The Gate House by Nelson DeMille Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Gate House
Book Review: A rip-off of his reputation
Summary: 1 Stars
This book relied heavily on DeMille's earned solid reputation. It delivered nothing. It was voyeuristic at times, always predictable, and the plot is as thin as tissue. Characters in any book do not need to have charm and heroism but this set a new LOW for unworthy characters.
I imagine the Author owed his Publisher a book or needed to come up with some cash because this dreck clearly wasn't worth DeMille's name on the cover, Awful!
Book Review: A tedious novel by a great novelist
Summary: 1 Stars
I have read every Nelson DeMille book and have always considered him a wonderful writer but "The Gate House" is one overlong pretentious piece of boredom. At nearly 700 pages, it is a sad sequel to the fine "Gold Coast" written nearly 20 years ago. The story is fairly simple..a man returns to the site where his wife murdered a mafioso don 10 years after the fact. He meets the son of the former don who seems threatening but tries to come across as a "not at all vengeful" person. He reconnects with his former wife and members of his family. Will the new Don threaten him or his wife? How has his family changed since his absence? How many times will he have sex with how many different women? After the first couple of hundred pages, you simply won't care. There is way too much dialogue that often stretches over multiple chapters with no point. It's a bit like the Steve Martin line in "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" when he says to John Candy, "When you tell a story try to have a point to it. It makes it so much more interesting for the listener" (Substitute reader in the case of this book!) If you want to read a thick epic novel that fascinates and moves at a rapid speed, pick up "The Given Day" by Dennis Lehane. If you want to read a social satire (which DeMille seems to be attempting here) go back and read "Bonfire of the Vanities" by Tom Wolfe. This book finally reaches it's presumed and unsurprising conclusion in the final 50 pages but by that time, I was so bored by Sutter's sarcastic and witty remarks I simply wanted this book to be finished. To that point, the characters opposite Sutter continually comment on how witty he is which seems to be DeMille complimenting himself on his charming style. The wit or so called wit actually wears on the reader. John Sutter thinks he should say "blah blah blah" but it's too smarmy so he actually says "yadda yadda"! After about the 59th such example of this method, you want to scream! So many of my favorite books have been written by this author. "The General's Daughter" "Word of Honor", "Plum Island" "The Charm School" are just a few examples so if you hate this book like I did, at least check out some of his others and you will be surprised at the quality. I realize this book is a number one bestseller so criticism has little impact but see how many bad reviews from readers are on this site and think twice about immersing your mind and wasting your time on "The Gate House".Book Review: Absolute Rubbish!!!!
Summary: 1 Stars
As an avid reader of Nelson Demille's books I was extremely displeased with this latest effort. By the middle of the book the only thing I knew was that John Sutter hated his in-laws and that is wife was an airhead. Anyone who thought this book was any sort of fast paced thriller must have been raised by turtles.Book Review: After 250 pages I stopped
Summary: 2 Stars
I'm usually one to stick with a book but this one just wasn't going anywhere and didn't seem worth the time to read 450 more pages. I have read most of DeMille's books and have enjoyed them. I still like his sarcastic and witty writing (DeMille also has some of the most realistic dialog) but beyond that I didn't care for the story or characters (Okay John Sutter is fine but not the rest) - Anyway I would not recommend it.
Book Review: An appropriate conclusion...well done
Summary: 4 Stars
Couldn't wait to get my hands on this book and it was great. Sequels of any kind can be a bit of a let down, but this was well done and I would recommend!!