An engaging, thinly veiled fictionalization of Chicago politics.
The business partner of a power broker in Chicago recounts political shenanigans that led to a presidency in this debut novel.
Marston “Mars” Gregory, partner of Saidah “Sam” Alsheriti, describes himself as “the last man standing” in his story, since “Everyone else is either dead, in prison, or untouchable.” He provides excerpts of his own memoir, which include an account of events that “ended the careers of two governors and elected a president of the United States.” It all began with a 1994 traffic accident that killed six children. It was eventually revealed that drivers’ licenses were being given to unqualified truck drivers who bought tickets to a fundraiser for politician Ed Parker. The scandal was initially hushed up, though, and Parker became Illinois’ governor. Gregory then left his corporate law gig to become partners with Chicago real estate developer Alsheriti, a Syrian immigrant. Alsheriti was eager to become a political power broker, but Vince Perino, “the mastermind of the Republican Combine,” turned down his offer of campaign contributions. This snub led Alsheriti to help take down Parker and install a new Democratic governor. He also assisted Malik Alawi, a beaming, young African-American state senator, by securing a bargain price for land near his home. By novel’s end, Alsheriti and both governors are behind bars, and Gregory is amazed that Alawi now sits in the White House, as his partner predicted. Author Beller, a Chicago-based investment-firm executive, takes readers through an entertaining composite tour of the highly publicized corrupt politics of his city. Along the way, he brings an array of recognizable honchos to life, such as the controversial, real-life Obama supporter Tony Rezko. Beller spends a bit too much time on descriptions of Mars’ extramarital activities, however, and too little time fleshing out his Obama-like character. Indeed, Alawi makes only a few enigmatic walk-ons, and Sam’s bombshell that “Malik owes me big” for fixing a problem with a birth certificate is dropped very late in the game.
An engaging, thinly veiled fictionalization of Chicago politics.Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9966799-0-9
Page Count: 400
Publisher: G. Anton Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.
Four men who meet as college roommates move to New York and spend the next three decades gaining renown in their professions—as an architect, painter, actor and lawyer—and struggling with demons in their intertwined personal lives.
Yanagihara (The People in the Trees, 2013) takes the still-bold leap of writing about characters who don’t share her background; in addition to being male, JB is African-American, Malcolm has a black father and white mother, Willem is white, and “Jude’s race was undetermined”—deserted at birth, he was raised in a monastery and had an unspeakably traumatic childhood that’s revealed slowly over the course of the book. Two of them are gay, one straight and one bisexual. There isn’t a single significant female character, and for a long novel, there isn’t much plot. There aren’t even many markers of what’s happening in the outside world; Jude moves to a loft in SoHo as a young man, but we don’t see the neighborhood change from gritty artists’ enclave to glitzy tourist destination. What we get instead is an intensely interior look at the friends’ psyches and relationships, and it’s utterly enthralling. The four men think about work and creativity and success and failure; they cook for each other, compete with each other and jostle for each other’s affection. JB bases his entire artistic career on painting portraits of his friends, while Malcolm takes care of them by designing their apartments and houses. When Jude, as an adult, is adopted by his favorite Harvard law professor, his friends join him for Thanksgiving in Cambridge every year. And when Willem becomes a movie star, they all bask in his glow. Eventually, the tone darkens and the story narrows to focus on Jude as the pain of his past cuts deep into his carefully constructed life.
The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.Pub Date: March 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-53925-8
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PROFILES
PERSPECTIVES
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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