A friend recommended this book before he had finished it. I think he ended up feeling much the same as I did about Stephen Carter’s bloated novel:it’s much too long, and the plot is intrusively complicated. The main character, law professor Talcott Garland, is a needed, often whiny son of a judge who has died, apparently of a heart attack. But maybe not. And that is what makes up much of the mystery in the book. I found the plot twists more work than I wanted to put in, especially for nearly 700 pages. The book is bloated by about half. To his credit, however, Carter’s writing is top notch. That said, I could have done with less religion. ( )

Olivier Garland, famoso juez afroamericano de talante conservador, ha muerto repentinamente de un supuesto ataque al corazón. Antes de fallecer, el poderoso juez había protagonizado un escándalo público que arruinó su ascendente trayectoria profesional hacia el Tribunal Supremo, lo que le procuró importantes enemigos y le sumió en una crisis de la que nunca se recuperaría. Ahora, su hijo Talcott, profesor de derecho en una prestigiosa universidad, tendrá que dar respuesta a una serie de preguntas que apuntan hacia un escándalo mayor: ¿fue el juez Garland asesinado? ¿Qué misterio esconden las "disposiciones" que el juez dejó escritas en vida y que todo el mundo parece querer encontrar? Las sucesivas muertes de personas que, de un modo u otro, estuvieron relacionadas con el entorno familiar servirán de pista a Talcott para adentrarse en una aventura en la que pondrá en juego su carrera, su matrimonio y su propia vida. En El Emperador de Ocean Park, un excelente thriller literario y, al mismo tiempo, un penetrante estudio sobre el conjunto de la clase universitaria y los profesionales del derecho, Stephen L. Carter maneja con maestría la ironía y el suspense, diseccionando de paso el mundo de la alta burguesía negra estadounidense.

I couldn’t even make it to one hundred pages before I dropped it. I got so tired of the infuriatingly arrogant and distant protagonist and his conceited tangents.

This truly is well done. I like Mr Carter's tone and the relaxed and personable manner in which his story unfolds. His use of language is lyrically elevated, slightly pretentious but not unapproachable or condescending. He offers multiple views on society, racism, poverty, etc that we are not familiar with in relation to Black American literary characters and he handles this balance well. He needs a better editor but at the same time this is incredible for a first novel.
I'll read his other books but I'm probably going to need to a break. Too many words and I just am not sure I've ever had that complaint of a novel before. ( )

The Emperor of Ocean Park is set in two privileged worlds: the upper crust African American society of the eastern seaboard—old families who summer on Martha’s Vineyard—and the inner circle of an Ivy League law school. The Emperor of the title, Judge Oliver Garland, has just died, suddenly. A brilliant legal mind, conservative and famously controversial, Judge Garland made more enemies than friends. Could Oliver Garland have been murdered? He has left a strange message for his son Talcott, a professor of law at a great university, entrusting him with “the arrangements”—a mysterious puzzle that only Tal can unlock, and only by unearthing the ambiguities of his father’s past.

This was a long, wordy and rambling story that I wasn’t sure I would like when it started. But it drew me in with interesting characters and information that was slowly revealed throughout. The characters were flawed and not always likeable. The story touches on politics, societal attitudes, racism and religion but not too much. Overall, it kept me wondering what was going on and made me want to find out so I enjoyed it. ( )