GABLES COURT

The author sent me an autographed copy of his novel to read and review:

Alan S. Kessler writes another novel displaying his storytelling abilities. However, like Clarence Olgibee (see my review of 5/20/2016), there isn’t anything memorable about the story. In my review of Clarence Olgibee, I said, “What is this novel about? What is the point of this story?” Well, ditto on his latest novel. This man can write, but he hasn’t come up with a story that he can run to the bank with yet. There are edit errors in the novel that should have been corrected before publication. And is our hero’s name Samuel Baas, or Samuel Bass? That’s the $64,000 question. The writing style is good, the prose is good, but the story is just a story. Mr. Kessler, put your thinking cap on and impress me with a haunting tale that I will not forget. It doesn’t have to be the Great American Novel, like Uncle Tom’s Cabin (see my review of 12/9/2012), just something poignant. Anyway, I don’t want the readers think that I don’t like Kessler’s work, his knack for using complex and flawed characters is surprisingly good, but his stories seem to lack direction. Alright, let’s talk about this novel.

The main activities are in a apartment complex called Gables Court in Coral Gables, Florida and in a local Law office. Samuel Baas has just arrived after graduating from law school. His father (a mobster) has paid for a apartment in Gables Court and secured a job for him at RHB Enterprises as a lawyer. Once he arrives, he thinks to himself, “Father wanted me to be a lawyer. He kept me out of Vietnam and got me into law school. Now I have a job because he made a phone call.” Samuel meets three high schoolers (Gary, Benny and Wolfman) by the pool and becomes friends with Gary. Samuel inspects his room and finds out that the a/c doesn’t work and there are big roaches (palmetto bugs) that stink running around. He complains to the useless manager, Mr. Harry Lipman, to no avail. Mr. Lipman is too busy running favors for his fat wife, Rosalyn, who constantly buzzes him with her hand beeper.

He also meets a college student, Kate, who also lives there and is going to a local college. Samuel falls in love with her. The next day Samuel walks to the RHB office for his first day of work, where he meets the chain smoking secretary, Vera, and his new boss, Mr. Eldridge (a lawyer who has never been to court). Samuel is sweating from the walk, because his Ford Pinto hasn’t arrived from Massachusetts yet. Mr. Eldridge tells Samuel that they represent a important developer, Mr. Baxter (a slumlord), and he wants Samuel to sign eviction notices for Baxter. Vera dropped a load of files on the table. “These are the evictions. Just don’t sit there, open one up...you’re looking at the complaint. Name of plaintiff, defendant, rent due, copy of the lease. You sign, we file, and the sheriff serves it.” Later, a beautiful girl (they are all beautiful in this novel, except Vera) named Susan comes in and tells Samuel, “I’m taking orders for lunch. What can I get you?” She works down the hall at the travel agency and takes lunch orders at 11:00 everyday. Don't worry, there are some exciting parts later.

The above review of the first 28 pages is typical of what happens throughout the story. It’s a okay story, but about what? Okay, his young friend Gary thinks he will become a millionaire by selling a gas additive that will give the consumer 50% more mileage per tank full. Nobody buys it. Samuel bails him out by telling him (that) his father will buy his supply ($3,000), but secretly, Samuel buys it with his own money. Samuel doesn’t want sex until he is married but is lured by Kate anyway. And when he proposes to her on one knee, she says, “Never kneel to anyone. I’m very disappointed in you. I told you what’s important to me and you forgot. Stop. Don’t interrupt. Just listen. I’m going to medical school. I don’t intend to be anyone’s little wife.” Then she invites him to a spaghetti and meatball dinner after she chews him out. Haha. I said in the first paragraph that Kessler only uses flawed characters and there are plenty in this novel.There were a lot of funny parts in this story, but I’m not sure it was meant to be a comedy. There are more bits and pieces and unique situations that come up in this story (especially when the mob takes over), but overall it was similar to the Seinfeld show...a book about nothing (but Seinfeld made a fortune doing nothing). I have to give this novel a better rating than I gave his previously reviewed work because the author made me chuckle frequently.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars

Comment: I mentioned one of the Great American Novels in the first paragraph. What are some of the other nominees? I’ve done reviews on many other candidates, but I especially liked: Joseph Heller’s 1961 novel, Catch-22 (see my review of 2/17/2013) and Mark Twain’s 1884 novel, Huckleberry Finn (see my review of 12/17/2012).  

Some of the other novels that I haven’t reviewed, but read are: James Fenimore Cooper’s 1826 novel The Last of the Mohicans; Harper Lee’s 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird; F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby and John Steinbeck’s 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath.