Author: Jason Allen
Publication Information: Park Row Books. 2019. 304 pages.
ISBN: 0778308391 / 978-0778308393
Book Source: I received this book through NetGalley free of cost in exchange for an honest review.
Opening Sentence: "After sunset, Corey Halpern sat parked at a dead end in Southampton with his headlights off and the dome light on, killing time before the break-in."
Favorite Quote: "If only he could write as he saw things, maybe this place wouldnt' be so bad, though each time he'd put pen to paper and tried to describe these solo hours at the ocean, or anything else, the words remained trapped behind locked doors deep inside his head."
The East End is not a mystery. You know in the first few pages who dies and how. The East End is not a thriller either although it is a very quick read. The East End is more a look at the difference between the economic ends of the Hamptons - those who can afford the lavish, expensive summer homes and those who spend their lives working in those homes. Beyond that, The East End is a story full of troubled, flawed characters making some terrible choices in efforts to make the right ones.
The plot is a fairly straight forward one covering a period of only about 3 days. Corey and his mother Gina work in the Sheffield's home. One night, he witnesses a death at the Sheffield home. It turns out the death leads to a bigger secret about Leo Sheffield. Corey is not the only witness. The question becomes what will Leo Sheffield do to keep his secret.
The characters all run fairly close to a stereotype. Corey is the handsome, brooding teenager from the working class side of the tracks. He has his flaws, but underneath has a good heart. Gina is a struggling single mother unable to break the cycle of poverty, alcoholism, drug use, and a violent ex. Leo Sheffield is the businessman, who believes he has to keep up appearances and thinks that money is the answer. Sheila, Leo's wife, is not a true participant in the events of this book but is a strong presence as the snobby, pretentious rich woman.
The characters do not develop beyond the stereotype.That also means that not much unexpected truly happens in the book. There are no sudden shifts in character and no huge twists in the story. Perhaps if the intent of the book is to highlight the stereotypical differences of the Hamptons society, that is exactly the point.
The book is a very dark one - literally and figuratively. Even with the short period of time the book covers, much of what happens happens at night. Through the characters, the book highlight several serious issues - a suicide attempt, a struggle with alcohol and drugs, a near rape, a need to hide sexual identity, and a penchant for risk taking. These are the undercurrents to the story and create an even darker story.
With the darkness and the short time frame, the author manages to create an intensity that keeps me turning pages even though there is no real mystery to be solved. I keep reading to find out what happens to each of these characters. Each of them makes some horrible choices - breaking and entering, alcohol, drugs, violence, theft, and more - at some point. At the same time, I find myself feeling sorry for all of them (well, all of them except for Gina's ex).
What is interesting about the ending is that it does not seem to be exactly an ending. I turn the last page and think ... but what happens to them. What happens next? The fact that I invest enough into the characters and the story to want to know says to me: good read perfect for the beach when summer arrives.
The East End is not a mystery. You know in the first few pages who dies and how. The East End is not a thriller either although it is a very quick read. The East End is more a look at the difference between the economic ends of the Hamptons - those who can afford the lavish, expensive summer homes and those who spend their lives working in those homes. Beyond that, The East End is a story full of troubled, flawed characters making some terrible choices in efforts to make the right ones.
The plot is a fairly straight forward one covering a period of only about 3 days. Corey and his mother Gina work in the Sheffield's home. One night, he witnesses a death at the Sheffield home. It turns out the death leads to a bigger secret about Leo Sheffield. Corey is not the only witness. The question becomes what will Leo Sheffield do to keep his secret.
The characters all run fairly close to a stereotype. Corey is the handsome, brooding teenager from the working class side of the tracks. He has his flaws, but underneath has a good heart. Gina is a struggling single mother unable to break the cycle of poverty, alcoholism, drug use, and a violent ex. Leo Sheffield is the businessman, who believes he has to keep up appearances and thinks that money is the answer. Sheila, Leo's wife, is not a true participant in the events of this book but is a strong presence as the snobby, pretentious rich woman.
The characters do not develop beyond the stereotype.That also means that not much unexpected truly happens in the book. There are no sudden shifts in character and no huge twists in the story. Perhaps if the intent of the book is to highlight the stereotypical differences of the Hamptons society, that is exactly the point.
The book is a very dark one - literally and figuratively. Even with the short period of time the book covers, much of what happens happens at night. Through the characters, the book highlight several serious issues - a suicide attempt, a struggle with alcohol and drugs, a near rape, a need to hide sexual identity, and a penchant for risk taking. These are the undercurrents to the story and create an even darker story.
With the darkness and the short time frame, the author manages to create an intensity that keeps me turning pages even though there is no real mystery to be solved. I keep reading to find out what happens to each of these characters. Each of them makes some horrible choices - breaking and entering, alcohol, drugs, violence, theft, and more - at some point. At the same time, I find myself feeling sorry for all of them (well, all of them except for Gina's ex).
What is interesting about the ending is that it does not seem to be exactly an ending. I turn the last page and think ... but what happens to them. What happens next? The fact that I invest enough into the characters and the story to want to know says to me: good read perfect for the beach when summer arrives.
The East End Blog Tour
Author: Jason Allen
ISBN: 9780778308393
Publication Date: 5/7/19
Publisher: Park Row Books
Author Bio:
Jason Allen grew up in a working-class home in the Hamptons, where he worked a variety of blue-collar jobs for wealthy estate owners. He writes fiction, poetry, and memoir, and is the author of the poetry collection A MEDITATION ON FIRE. He has an MFA from Pacific University and a PhD in literature and creative writing from Binghamton University, and currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where he teaches writing. THE EAST END is his first novel.
Book Tour:
Author Q&A:
A: Maintaining relationships, maybe? It’s understandable that it might not be easy for most people to be in a relationship with someone who wants to spend days off from work in their pajama pants, shut away in a room for hours at a time. The work itself, I honestly love it—even when it feels like hard work. It’s incredible that after many years of writing, now I get to work on my next novels as others are reading The East End. I guess the hardest part is what happens after the writing is finished. I want everyone to like it… haha.
Q: What inspired you to write THE EAST END?
A: Initially, I mainly wanted to illuminate the inner lives of the working class people of the Hamptons. I grew up there, and as a working class person in a seasonal resort area that attracts the wealthiest of the wealthy, as the Hamptons does, it’s impossible not to compare what “they” have versus what “we” have. I’d always been fascinated by just how extreme the disparity was between the multi-millionaire visitors and those of us who scraped by year after year, and that tension played out in so many ways each summer season. So I wanted to explore class, but also addiction, secrecy, obsession, and to do my best to write a complex story that highlights that tension among the disparate classes of people in the Hamptons. What I found over time, after delving into the depths of each character’s psyche, is that I truly believe that we are all more than the assumptions others might impose upon us.
Q: What are some of the main themes in the book or some of the key takeaways?
A: The main themes are class (specifically class-divide), alcoholism and addiction, secrecy, obsession, loneliness and longing, and identity (including sexual orientation/ identification). The key takeaway, I hope, is that we should try our best not to judge any book by its cover. I had an easy time empathizing with the teenaged character, Corey, even as he starts breaking into houses, and also for his mother, Gina, even as she’s hitting bottom with alcohol and pills and is relatively absent from her two sons’ daily lives. I was surprised to find how much I cared about the billionaire character, Leo Sheffield, when in the past I could have easily written him off as just another greed-driven destroyer of the world, someone who deserves no empathy—but it was gratifying to care about them all, despite their flaws and bad decisions.
Q: What are the commonalities you discovered between the elite and the middle-class characters?
A: Everyone suffers. Everyone loves. Everyone longs for something or someone. We’re all so flawed, all bumbling along through our lives; we’re all having a human experience, no matter our socioeconomic status. It just so happens that it will always be a bit harder for working class people in general—hardest of all for the poorest of the poor.
Q: What was the hardest part about writing your debut book?
A: Maintaining relationships, maybe? It’s understandable that it might not be easy for most people to be in a relationship with someone who wants to spend days off from work in their pajama pants, shut away in a room for hours at a time. The work itself, I honestly love it—even when it feels like hard work. It’s incredible that after many years of writing, now I get to work on my next novels as others are reading The East End. I guess the hardest part is what happens after the writing is finished. I want everyone to like it… haha.
Buy Links:
Social Links:
Twitter: @EathanJason
Facebook: @jasonallenauthor
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