Gold Coast

Rating:
Summary: A Great American Story
Review: Nelson Demille may be my favorite writer, and "The Gold Coast" is another great one. Patterned after F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," Demille tries to create a piece of Americana. He easily succeeds.

John Sutter is a tax attorney living in a part of New York nicknamed "the gold coast." The area is pretty exclusive and features extremely wealthy people who's families have lived there for generations. Sutter's wife, Susan, has lived there all her life. Then a Mafia Don moves in next door. Frank Bellarosa immediately takes a liking to John and Susan. They become friends and are the gossip of the town. Frank is charged with a murder rap, and he summons John to represent him. This leads to various funny things happening.

This book is told through the eyes of John Sutter. The narration is witty and serious at the same time. Sutter is another one of Demille's funny characters. It is kind of about a mid-life type of crisis. Demille weaves this tale as smooth as ever. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Best fiction about the modern mob ever written
Review: This book is summed up best by those reviews which dub it "The Great Gatsby meets The Godfather". It is, first and foremost, a detailed and well-researched tale of two disparate worlds which collide when Mafia Don Frank Bellarosa moves next door to WASP Wall Street lawyer John Sutter on the ultra-upper class North Shore of Long Island - the "Gold Coast". As a lawyer, I can tell you that DeMille, who apparently is not a lawyer, gets the legal stuff right - moreso than most lawyer-turned-authors writing these days. And he gets the mob stuff just as accurately. But best of all, it's written with an incredible sense of humor. For example, Sutter's wife's kinky lovemaking antics wiil make you laugh out loud. And if that's not enough, there's a HUGE surprise ending. Hats off to Mr. DeMille for writing an absolutely perfect novel.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent story, well read, with many twists/turns.
Review: This abridgment of the Nelson DeMille novel, provides an interesting story of three people, the Mafia boss, the lawyer, and his wife. Well read by the late, great, David Dukes, whose inflections and wry way of reading makes this a most interesting tale. I'd also recommend "The Charm School", "By The Rivers Of Babylon", "The Lion's Game", "Plum Island". [Too bad the movie of "The Lion's Game" isn't likely to see the light of day, in the wake of 9/11 and the current threats.]

Rating:
Summary: A Man if Full for New Yorkers
Review: Demille is easily my favorite author. Only two of his books have been less than 5 stars to me. But Gold Coast is not Demille in the typical sense. As explained in the foreward, this is Demille's attempt at a truly classic American Novel. He absolutely succeeded. This is an elegantly written piece of American literature but with hints of the Adventure that makes his other books so entertaining. I love all Demille characters. He builds both good and evil as well as any author who has ever lived and Gold Coast takes that to a new high. This is a book that will touch many more emotions than fear and triumph. You will get to know these characters, you will become one or more of them and feel what they feel. I found this to not be a typical Demille fast read. This one takes some time. You will find yourself sitting and thinking about this one. I never read a book more than once. Gold Coast will be an exception - I will read it several times over coming years. Its that good.

Rating:
Summary: Hilarious, wonderfully written, and a ripping read!
Review: Nelson DeMille is my favorite author, and The Gold Coast is one of his better books. This is a hilarious novel. The basic premise is simple enough. John Sutter is an upper-class WASP lawyer who lives in the most exclusive area in America, an area in Long Island known to insiders as "The Gold Coast." He has a beautiful wife, an OK law practice, looks, class, and health. All seems well. Then, the local Mafia Don decides to move into the property next to the Sutters. And so begins the tale of a mid-life crisis to beat all mid-life crises. The rest would be telling.

As is the case with many of DeMille's novels, John Sutter is a hoot. His insights into life in general, the Gold Coast in particular, and his encounters with the local Mafia Don are very funny. The novel is written in first person, not a perspective I always like, but here it is extraordinarily effective. The reader comes to know, like, and care about John Sutter and his deepening predicament. DeMille's prose is superb. The writing is clear and crisp. The storyline starts out at a leisurely pace, but it always keeps the reader's attention and interest, and the plot quickly picks up momentum. This is an absorbing and very funny story.

DeMille is one of the great novelists of the times. I do not exaggerate; many of his books in my opinion are instant classics. The Gold Coast is one of these.

Rating:
Summary: Jay Gatsby Meets the Godfather
Review: Three years ago a friend of mines father had insisted that I read Nelson DeMillies Gold Coast because it was amazing. He let me borrow his copy. This was the first time reading DeMille,and I did not know what to expect. This is purely a updated version of F Scott Fitgeralds Great Gatsby. The comparison between the Mafia Boss and Gatbsy is remarkable. This book is not a copycat but a revamped version of Gatsby set in the 1990's and it has a lot more power. Developing characters and showing their emotion is DeMilles gift as a writer. This book does not dissapoint.

Rating:
Summary: Hilariously entertaining
Review: Nelson DeMille's books are great, and this one is a bit of a departure but wildly entertaining. I challenge you to read this book without laughing and smiling to yourself, and occasionally blushing (if in public, people will look at you funny.) I absolutely love the characters; a fabulous job of writing. The sarcastic remarks are true gems, real tongue-in-cheek moments. Enjoy this book for a great upbeat summer read!

Rating:
Summary: A true Classic
Review: How do I write a review for one of the finest novels I've ever read? I could describe the basic plot, the type of story it is; or just say "Hey, this is a great book!", however, you can read that in the editorial reviews so I won't bother.

I can say this: Out of some 600 pages (in the paperback version I read) there are only a few places of actual intense character "action" of the "mystery/gangster thriller" type, but this was a couldn't-put-down-page-turner. To hold a reader on the edge, interested, involved, compelled and feeling for that long, wanting to press forward while simultaneously hating the fact that the right side of the book was getting thinner and thinner, now that is the feat of a fine writer, a rare writer.

I wouldn't say that this book is anything like Conroy's 'Beach Music', except to say that both authors have the ability to make the reader feel along with the characters. Both have an almost unnatural insight into the human psyche and both books are among the finest novels I've ever read. Where Conroy made me feel sad and empty at times, DeMille made me laugh (occasionally out loud) and feel the same frustration with existence that his protagonist did. Life really is screwed up and people really do behave this way.

As way of another comparison, I enjoyed this novel the way I enjoyed 'Time Enough for Love' by R.A. Heinlein. Heinlein takes the reader across thousands of years, time and different universes, what makes his work so amazingly good is his ability to capture human emotion and motives in words, sentences, paragraphs and finally chapters of a great novel. DeMille captures the same, yes, but the setting doesn't take place outside of a few square miles and few months. I won't hazard a guess as to which was the greater feat, or which was harder to write, but I will say that both are absorbing works, the kind that get reread with enthusiasm.

The paperback I read had a new foreword by the author, which is well worth reading in itself. Apparently this work has touched a lot of people over its relatively short life and I concur with those that already consider it a classic.

This was my first novel by this author, but I can guarantee not my last.

The highest recommendation and a simple "I owe you one" to the author.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: While I have enjoyed all of Nelson DeMilles books; This will be one of my favorites. As always, his characters are strong, the settings vivid. Couldn't put it down.
If you enjoy gaining insight to how others live, you will enjoy "The Gold Coast".

Rating:
Summary: A passionate and suspenseful story
Review: The "Gold Coast" is that stretch along the northern shore of Long Island where once America's wealth and power had been concentrated. It's also where Wall Street lawyer John Sutter is holding onto a fading aristocratic legacy and Mafia don Frank Bellarosa is establishing himself. The two men collide in a passionate and suspenseful story of friendship, seduction, love, betrayal, and violence. Very highly recommended for community library audiobook collections, The Gold Coast is dramatically narrated by Scott Brick.