Grand Central Publishing, 2008
The Gate House by Nelson DeMille has all the elements of a successful summer beach read. The timing is perfect. The paperback version should be out just in time for the summer of 2009. There is a lot of sex; he does wait until the second page for the first episode. There are mafia dons, murder, divorce, reconciliation, alcohol -- Did I mention lots of sex? -- in-law troubles, and rich families down on their luck, or not. And, there are 71 chapters spread over the four parts of this novel, through 674 pages.
Return to the Gold Coast
Following nearly 20 years later, this is a sequel to DeMille's successful The Gold Coast, which introduced readers to nearly all of the characters in this novel. John Sutter is the central character again. He has returned to the eponymous "Gold Coast" of Long Island. This is appropriate since it was at John Sutter's mill where gold was found, killing the gold rush in North Carolina and starting the big one in California. Sutter has been gone 10 years since the events of the last novel. His ex-wife had murdered Frank Bellarosa, a mafia don for whom Sutter acted as a tax lawyer. She was never charged because the FBI had more important things to consider. Sutter got on his sailboat and sailed around the world for three years before settling in London where he has worked as a tax lawyer for the past seven years. The characters are consistent with who they were in the previous novel.
The Gate House by Nelson DeMille has all the elements of a successful summer beach read. The timing is perfect. The paperback version should be out just in time for the summer of 2009. There is a lot of sex; he does wait until the second page for the first episode. There are mafia dons, murder, divorce, reconciliation, alcohol -- Did I mention lots of sex? -- in-law troubles, and rich families down on their luck, or not. And, there are 71 chapters spread over the four parts of this novel, through 674 pages.
Return to the Gold Coast
Following nearly 20 years later, this is a sequel to DeMille's successful The Gold Coast, which introduced readers to nearly all of the characters in this novel. John Sutter is the central character again. He has returned to the eponymous "Gold Coast" of Long Island. This is appropriate since it was at John Sutter's mill where gold was found, killing the gold rush in North Carolina and starting the big one in California. Sutter has been gone 10 years since the events of the last novel. His ex-wife had murdered Frank Bellarosa, a mafia don for whom Sutter acted as a tax lawyer. She was never charged because the FBI had more important things to consider. Sutter got on his sailboat and sailed around the world for three years before settling in London where he has worked as a tax lawyer for the past seven years. The characters are consistent with who they were in the previous novel.
We learn these facts and so many more as Sutter narrates the story for us. This is a major weakness of the novel. We go back to the basics too often. Here are the major plot lines:
- Will John and Susan reconcile?
- Will Anthony Bellarosa, Frank's son and a minor don, get revenge for his father's murder?
- What are the contents of a mysterious, often-mentioned letter an old servant has addressed to John with instructions to open only on her death? John has returned from London to settle her will once she dies.
- Will Susan's parents prevail in their hatred of John and will they disinherit Susan if she persists in reconciling with John?
Obscured by Words
The original novel was only 500 pages. Adding 35% to the mix was not an improvement. Judicious editing could have held this effort to a more manageable number of pages and the story, which is not without merit, would have been tighter and more direct. There is a plot and there is a purpose but the light is hidden under a bushel of words. For example, Sutter says something that is in quotation marks, then there is an explanation of what he really wanted to say. This is a time-honored literary technique, but not with nearly every statement, especially in the early going. Sadly, This level of prolixity was not necessary. The four epigraphs which adorn each part are so perfect they convey in few words what DeMille takes thousands of words to convey. For example, Part I is preceded by this quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald: "So we beat on, boats against the current, born back ceaseless into the past." He even tells us it is from The Great Gatsby, and that sums up the milieu of the entire novel. Two apropos quotes frame Part IV, the final act in this drama: "Honor thy father and mother." Exodus 20:12 and "I tell you there's a wall ten feet thick and ten miles high between parent and child." George Bernard Shaw, "Misalliance."
The original novel was only 500 pages. Adding 35% to the mix was not an improvement. Judicious editing could have held this effort to a more manageable number of pages and the story, which is not without merit, would have been tighter and more direct. There is a plot and there is a purpose but the light is hidden under a bushel of words. For example, Sutter says something that is in quotation marks, then there is an explanation of what he really wanted to say. This is a time-honored literary technique, but not with nearly every statement, especially in the early going. Sadly, This level of prolixity was not necessary. The four epigraphs which adorn each part are so perfect they convey in few words what DeMille takes thousands of words to convey. For example, Part I is preceded by this quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald: "So we beat on, boats against the current, born back ceaseless into the past." He even tells us it is from The Great Gatsby, and that sums up the milieu of the entire novel. Two apropos quotes frame Part IV, the final act in this drama: "Honor thy father and mother." Exodus 20:12 and "I tell you there's a wall ten feet thick and ten miles high between parent and child." George Bernard Shaw, "Misalliance."
Ultimately, the plot lines are reconciled as all the actors are brought together. The mysterious letter, which we have heard about since the early pages, finally comes to John Sutter, and deus ex machina, at least two major plot lines are solved. Naturally, all's well that ends well.
All that having been said, I enjoyed reading this novel. It was good, simple escapist prose, which asks the reader to do no more than follow the story as it moves along to its ultimate conclusion. Thick as it is, it can easily be read in a day with time left over.
All that having been said, I enjoyed reading this novel. It was good, simple escapist prose, which asks the reader to do no more than follow the story as it moves along to its ultimate conclusion. Thick as it is, it can easily be read in a day with time left over.
