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The Emperor of Ocean Park
 
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The Emperor of Ocean Park (Paperback)

by Stephen Carter (Author)
3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
RRP: £6.99
Price: £5.49 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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The Emperor of Ocean Park + New England White + Palace Council
Price For All Three: £15.77

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Product details

  • Paperback: 672 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; New edition edition (5 Jun 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0099437341
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099437345
  • Product Dimensions: 17.9 x 11.1 x 5.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 36,029 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

New York Review of Books
‘A delightful, sprawling, gracefully written imaginative work’

Daily Mail
‘A spellbinding thriller and brilliantly observed social commentary’

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The Emperor of Ocean Park
76% buy the item featured on this page:
The Emperor of Ocean Park 3.2 out of 5 stars (4)
£5.49
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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.2 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Too many words my dear Carter, 10 Oct 2003
By A Customer
The Emperor of Ocean Park was the first of a two-book deal with an initial advance of reputedly 4.2 million dollars. This could explain both its best-seller status (the marketing people would have to ensure it was) and the general trashing by the critics (no first time novelist can be worth that much can they?)
Leaving aside the vagaries of the publishing industry though, is the book any good?
Well yes and no, because really it is three books in one. Firstly it is a fascinating insight into upper middle class black American society, particularly the academic and legal profession. Secondly it is a sometimes moving examination of family life. Third, it is a risible ham-fisted thriller.
The social insight is authoritative and raises interesting questions about the nature of authority and the responsibilities that go with it. That family life is often sacrificed on the alter of material gain is not an area most readers associate with black writing, and this is a refreshing cultural angle.
However, as a thriller it fails. Without going into detail, numbered amongst its faults are the "and with one leap he broke free" quality of plotting.
Overall, the prose is frequently didactic, the points laboured and oft repeated as if to a jury of dullards (yes, Mr Carter is a law professor)
As a first time novelist, the author has not been served well by his editor. The early, relatively taut tone has become slipshod by page two-hundred, and is too flabby overall by a similar number of pages. A good editor could have rendered it an excellent first novel, as it is, it is mediocre
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written, intriguing thriller, 18 Aug 2003
By Suroor Alikhan "suroora" (Geneva, Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This book was a treat! It is not only a well-plotted thriller with complex and interesting characters, but also an insight into the lives of the well-to-do black community in the US. The writing is crisp and intelligent. The main character, Talcott Garland, believes his father died in suspicious circumstances, and decides to investigate, helped (if you can call it that) by a cryptic note left for him by his father. The ground is constantly shifting, and Talcott finds that he cannot trust anyone because he can never be sure who the enemy is. Usually I find that in many thrillers, the end tends to be a bit of an anti-climax. This is not true of this book. I defintely recommend it.
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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars A boring emperor, 11 Jul 2004
By A Customer
I entirely agree with the reviewer from Nelson, this is a revealing book about the African American middle class, but as a thriller it fails totally. I almost gave up reading a few times and after struggling on, I'm still not sure of the outcome. Not a patch on Turrow!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but too long
Interesting, though eventually anticlimatic, but far too long. Should have been shortened by a skilful editor from 880 [paperback] pages to 350 or even 250 pages.
Published on 4 Nov 2004 by Colin Ingram

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