So start but well worth the wait

books:


	• New England White (Vintage Contemporaries) Stephen L. Carter Vintage, 2008 - 640 pages average customer review:based on 55 reviews view larger image
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So start but well worth the wait

Slow to catch my interest, but then well worth the wait. At times the multiple characters and plot a bit confusing, but complex characters and plot retains interest until the end. The slant of political manipulation makes this book quite current and makes one realize things aren't always the way they seem. Good read!

Glad I Persevered

I, like others, slogged through the first 150 or so pages and thought I'd die of boredom. I rarely stop reading a book, but this one I couldn't continue. In fact, I started another book and read 200 pages of it, but New England White kept creeping into my thoughts. I picked it up again and am glad I did. It has been the most interesting, convoluted book I have read and enjoyed in a long time. Look forward to more by this author.

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Pretty good, but somewhat dull

I originally purchased this book because of an interview they had with the author on NPR. The interviewer stated that it was basically a mystery, but with subtle racial undertones. After reading the book, I think that I disagree on this - the racial events of the book seem to be very overt and "in-your-face". I didn't like this about the book at all. I thought that the scenes, and the character's overt racial comments, such as Frank Carrington constantly mentioning to Julia that he "wished there were more of your people in the town," made the book somewhat fantastical. (Albeit, I don't live in New England, so if this actually happens in New England, then I suppose it's possible that the book is more accurate than I realize).

Some of the characters are really interesting. I found the secretary, Trevor Land, to be interesting in a small person, manipulating sort of way. In my opinion, the most interesting character of the book was the daughter Vanessa. Her psychological problems weren't clearly resolved in the end, I don't think. Perhaps doing more with her relationship to Gina Joule would have been better. I would have liked to see Mr. Carter depict more about her talking with the dead girl, perhaps trying to front the knowledge of the case through her, or something like that.

Overall, I think the book is well written, and definitely worth reading. I don't know if it's a book I'd think was absolutely necessary to keep on my bookshelf. There are a lot of interesting economic ideas in it - I can tell Stephen Carter did his research. Unfortunately, it wasn't what I expected, as it tends to delve too much into political intrigue, and less into an actual "whodunnit", for my taste. Perhaps getting it from the library and reading it would've been better.

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Worth reading

The story begins with a African-American couple (Julia and Lemaster Carlyle) having a car accident, then discovering the body of a man (Kellen Zant) who was left off the side of the road. The couple know the man. Julia once had a relationship with Zant. As the story progresses Julia becomes involved in solving the mystery of Zant's death. Before his death, Zant provided clues for Julia to solve a conspiracy lasting more than 30 years.

I enjoyed the book though not as much as I had The Emperor of Ocean Park. This was not a direct sequel to Emperor but does have a familiar name or two within its pages. One of the problems with the story in my opinion is that the author included characters and settings that really weren't relevent to the overall mystery and did not move the plot forward. It slowed the pacing of the story and at times became a distraction. Dispite the distractions, Stephen L. Carter put together an excellent mystery, gave rich descriptions and strong characters.

Lost Hours
The Friday House
Xiii

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Lemaster Carlyle, the president of the country's most prestigious university, and his wife, Julie, the divinity school's deputy dean, are America's most prominent and powerful African American couple. Driving home through a swirling blizzard late one night, the couple skids off the road. Near the sight of their accident they discover a dead body. To her horror, Julia recognizes the body as a prominent academic and one of her former lovers. In the wake of the death, the icy veneer of their town Elm Harbor, a place Julie calls "the heart of whiteness," begins to crack, having devastating consequences for a prominent local family and sending shock waves all the way to the White House.

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