spins an intriguing mystery full of sordid secrets in the halls of power. Talcott Garland, a law professor disenchanted with his home life and the politics of academia, has his life turned upside down upon the death of his father, whose nomination to the Supreme Court was rejected due to allegations of scandal. A series of shady characters seek Garland out for information on the cryptic "arrangements" his father had made, and Garland is drawn into a skein of danger. While the book itself perhaps overindulged in descriptions and proselytizing, the abridged audio offers a lean, top-notch thriller that's perfect for that long drive to the beach. James's style and tone are just right, and he skillfully inhabits various characters, portraying with equal resonance the smug ostentation of an Assistant Supreme Court Justice and the fuzzy confession of one of Garland's boozy, female cousins. No extraneous sound effects or rousing music are needed to heighten the action throughout, and none are supplied. Instead, the production rests on Carter's crisp, pared-down drama and James's skill at presenting it. Simultaneous release with the Knopf hardcover (Forecasts, Apr. 22).