by Stephen Carter

isbn: 0375413634
subject: Fiction and Literature
finished: 12/2/2002

Stephen Carter's first work of fiction depicts an Ivy League law professor who, upon the death of his father, is unwillingly pulled into a web of intrigue. Talcott Garland is an interesting character: he's cantankerous, judgemental, obsessive, and highly conservative. He's also a doting father and a loving husband despite his wife's infidelity. The dominant complaints I have heard about this book concern its length and lack of tight editing. I find these to be weak criticisms -- Talcott's musings and monologues are usually entertaining and always interesting. This is good material, and folks who want a John Grisham novel should just go find one. Carter's book does, however, conform to genre expectations in that things eventually come to a head and there is gunfire and a villain who feels the need to explain himself. I felt that this was handled well, and in the end there is a sense of Talcott having learned from his experiences and having been changed by them; he's a real character rather than a foil for a convoluted novel. Last but not least, I enjoyed Carter's description of upper-class Black society in Washington. Recommended.