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Also this issue: God Is in the Details Munakata Shiko Turning Point Send in the Clowns REV Revival |
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July 25-31, 2002
artpicks
We know many things about Stephen L. Carter's debut mystery thriller, The Emperor of Ocean Park (Knopf). We know that the book has been on the New York Times bestseller list since its publication in June. We know that it was the first selection of NBC's Today's book club. We know that Carter is a professor at Yale Law School, and that he is a member of the cultural elite he profiles so precisely in the novel. We know that the fictional Ocean Park represents Oak Bluffs, the real-life African-American summer community on Martha's Vineyard that has been the summer playground of America's black elite.
Ignore for a moment these facts; focus on the characters in the novel. They are doctors, lawyers and professors. They are wealthy, can trace their ancestors back for generations and belong to a flavor of an Episcopal church. They frequently use the word "summer" as a verb. Usually, in fiction, these characteristics signify "white." Not so in The Emperor of Ocean Park. It is the first novel, and especially the first novel of quality, set among America's African-American power players. Go hear Carter read from the book at the Free Library this week. He is a fascinating man, a deep thinker and the author of one of the year's best reads.
Stephen L. Carter reads Thu., July 25, 7p.m., Montgomery Auditorium, Free Library of Philadelphia, 19th and Vine sts., 215-686-5322.
