The Emperor of Ocean Park

By: Stephen L. Carter

Narrated by: Richard Allen

Length: 26 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

In his triumphant fictional debut, Stephen Carter combines a large-scale, riveting novel of suspense with the saga of a unique family.

The Emperor of Ocean Park is set in two privileged worlds: the upper crust African American society of the Eastern seabord - families who summer at Martha’s Vineyard - and the inner circle of an Ivy League law school. Talcott Garland is a successful law professor, devoted father, and husband of a beautiful and ambitious woman, whose future desires may threaten the family he holds so dear. When Talcott’s father, Judge Oliver Garland, a disgraced former Supreme Court nominee, is found dead under suspicious circumstances, Talcott wonders if he may have been murdered.

Guided by the elements of a mysterious puzzle that his father left, Talcott must risk his marriage, his career and even his life in his quest for justice. Superbly written and filled with memorable characters, The Emperor of Ocean Park is both a stunning literary achievement and a grand literary entertainment.

©2002 Stephen L. Carter (P)2002 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A thrilling read, driven by a cocktail of plot and character." (The Observer)
"An elegantly nuanced novel, with finely drawn characters, a challenging plot, and perfect pacing." (Booklist)
"[A] complex literary thriller. Carter deftly weaves together several strands, from the relationships of father and sons and husbands and wives to the politics of the Nixon and Reagan eras." (Bookpage)

Good Book

This was a very long book but it wasgood. The book jumped around alot and had lots of characters , still good.

Too Many Chapters

This story could have been told in 35 chapters. It’s entirely too long. I checked out around chapter 30 and suffered through detail that if written appropriately would have been included in the 35 chapter already read.

Slow. Very slow, and not very interesting.

Reading The Emperor of Ocean park is an exercise in endurance. It is a very long listen by any standard (26 hours!) which is made even longer by a plot that develops at glacial speed and the flat personality of the main character. The descriptions of places and characters are unnecessarily belabored. There are very few "aha!" moments for the reader. The final scenes (the final hour or so) pick up a little steam, start flowing a little better and holding your attention a little more, but the ending was, in my opinion, disappointing.

If you are interested in gaining a view into the "glittery lives of Ivy League professors, etc. etc." (paraphrasing from the publisher's description), perhaps this would be an interesting read -- but it may feel more like homework.

If you are looking for complex characters, a suspenseful plot that leaves you hanging and eagerly waiting for the next chapter, and a shocking finale... look elsewhere.

Wore me out.

At first I liked this book because the narrator was so unlikeable - smug, self-centered, clueless - and yet because of his obvious weakenesses I identified with him. And it is so rare to see an unlikeable narrator in genre fiction. But as the book went on and on, the narrator's ponitification (his presentation of pet peeves as dire warnings of social decay) wore me out. Ultimately, what could have been an enjoyable and informative read, became an apologia for self-serving and passive melancholy.

Slow thriller

Take for ever for the writer to develop the trama. I lot of words without meaning. Boring!

Oh my goodness put me out of this misery

Do not waste a book credit or even 37 cents on this audio book. The plot has some interest at times, but, goodness it goes on forever along tangents that are incomprehensible. The author wrote some wretched dialog and I'm still trying to figure out why the law professor husband didn't just sue and divorce his adulterous wife. Character development was non existent. I never did listen to the end and I don't even care.

Long, drawn-out and not particularly satisfying

This is a curious book - it's not really a thriller as the plot is too thin and there's little action. But then it's not really a literary novel either, which is what it seems to have pretensions to be. As others have commented, the narrator evinces littles sympathy. In fact, none of the characters does. A more self-centred, obnoxious bunch you'd be hard-pressed to find. Where the book works best is in the description of a troubled marriage and the narrator's relationship with his three-year-old son, but this has precious little to do with driving the plot along. There's some good writing scattered throughout the book, but there is way too much padding and pointless meanderings. The abridged version is almost certainly a better bet - this is one title that could be cut to a third of its length without harm.

Awful

Everything about this was awful. From plot to character development to the poor reading. The reader had a hard time giving voice to different characters. Too many were stereotypical sounding with out regard to race, education, life experience, etc. I was very disappointed to say the least. I stuck it out to the end because I always like to finish what I've started to read.