The Gate House
by Nelson DeMille
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Book Reviews of The Gate House
Book Review: A pleasure to read
Summary: 5 Stars
I think Nelson DeMille's writing is truly some of the most enjoyable I have come across. I always look forward to reading one of his books because I know I will immediately feel transported to whatever world or situation he is creating and that his authentic writing and mastery of dialogue will make his characters and their struggles real and fascinating. I can't imagine that he has written anything that is not worth reading. I would bet that even his address book makes for good reading.
As an inhabitant of the so-called "Gold Coast" of Long Island (not so "gold" anymore by the way), I was intrigued by the title and concept of this novel. When the worlds of the moneyed un-titled nobility and the nouveau riche (especially when their riches are of suspect origin) collide, there is inevitably going to be tension and perhaps even mayhem. In this case, John and Susan Stanhope Sutter find themselves (after the fastest, most unexpected reconciliation in history) caught between her lord of the manor parents and their world, in which Susan has been a willing participant, the world of organized crime (compliments of their neighbor the mob don whose father, also a mob don, was murdered by Susan some years ago when he broke off their affair) and the security-obsessed current lord of the manor, an extraordinarily wealthy Persian (with the distinct disadvantage of having been a supporter of the Shah) who has made his money dealing in "information" and who currently fears retaliation by persons unknown. With that cast of characters it might seem like this book would be a thriller of sorts. But it is less a thriller (except for the last 50 or so pages) than a truly engrossing tale of John Sutter's efforts to move between and among these worlds while attempting to put his (and his ex-wife's) lives back together, some ten years after the life-shattering events that tore them apart, and to keep them both alive in the process.
John Sutter is a witty tax lawyer (sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it?) whose penchant for doing the right thing lands him in more trouble and with more notoriety than any lawyer would ordinarily experience. His brains and his wit are his main strengths in this tale of forgiveness and redemption. His soul-searching and his willingness to admit and accept the blame for the things he has done wrong made him a truly likable character. His once and future wife Susan, is a less likable or understandable characater, perhaps because of her blue-blood origins, which Johns thinks have made her a bit nutty or because of her controlling, evil, gin-soaked parents whose parenting might actually be responsible for the "nutty" factor. In any event, John's show-down with Susan's parents is one of the most satisfying scenes in this book. When information from an unlikely source exposes Susan's father for what he really was, you just have to give a small cheer even though it just means that he'll end up a little less wealthy and Susan will not lose her own entitlements. It's not exactly David vs. Goliath, but still satisfying on many levels.
There was some repetition in this book (which is quite lengthy) but mostly of themes from the prequel novel. I did not feel that it detracted at all from the main story line or its subplots. It was an extremely well put together book with truly enjoyable writing. Give it a try; I don't hink you will be disappointed.
Book Review: Bring back the real Demille!
Summary: 2 Stars
The Lion's Game was my first DeMille book, and it was breathtaking; still one of my favorite books of all time. After that I read The Charm School, which was another very suspenseful and intriguing book. Those books turned me on to Nelson Demille, and I have since read all his books and eagerly awaited each new book as it was being published. Although some of his more recent work was a disappointment to me, I still felt that the negative reviews for The Gate House must be over-the-top, because it's Demille; it couldn't be that bad.
Unfortunately, having now slogged through The Gate House, I reluctantly must concur with the readers who have decried this book. It was truly awful. I generally enjoy long books because they provide me with days of being pleasurably immersed in the story; however, this book offered no pleasure and it became a chore to get through it.
DeMille fills 9/10ths of the book with redundant and boring tripe. He makes the same remark 10 different ways in each chapter. The characters are not believable and extremely unlikable. I can possibly believe that a "society woman" would fall for a Mafia don because love and lust can cause some strange pairings, but for Susan Sutter to have emerged 10 years later without many apparent repercussions just doesn't seem plausible. Even less plausible is John Sutter picking up where he left off with her. After a cursory beginning in which he glancingly purports to want nothing to do with his ex-wife, he almost immediately falls back in love with her and they continue on in this high-society lifestyle, with Susan's affair and murder barely making a dent. Sure, Sutter alludes to it frequently but still sees Susan as a delicate flower and delightfully zany rich girl. I couldn't grasp anything about Susan that would make a cuckolded and humiliated husband still want her. So she's a beautiful redhead, big deal; she had no wit nor charm nor personality. Nothing about her rings true....she's loved John for all these years? Then why the affair with a Mafia don with whom she was "sexually obsessed?"
As for John Sutter, for a man who spends a great portion of the story claiming not to care about money, he is actually obsessed with her family's money. He also has a nasty attitude towards his mother and in-laws that borders on the pathological, and he childishly insults his mother and in-laws continually throughout the book. Yes, they may be unpleasant people, but maybe it is Sutter himself who made them so distasteful.
Furthermore, Sutter is a condescending jerk, as evidenced by the way he talks about Sophie and other hired help. It is clear from his so-called witticisms that he considers himself way above the "little people."
There was no suspense in this book at all. You can tell in the beginning of the book how things will turn out, and indeed the story proceeds just as you knew it would. I just cannot believe that the author of a masterpiece of suspense such as The Lion's Game could churn out this drivel.
This is the book that has finally knocked me out of the Nelson Demille fan club, and I doubt I will read his next book.
Book Review: "Wide is the gate, and broad is the road, that leadeth to destruction."
Summary: 3 Stars
De Mille's novel is an ambitious venture into the lives of the uber-riche (and the requisite hangers-on) post-9/11 New York's Gold Coast, "colonial era villages and hamlets on the North Shore of Long Island's Nassau County". No longer the moneyed enclave of American aristocracy, the more recent additions to the blue bloods include a Mafia family and an Iranian expatriate. The once grand and massive Stanhope Estate has been compromised by time and expedience, as related by John Sutter, long-divorced from the stunning Susan Stanhope Sutter, who killed her lover, Frank Bellarosa, a Mafia don, but managed to elude the criminal justice system. After a voyage around the world, a few affairs to heal his broken heart and much self-examination, Sutter has returned to the Gatehouse, awaiting the imminent demise of a family retainer who has inhabited the dwelling, the cottage forfeit upon her death.
Besides the recent arrival of John Sutter, Susan has also returned to the scene of the crime, purchasing the guest house from its former owners. It is inevitable that the ex-spouses will meet, the author prepping the confrontation with Sutter's retelling of the circumstances that brought about the notorious murder and the divorce. With reduced financial means, tax attorney Sutter has no fixed plans, seeming to drift into situations that are both dangerous and untenable, particularly the overtures of Bellarosa's son and heir to the family business, Anthony. Sutter is worried that Anthony may not have a forgiving heart. And Anthony pressures Sutter to accept a business arrangement that doesn't bode well for the two men's relationship. The problem: John doesn't want a relationship, business or otherwise, but is concerned for Susan's safety at the hands of a vengeful Bellarosa scion.
Then there is Amir Nasim, the current owner of the Stanhope Estate and an expatriate, a courtly gentleman who harbors concerns over personal security after being forced to flee Iran. Even Bellarosa has suffered a spectacular demotion in this tongue-in-cheek drama, residing in an upscale subdivision modeled on the luxurious Stanhope mansion his father once owned- until the RICO Act stripped the mobster of dignity and possessions. But all this is inconsequential, considering Bellarosa senior's death at the hands of his lover, Susan Stanhope Sutter. Add in an assortment of characters, an attractive woman whose mother is dying, Bellarosa's wise guys and the usual rich folks who claim this landscape as their own. Shake and stir for a long-winded tale of the rich and infamous that may have passed its expiration date. This traditional sweeping novel of the foibles of strangers hasn't quite the appeal of years past, when publicity followed outrageous behavior with rapt attention. Luan Gaines/ 2008.
Book Review: Worked for me
Summary: 5 Stars
In this sequel to The Gold Coast, it's now ten years later and after leaving his job, his wife and his past behind; taking a 3 year solo sail around the world and then moving to London, John Sutter is returning home. A client of his - John is a tax lawyer most of the time - is dying and he needs to put the woman's affairs in order. Said client is also a life-long "house servant" of his ex-wife's family and until her final illness, resided in the "gate house" on his former in-laws former estate. (Got that?) Our hero is stepping right back into the maelstrom he left 10 years earlier - and he knows it. The question being - Is he prepared for it?
First a word on this book's predecessor, The Gold Coast, an excellent book, which is somewhat of a departure for this author, i.e. it was not a mystery or a thriller although there are definitely some tense moments. The Gold Coast is more the story of a man who due to boredom or middle-age angst - remember he's a tax lawyer for God's sakes - involves himself and his family with a New York crime boss which leads to some not so happy results.
Regardless of this plot-line departure, John Sutter, the main character in both books, more than a little resembles DeMille's previous protagonists - Paul Brenner (The General's Daughter) and John Corey, (Plum Island and Night Fall). To say that Sutter is sarcastic or acerbic is a bit like saying Sumo Wrestlers are husky - a gross understatement. Sutter's quips, observations and off the cuff comments fly fast and furiously in both books - sometimes a half dozen per page and are often laugh out loud funny. Just his comments on his (ex) in-laws are worth the price of the books.
That being said The Gate House reviews in detail much of what occurred in The Gold Coast, which if you haven't read the previous book is a shame, because in a sense it does ruin it for you. On the other hand, if like me it's been a few years since reading The Gold Coast this recap helps immensely. I remembered the plot but not all the sordid details and characters. Point here is I would recommend reading both books - and obviously The Gold Coast first.
Having read some previous reviews on The Gate House it appears readers either loved it or hated it. I loved it and it's not clear to me why folks who enjoyed The Gold Coast didn't enjoy this sequel. This book picks up in the same vein and rolls from start to finish with our hero back in the environs of Long Island with all its "customs" and pretenses, while reacquainting himself with many of the same characters. There are some twists and surprises, a love story, a fairly happy ending and a whole lot of laughs - courtesy of Mr. Sutter - throughout.
Book Review: Enjoyable even though overly long
Summary: 4 Stars
Although this is a sequel to The Gold Coast, it is not necessary to read the prior novel in which DeMille wrote about the manners and mores of a section of Long Island that F. Scott Fitzgerald so vividly described in The Great Gatsby. Suffice it to say that in the prior novel, Susan Stanhope Sutter, an old-money socialite, has an adulterous affair with a Mafia don named Frank Bellarosa, whom she ultimately murders, but walks scot free due to various circumstances. Her husband John Sutter, a wise cracking lawyer, divorces her, spends three years sailing around the world, and then becomes an expatriate in London.
The Gate House begins ten years after the murder of Frank Bellarosa. John Sutter has returned to the United States because a longtime family servant named Ethel is on her deathbed. Ethel and her husband used to live in the gatehouse on the estate--hence the title. John and Susan quickly become reunited and decide to remarry, but the dead don's son Anthony Bellarosa is out to avenge his father, so Susan is not safe. John and Susan also have to deal with her parents, who hate John, and threaten to disinherit not only her but her children unless John forever leaves the country.
As other reviews have noted, this book could have been shortened, and really lacks any action until the very end when the inevitable showdown between Anthony Bellarosa and the Sutters occurs, as well as a less dramatic showdown between John and Susan's father. In between DeMille spends his time focusing on the relationships between Susan and John and their children, her parents, and various people who are part of the old money world in which the Sutters travel. Through John Sutter's irreverent remarks DeMille pokes fun at many aspects of this world.
Despite the lack of action, I found this book very interesting and entertaining, though I do admit to skimming through one section where DeMille provided in excruciating detail a description of various towns comprising The Gold Coast. The test for a good novel is not necessarily how much action there is, but rather how the story is told. DeMille is a superb writer--I am a big fan and have read all of his other novels--and I enjoyed the way that he explored the different personal relationships in this novel. Having said that, this novel is different from his other works. If you are looking for action, this novel is not for you. But if you enjoy a clever and sometimes caustic dissection of a certain kind of upper crust people, this novel will not disappoint you.
I rated this 4 stars instead of 5, because as much as I liked it, I do think it would have been more effective if it had been shortened.