The Emperor of Ocean Park
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''The Emperor of Ocean Park'' is a 2002 novel by American author and law professor Stephen L. Carter. It is the first part of Carter's ''Elm Harbor'' series; two more novels in the series were published in 2007 and 2008. The book was Carter's first work of fiction, and spent 11 weeks on ''The New York Times'' best-seller list following its publication. Described as a
murder mystery Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...
, the novel tells the story of Talcott Garland, a
law professor A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...
who uncovers a mystery surrounding his father, the titular 'Emperor of Ocean Park'. Written from Tal's first person perspective, the book explores themes of privileged
black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
identity, politics, and law, and contains many allusions to
chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
. Because a number of publishing houses were interested in obtaining the rights to the book, Carter received an exceptionally large advance of $4.2 million. The size of the advance, for a debut novel from an African-American writer, contributed to an important shift for
African-American literature African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. It begins with the works of such late 18th-century writers as Phillis Wheatley. Before the high point of slave narratives, African-A ...
, with the book marketed and received as a mainstream work of fiction, rather than one aimed at a specialized audience. The novel was well-reviewed by most critics, with attention being drawn to its then-unusual setting for a murder mystery story, featuring an African-American
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
and with most of the story taking place in wealthy, predominantly African-American neighborhoods in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
and
Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the s ...
. It won the 2003
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award The Anisfield-Wolf Book Award is an American literary award dedicated to honoring written works that make important contributions to the understanding of racism and the appreciation of the rich diversity of human culture. Established in 1935 by Clev ...
and BCALA Literary Award, and was nominated for several more, including the
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Fiction The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
and the
New Blood Dagger __NOTOC__ The CWA New Blood Dagger is an annual award given by the British Crime Writers' Association (CWA) for first books by previously unpublished writers. It is given in memory of CWA founder John Creasey and was previously known as The John Cre ...
from the
Crime Writer's Association The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors’ organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its Dagger awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. T ...
.


Plot

Talcott 'Tal' Garland (known as Misha to his closest friends) is a black tenured law professor at the fictional college, Elm Harbor, an analog of
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
. His wife, Kimberley Madison, known as Kimmer, is an attorney. Tal's father, Oliver Garland, a federal judge, has just died. Years earlier, Judge Oliver Garland had to decline a nomination from President
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
for a seat on the
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
due to the release of embarrassing information about his past, and then resigned from the bench. Following some years of heavy drinking, Oliver in his later life became a well-paid mascot for right-wing political groups. Judge Garland dies in suspicious circumstances, purportedly of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
. The death brings together the Judge's three living children – Tal, Addison, and Mariah – for the funeral. A fourth child, Abby, died some years previously, in a
hit and run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there may be an ...
car accident. Talcott is named in Judge Garland's will as being responsible for the "final arrangements", which are not explained. Talcott's only clue is an obtuse note from his father telling him to search for "Angela's boyfriend", someone unknown to Talcott who apparently holds information that the Judge wants Talcott to have, and ending "Excelsior, my son! Excelsior! It begins!" – a reference to the Double
Excelsior Excelsior, a Latin comparative word often translated as "ever upward" or "even higher", may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature and poetry * "Excelsior" (Longfellow), an 1841 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow * ''Excelsior'' (Macedo ...
; the first of many chess references found within the trail of clues the Judge has left. Unbeknownst to Tal, the Judge had hired a
private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...
to investigate his daughter's death. The investigator had been recommended by Jack Ziegler, one of his college roommates who later worked in espionage for the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
, and in return, the Judge influenced some legislation to suit Ziegler. The investigator finds the car that killed Abby was driven by the son of a prominent US senator and his girlfriend, both of whom were subsequently killed in similar car accidents; it is later revealed at least one of these "accidents" was caused by the private investigator. The release of details of Judge Garland's relationship with Ziegler is what resulted in the Judge failing to gain a seat on the Supreme Court. Ziegler approaches Talcott at his father's funeral, demanding to know the details of the Judge's final arrangements. Two other interlinking plot threads feature Kimmer's campaigning for a highly sought after seat on one of the thirteen Federal Courts of Appeals, and the often-parlous state of Talcott and Kimmer's marriage. Kimmer, with whom Talcott first had an affair while she was married to one of Talcott's fellow law professors, is suggested as being unfaithful, although this is never confirmed. Talcott discovers that parties including the FBI and an unknown assassin – later revealed as one of Judge Garland's fellow judges – are prepared to kill in order to obtain the details of the arrangements. Talcott follows a series of cryptic clues left by his father, including working out that "Angela's boyfriend" referred to his Uncle Derek, a communist and admirer of
Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American political activist, philosopher, academic, scholar, and author. She is a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A feminist and a Marxist, Davis was a longtime member of ...
. Talcott finally learns that "the arrangement" to which the Judge referred was a
floppy disk A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, or a diskette) is an obsolescent type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined w ...
containing details of the many trials and legal decisions which the Judge illegally fixed in return for favors and payment from prominent people. The disk was hidden in a toy bear which belonged to Abby – Tal's deceased sister. The book ends with Talcott throwing the disk into a fire to start with a clean slate.


Development history

Stephen L. Carter wrote ''The Emperor of Ocean Park'' while working as a Professor of Law at
Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
. In a 2002 interview, Carter, who had already written several non-fiction books in his career, said that the idea for a fiction novel had "always been in the back of ismind", and that the major characters of the novel had been ones he had tried to fit into various drafts and unpublished stories over the preceding years. Carter started working on the book in the mid-1990s, writing mostly at night while working at Yale during the day; it took him four years to complete in draft. He originally created an outline for the novel because that was how he wrote his scholarly arguments in non-fiction pieces, but as the story's content changed dramatically, Carter found the outline restrictive and discarded it. At one point, the draft manuscript grew to 1,300 pages long, nearly twice the length of the published novel. In December 2000, Carter and his wife decided that he should focus all his time on finishing the final version. He spent six weeks "polishing the draft into shape". Many of the legal and political topics addressed in the book, such as the workings of the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
, the appointment process for the Supreme Court, and the political lobbying of judges were topics on which Carter had previously published non-fiction books and writings, making it possible for him to use this knowledge in writing the novel without requiring extensive research. In particular, his scholarly works ''The Confirmation Mess'', '' The Culture of Disbelief'', ''Civility'', and ''Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby'' were all touchpoints in writing ''The Emperor of Ocean Park''. Carter said his fiction writing was influenced by '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'' author
James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer. He garnered acclaim across various media, including essays, novels, plays, and poems. His first novel, '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'', was published in 1953; de ...
and
Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...
, in particular how Hughes wrote dialogue. A fierce bidding war for publication and adaptation rights ensued in early 2001 among American publishers
Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...
, sister publisher
Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, and others. Carter was given $4.2 million, one of the largest advances ever received by a first-time author of fiction from Knopf for the rights to publish a book. The advance included the rights to Carter's second novel, '' New England White'', which was published in 2008. With Knopf and Random House making bids of equal value, Carter chose Knopf because he remembered the support he had been given from Knopf's editor-in chief,
Sonny Mehta Ajai Singh "Sonny" Mehta (9 November 1942McFadden, Robert D. (31 December 2019) ''The New York Times''. – 30 December 2019) was an Indian editor and the editor-in-chief of Alfred A. Knopf and chairman of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ...
, who had read a few early draft chapters of the novel in 1998 and encouraged Carter to keep working on it. Carter received a further $1 million from
Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...
for the British publishing rights. The size of the advance was discussed widely. At the time of the novel's publication, ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'' described it as a "reckless gamble" by Knopf, noting Carter had never written a work of fiction before. Writing for ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'',
David Gates David Ashworth Gates (December 11, 1940 – January 5, 2023) was a American singer-songwriter, guitarist, musician and producer, frontman and co-lead singer (with Jimmy Griffin) of the group Bread, which reached the top of the musical charts i ...
was also critical of the advance, which he suggested was "a way to make a
Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...
movie out of it", or that Knopf saw Carter as a black
Tom Wolfe Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...
. Discussing the reviews in a piece for ''
The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis and commentary, published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' had been described as a "red ...
'',
Arnold Beichman Arnold Beichman (May 17, 1913February 17, 2010 Podhoretz, John"Arnold Beichman, 1913–2010."''Commentary'', February 18, 2010. Archived frothe original./ref>) was an author, scholar, and a critic of communism. At the time of his death, he was ...
said that much of the criticism of the book was because of the large advance Carter received for his debut novel.


Publication history

''The Emperor of Ocean Park'' was first released in
hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occa ...
on June 2, 2002, published in the United States by Knopf. The
paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...
was released in the US on May 27, 2003. In 2002, it became the first book featured on the ''Today Show''s book club, where it was selected by writer
John Grisham John Ray Grisham Jr. (; born February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas) is an American novelist, lawyer and former member of the 7th district of the Mississippi House of Representatives, known for his popular legal thrillers. According to the Am ...
, who is known for his own legal mysteries. It was featured on the cover of ''The New York Times'' Book Review on June 16. The interest generated by a national print and television advertising campaign plus a twelve-city promotional tour, along with positive reviews and media attention, led Knopf to claim to have been required to print an additional 250,000 hardcover copies within the first month of the book's release to meet demand beyond the initial print run of 275,000. ''The Observer'' reported that this claim was an exaggeration on the publisher's part to drum up additional publicity, and the actual print run in total was around 300,000 copies, with the total sales in hardcover being around 350,000 copies. ''The Emperor of Ocean Park'' immediately went to number one on
Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
and spent 11 weeks on the ''New York Times'' best-seller list. Carter said that "the enthusiasm and even affection that has greeted the novel and the characters has overwhelmed me". An
audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...
version, narrated by Richard Allen, was released on July 21, 2003. ''The Emperor of Ocean Park'' forms part one of Carter's ''Elm Harbor'' series; the second book ('' New England White'') was released in 2007, and the third (''
Palace Council ''Palace Council'' is a 2008 thriller novel by American author Stephen L. Carter. The book was Carter's third work of fiction. The novel forms the third part of Carter's ''Elm Harbor'' series, which began with 2002's ''The Emperor of Ocean Par ...
'') in 2008. Neither ''New England White'' nor ''Palace Council'' feature Talcott Garland as a character: ''New England White'' promotes two minor characters from ''The Emperor of Ocean Park'' – Lemaster and Julia Carlyle – to the main protagonists, and ''Palace Council'' is set from 1952–1974, with the main character, Eddie Wesley, being related to the Garland family by marriage.


Major themes

''The Emperor of Ocean Park'' was noted by many critics to bring together two themes – the "lowbrow"
genre fiction Genre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is a term used in the book-trade for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre, in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre. A num ...
style, in particular using the principles and thematic elements of a pulp thriller or murder mystery, and the "highbrow"
literary fiction Literary fiction, mainstream fiction, non-genre fiction or serious fiction is a label that, in the book trade, refers to market novels that do not fit neatly into an established genre (see genre fiction); or, otherwise, refers to novels that are ch ...
style, in which Carter reflects on black America – what Carter (as Talcott Garland) refers to as the "darker nation" – from a black perspective. Ocean Park is an area of
Oak Bluffs Oak Bluffs is a town located on the island of Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,341 at the 2020 United States Census. It is one of the island's principal points of arrival for summer tourists, ...
, a summer colony on Martha's Vineyard,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. Until the 1960s, Oak Bluffs was the only town on Martha's Vineyard that welcomed black tourists, as other towns on the island did not allow black guests to stay in inns and hotels. Carter summers there, and noted the enduring appeal of Martha's Vineyard to middle and
upper-class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...
African-American families. Racial themes and expository sections on upper-class black culture form a large part of the narrative of ''The Emperor of Ocean Park'', with the lead character being described as highly self-conscious of his race and how that influences his life. Carter said in an online interview with
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
that he was "quite aware that very little in literature or in the media ever focuses on middle class and upper middle class Black Americans. If the success of this book means that publishers or film makers will be more interested in this class, that’s a good thing. On the other hand, I wouldn’t want the book’s focus on that group to mean we should stop thinking about those who are being left behind." Parallels were drawn between Carter's work and that of
Lawrence Otis Graham Lawrence Otis Graham (December 25, 1961 – February 19, 2021) was an American attorney, political analyst, cultural influencer and celebrated ''New York Times'' best-selling author.
, who explored the lives of upper-class black Americans in his social commentaries. Professor Ben Barton of the ''
California Law Review ''California Law Review'' (also referred to as ''CLR'') is the journal of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. It was established in 1912. The application process consists of an anonymous write-on competition, with grades playing ...
'' said the novel was "unmistakably a product by a legal academic"; Carter delves into great detail around a number of legal issues throughout the novel, calling upon his legal experience and research. Judge Oliver Garland is described as an amalgam of
Robert Bork Robert Heron Bork (March 1, 1927 – December 19, 2012) was an American jurist who served as the solicitor general of the United States from 1973 to 1977. A professor at Yale Law School by occupation, he later served as a judge on the U.S. Court ...
and
Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 199 ...
; Carter noted that he was inspired to write about Judge Garland's travails during his confirmation hearing by his having watched the hearings of Clarence Thomas. Carter wanted to ensure that his character's lives were fully rounded and, particularly as a Christian, he wanted the novel to reflect that many of his characters had religious beliefs. In one interview, he drew a comparison between those beliefs and the seemingly strictly
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
world of the modern college campus. The introductory epigraph ("Two fools always win, but three fools, never!") at the start of the book is a quote attributed by Carter to
Siegbert Tarrasch Siegbert Tarrasch (; 5 March 1862 – 17 February 1934) was a German chess player, considered to have been among the strongest players and most influential theoreticians of the late 19th and early 20th century. Life Tarrasch was born in Bresla ...
, a chess writer of the late 19th and early 20th century. Carter is a member of the
United States Chess Federation The United States Chess Federation (also known as US Chess or USCF) is the governing body for chess competition in the United States and represents the U.S. in FIDE, the World Chess Federation. US Chess administers the official national rating s ...
, and chess plays a major part in ''The Emperor of Ocean Park''; the novel included a great number of
allegories As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...
to
chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
, equating white characters with the white pieces, and black characters with the black. Early in the book, two
pawn Pawn most often refers to: * Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous piece in the game * Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral Pawn may also refer to: Places * Pawn, Oregon, an his ...
s – one white, one black – go missing from the chessboard in Tal's father's study. The book is divided into three main sections, each named after an element of chess theory, again as allegories to the themes within the book; Nowotny Interference, in which two black pieces obstruct one another;
Turton Doubling Turton doubling is a manoeuvre in chess in which a piece moves along a line (rank, file or diagonal), then a similarly-moving piece moves onto the same line in front of it, then this second piece moves again along this line, in the opposite direc ...
, when one white piece withdraws to enable a second white piece to move in front of it and jointly attack the black king; and Unprovided Flight, where only one move is available to the black king, and checkmate is imminent. The final chapter is entitled "Double Excelsior", in reference to the Excelsior problem, linking back to the Judge's original note for Talcott, and suggesting the one remaining black pawn (Tal) and the last white pawn (Ziegler) had been slowly moving toward one another, to be promoted to knights, with the only apparent ending being for the two pieces to collude (known as a "
helpmate A helpmate is a type of chess problem in which both sides cooperate in order to achieve the goal of checkmating Black. In a helpmate in ''n'' moves, Black moves first, then White, each side moving ''n'' times, to culminate in White's ''nth'' mov ...
"), and the only possible result being that the black side must lose. In a lengthy author's note at the end of the novel, Carter says that the book was decidedly not a ''
roman à clef ''Roman à clef'' (, anglicised as ), French for ''novel with a key'', is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship ...
''. While superficially, Stephen Carter and Talcott Garland shared a number of characteristics – they were both middle-aged professors of law at prestigious colleges, both summered at
Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the s ...
as part of the wealthy black community there, both were chess fans, both were married to other lawyers, and so on – Carter considered that the resemblance ended there. He says that Garland is an original literary creation, as are all the other characters. This was gently mocked by some critics. Political scientist Michael Nelson said the "similarities between creator and creature are just too numerous and important to ignore". Carter acknowledged the author's note was "absurdly long", justifying it a reaction to not being able to put footnotes throughout the book, unlike in his non-fiction writing. Instead, he appended them to the end of the novel, saying "I don’t think I could have written a novel, as a scholar, without making sure I got my facts right and making sure the reader knew."


Literary significance and reception

In an early review, ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
'' forecast that ''The Emperor of Ocean Park'' would bring Carter wide recognition as a novelist. The novel received a broadly positive reception upon release, although some responses were mixed. In a review for the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', writer
Ward Just Ward Swift Just (September 5, 1935 – December 19, 2019) was an American writer. He was a war correspondent and the author of 19 novels and numerous short stories. Biography Just was born in Michigan City, Indiana, attended Lake Forest Academy ...
discussed at length the preoccupation of the book with describing the world of the black
bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
, and suggested that "in Stephen Carter, the black upper class has found its Dreiser" – referring to the influential naturalist author
Theodore Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm mora ...
. It was described as an "expansively, constantly interesting book" by ''
The Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...
'', which suggested it would be popular summer reading material. Like others,
Jelani Cobb William Jelani Cobb (born August 21, 1969)
''Contemporary Black Biography''. Gale, 2005, updated January 4, 2007. Vi ...
of ''
The Crisis ''The Crisis'' is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Mi ...
'' noted that the book features aspects of both
genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
and
literary fiction Literary fiction, mainstream fiction, non-genre fiction or serious fiction is a label that, in the book trade, refers to market novels that do not fit neatly into an established genre (see genre fiction); or, otherwise, refers to novels that are ch ...
, describing Carter's attempt to bring the two together as sprawling and sublime. He drew attention to the unusual protagonist, describing the Talcott Garland character as "jaded, overweight, and profoundly insecure". Historian
Elizabeth Fox-Genovese Elizabeth Ann Fox-Genovese (May 28, 1941 – January 2, 2007) was an American historian best known for her works on women and society in the Antebellum South. A Marxist early on in her career, she later converted to Roman Catholicism and became ...
considered the book to be "gripping", and noted that Carter had over a decade of experience in writing non-fiction about politics, law, and religion. She suggested that he may have used fiction to allow him more freedom to explore these topics, away from the
didactic Didacticism is a philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature, art, and design. In art, design, architecture, and landscape, didacticism is an emerging conceptual approach that is driven by the urgent need to ...
requirements of non-fiction. In an episode of the ''
Newsnight Review ''The Review Show'' was a British discussion programme dedicated to the arts which ran, under several titles, from 1994 to 2014. The programme featured a panel of guests who reviewed developments in the world of the arts and culture. History '' ...
'' for the BBC, novelist
Ian Rankin Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. Early life Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel, worked in a schoo ...
said he thought the book was "very well written but badly constructed" due to the conflation of a number of thriller cliches, and that the over-complicated plot obscured a great story. ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' suggested Carter had a tendency to overwrite, and too often strayed away from a "spellbinding" plot in the novel's exposition. Carter's writing style was noted for being at times dispassionate, and 'chilly', particularly when straying away from the more esoteric topics the novel covers and into the personal, with criticism of some descriptions (such as of a young child being "childlike"). The density of the book was discussed, with some reviewers suggesting that the multitude of references to chess required a certain knowledge of the game in order to appreciate the allusions and clues contained through the book. Others said that the writing was at times clunky, and the extensive social commentary detracted from the narrative flow. In a negative review for the ''
London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published twice monthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of ...
'', critic
Lorin Stein Lorin Hollister Stein (born April 22, 1973) is an American critic, editor, and translator. He was the editor in chief of '' The Paris Review''Dave Itzkoff (March 5, 2010)"Paris Review Names New Editor" ArtsBeat, '' The New York Times''. but resi ...
described the book as "long-winded ndshoddily put together", and discussed why many American reviewers paid deference to what he thought was a high-toned
airport novel The airport novel represents a literary genre that is defined not so much by its plot or cast of stock characters, as by the social function it serves. Designed to meet the demands of a very specific market, airport novels are superficially engag ...
. Stein found various inconsistencies within the book to be distracting, noting an example where a pool table appears mid-scene in a room previously described as "tiny", and said the plot was goofy and implausible. The publication of ''The Emperor of Ocean Park'' was described as part of a major shift for African-American literature. Instead of being marketed as a niche novel, the record-breaking advance, the publicity around its release, and the jacket art placed it firmly in the mainstream, as a "blockbusting, best-selling legal thriller". It was noted by John Kevin Young, though, that despite the marketing for the novel being "color-blind", the reviews and press attention to the book still drew attention to the race of the author and the characters within the novel, suggesting that the world of wealthy African Americans had been previously "hidden" to the white reader. While such commentary was outside of Knopf's control, it reinforced the pattern of how the
mainstream media In journalism, mainstream media (MSM) is a term and abbreviation used to refer collectively to the various large mass news media that influence many people and both reflect and shape prevailing currents of thought.Chomsky, Noam, ''"What makes mai ...
responded to
African-American literature African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. It begins with the works of such late 18th-century writers as Phillis Wheatley. Before the high point of slave narratives, African-A ...
.


Awards and nominations

Awards: *2003
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award The Anisfield-Wolf Book Award is an American literary award dedicated to honoring written works that make important contributions to the understanding of racism and the appreciation of the rich diversity of human culture. Established in 1935 by Clev ...
(Fiction) *2003 BCALA Literary Award, from the
Black Caucus of the American Library Association The Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) is an affiliate of the American Library Association (ALA) that focuses on the needs of African Americans, African American library professionals by promoting careers in librarianship, ...
Nominations: *2002
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Fiction The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
*2002
CWA New Blood Dagger __NOTOC__ The CWA New Blood Dagger is an annual award given by the British Crime Writers' Association (CWA) for first books by previously unpublished writers. It is given in memory of CWA founder John Creasey and was previously known as The John Cre ...
*2002
Los Angeles Times Book Prize Since 1980, the ''Los Angeles Times'' has awarded a set of annual book prizes. The Prizes currently have nine categories: biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction (the Art Seidenbaum Award added in 1991), history, mystery/thriller ( ...
, Mystery/thriller category *2004
International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award ( ga, Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. ...
, longlisted.


Adaptations

As part of the significant advance Carter obtained with
Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...
in 2001, Knopf received the rights to any subsequent screen adaptations of ''The Emperor of Ocean Park''. ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' reported that, after reading an early version of the manuscript, a number of production companies were interested in acquiring the rights to create a movie adaptation of the novel. The rights were preemptively
optioned In the film industry, an option is a contractual agreement pertaining to film rights between a potential film producer (such as a movie studio, a production company, or an individual) and the author of source material, such as a book, play, or s ...
by
Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...
,
John Wells Productions John Marcum Wells (born May 28, 1956) is an American theater, film, and television writer, director, and producer. He is best known for his role as showrunner and executive producer of the television series '' ER'', ''Third Watch'', ''The West W ...
, and Gaylord Films prior to the novel being published.
Stephen Schiff {{Infobox person , name = Stephen Schiff , image = , image_size = , alt = , caption = , birth_name = , birth_date = , birth_place = Detroit, Michigan, ...
completed a script adaptation in 2003 which was attached to director
Carl Franklin Carl Franklin (born April 11, 1949) is an American filmmaker. Franklin is a graduate of University of California, Berkeley, and continued his education at the AFI Conservatory, where he graduated with an M.F.A. degree in directing in 1986. Earl ...
, and
Attica Locke Attica Locke (born 1974 in Houston, Texas) is an American fiction author and writer/producer for television and film. Career A 1995 graduate of Northwestern University School of Communication, Locke was a fellow at the Sundance Institute's Featu ...
, novelist, screenwriter and producer for the series ''Empire (2015 TV series), Empire'', completed another script in 2009. Actor Wendell Pierce said in early 2015 that a movie adaptation of ''The Emperor of Ocean Park'' would be his dream project. It was also reported in 2015 that writer Katori Hall was working with John Wells (filmmaker), John Wells on a television pilot of ''The Emperor of Ocean Park'' for Fox Network. Later that year writer Frank Bergon said that "last heard, the script was "under rewrite", maybe in "turnaround"."


References


External links


Reading Guide
to ''The Emperor of Ocean Park'' – Penguin Publishing
Interview with Stephen L. Carter
- Charlie Rose (TV series), Charlie Rose, June 7, 2002
The Emperor of Ocean Park
– an interview with Stephen L. Carter, C-Span, November 23, 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:Emperor Of Ocean Park, The 2002 American novels African-American novels Alfred A. Knopf books American mystery novels American thriller novels Legal thriller novels Martha's Vineyard in fiction Novels set in New England Novels about chess Works by Stephen L. Carter