New England White by Stephen L. Carter

New England White Reviews

• 
  Felice Laverne

  Still a 5-star read for me! So glad I took the time to re-read this one in my holiday down time, in between writing my own chapters and preparing for this upcoming year of wonderful reads and exciting reviews!
  
  
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• 
  Jia

  New England White is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. After I took a wrong turn toward the African-American section and misguidedly thumbed through the ABC’s of Borders’ fiction stacks, I finally made the connection that the newest novel from the widely hailed author of The Emperor of Ocean Park and Yale law scholar, Stephen L. Carter, was located in the Mystery/Thriller section. I could heed my embarrassment in not recognizing the accomplishments of my own fellow member of the “darker nation” (a term frequently used by Carter to delineate African-Americans), and blame it on the fact I was worn-out from a long day at the office. But perhaps it was my own narrow-minded subconscious, blocking the possibility that a successful Black author would be occupying expensive, forward-facing real estate in the curious suspense category. Whatever the case, the 550+ pages to me weighed heavy as a brick in my less-than-muscular arms; but I took up the challenge and settled in for a surprisingly piercing examination of the intersections of race and class in modern America.
  
  
  In New England White, Carter breathes life into previously minor characters, Lemaster and Julia Carlyle, who appeared in his first novel The Emperor of Ocean Park. This upwardly mobile couple is the realization of W.E.B. Dubois’ Talented Tenth concept; both firmly ensconced in the edified black bourgeoisie by virtue of Lemaster’s uncompromising ambition and Julia’s historical familial ties, seemingly without the aid of Carter’s termed “paler nation.” Ironically, however, we learn in the end it is because of an unspeakable confidence with Lemaster’s three White college roommates, two of which have gone on to the Senate and White House; which propels the Carlyle family and the mysterious Emperyals organization to the oft unexplored nether regions of unchecked power. But I am getting ahead of myself…
  
  
  Barbadian-born, Lemaster, is the president of fictional Kepler University. His family resides in the lily-white community of Tyler’s Landing, whose residents keep a close eye on the rising number of “colored families” (five in a town of 3,000) amongst their ranks. A sharp intellect that is maddeningly insane in his focus on honor and single-minded in his devotion to strict Anglican tradition, Lemaster is a formidable opponent for his time-weathered wife. Julia feels caged by the perfect illusion of family life that she has helped design; it is Julia who takes on the challenge of pursuing the truth, no matter how unsettling to her family, when the Carlyle’s Cadillac Escalade veers off an icy country road, leading to the grim discovery of Kellen Zant’s body in a nearby ditch.
  
  
  Zant was a brilliant economics professor who co-authored a famous economic theorem; but more interestingly, he was Julia’s slick, heart-breaker of an ex-lover from more than two-decades before who unfailingly, if not admirably, professed his love throughout the years. The mystery of Zant’s murder grows stranger still when it is reveled that he left clues for Julia’s eyes only. Though she is an unwitting sleuth, Julia finds herself unable to stop searching for answers because some of her ex-lover’s clues lead back to own brilliant, yet frighteningly disturbed teenage daughter Vanessa.
  
  
  The beauty of this mystery was its ability to achieve a major publishing coup with characters from Carter’s beloved, “the darker nation,” at the helm of a bestseller. Though, at times, his prose lies heavy and cloying at the far reaches of your vocabulary (I will admit it – I pulled out my dictionary three times) and there is also the daunting task of dissecting economic theorems; the subject-matter is worthy of the journey. Stephen Carter’s success sheds a blazing white light on this often overlooked and underappreciated part of American society.
  
  
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• 
  Melki

  I have a long-standing dislike for college presidents*, those vastly overpaid, criminally underworked figureheads of higher education. I probably "inherited" this dislike from my dad who spent years longer than he should have as an associate professor. The story goes like this:
  
  My father once gave a lecture to the local historical society and made a joke about the college where he was currently teaching; I can't remember how it went exactly, but it had something to do with the school being unsophisticated due to the large number of tractors in the faculty parking lot. The college president, (let's just call him "The Disgruntled Prune"), heard about the joke and vowed that as long as HE was PRESIDENT, my father would NEVER BE PROMOTED TO FULL PROFESSOR! (Let it be known that the next year, visiting comedian Rodney Dangerfield was paid big bucks out of the student activity fund to tell THAT SAME JOKE, and The Prune then found it very funny indeed.) Eventually, The Prune retired, my dad was promoted, and all was right with the world.
  
  But still, the resentment lingers...
  
  Keeping this in mind, I should have run screaming from this book, as one of the main characters is Lemaster Carlyle, - (even his name makes me start to clench) - President of Kepler University. Sorry to say, the man is a pompous ass who does nothing to change my opinion of, well, you know.
  
  Sadly, it's not JUST HIM! This book is fully staffed with unlikable characters, which is usually not a problem for me, as long as they're INTERESTING, unlikable characters, but in this book, I didn't care about any of these people, the living, or the dead.
  
  Who's dead? Well, to begin with, a womanizing economics professor, whose corpse is found by none other than the prez and his wife. She, of course, was in love with said dead guy many, many years ago. You'd think that would make things interesting, but...it doesn't.
  
  This book seems to possess all of the elements of a great thriller - characters who are personal friends of the POTUS, political intrigue, three murders - both new and old, secret societies, and a troubled teenage daughter with pyromaniac tendencies... I should have been on the edge of my seat, right?
  
  Well, I wasn't. It took me 19 days to read this book. For me and a work of fiction, that's unusual. Was it my distaste for reading tales of the upper crust, my lack of sympathy and enthusiasm for people who still attend cotillions? (Seriously, who does that anymore?) I don't know. I'm just glad it's over.
  
  A few years ago, I remember enjoying Carter's
  The Emperor of Ocean Park, though when I think about it now, I can't recall anything that happened in that book. I suspect this book will suffer a similar fate, details will be forgotten, and the whole experience will be remembered only as a source of mild annoyance, suffused with the lingering aroma of wasted time.
  
  
  *There was one exception - the young and unpompous Anthony Ceddia who became president of the college I attended during my four years there. He once stood in front of me in line to see "Return of the Jedi." I thought that was pretty cool.
• 
  Tasha

  First off, this is a very large book. I wasn't sure I'll be able to get through it but I did. This book is a murder mystery surrounding an African-American president of a university, his wife, her dead ex-lover and a crime that happened over 30 years ago and how they are connected to it. It was a difficult read at first. Many characters and situations to remember but once I understood what was going on within the story, I swept through it. I wanted to know how it was going to end. The ending was a bit of a letdown, however. It was not what I was expecting at all. I wanted something more.
  
  I know that the author is a law professor at an Ivy League school so the book was a bit wordy to say the least. I get it. The guy is smart, probably smarter than the rest of us. Maybe I should have started with his first book then I would have been prepared for his writing style.
• 
  Kecia

  DISCLAIMER: If this is to be classified as a thriller, mystery, or something similar, then take this review with a grain of salt, since I don't normally read books in this genre.
  
  If I weren't reading this for a book group discussion, I would have done the same thing I ended up doing with The Emperor of Ocean Park: put it down about a third of the way through out of fatigue. God bless you for your efforts, Professor Carter, but your editor needs to actually EDIT. There is such a thing as too much detail, too many asides, too much "let me take care of every single brushstroke so you're not left with any doubt as to what you're reading"!
  
  So the three stars aren't for the execution, but for the overall concept, which I liked for the most part. It's nice to see worlds that you're familiar with but that aren't often represented in literature (or, at least, aren't exposed to as large an audience).
  
  Re "paler nation" and "darker nation": Clever, but overused (both here and in the other book)...which goes back to what I was saying about editing.
• 
  Nichole

  I am feeling under the weather, so this will be a very short review:
  
  This second book in Stephen L. Carter's Elm Harbor series was fantastic! I actually liked this one a lot better than his first - The Emperor of Ocean Park. New England White was just as academic and multi-layered as Ocean Park, but it was a smoother read. It was fast-paced, more confident, intriguing, and full of highly-accomplished African-American elites. His characters' judgements about contemporary race relations and morality were well laid-out. I couldn't put it down.
  
  LeMaster Carlyle will forever be one of the most brilliant and complex "villains" in all of contemporary fiction. First introduced in Ocean Park, he is my favorite character in New England White. He is the brilliant president of a ivy-esque college. He is the secret head of an underground cabal of powerful and moneyed African-Americans who control American politics. He is not afraid to manipulate the President of the United States, senators, billionaires, or law enforcement. He is always steps ahead of his enemies, journalists, the government, the university, his wife, and her ex-lover. Nothing stops him.
  
  I am sorry I got to this book so late.
• 
  Izetta Autumn

  I sincerely enjoyed Carter's first novel, The Emperor of Ocean Park, and thus had high hopes for this, his second book. I was hoping and had imagined a modern day Dumas - a thrilling novel, with lots of sophisticated clues, and a twist of highlighting the black elite/intelligentsia.
  
  Unlike Carter's first book, New England White, has a far less believable plot - even for this genre of being asked to believe the inconsistent or unbelievable. Carter doesn't give enough realistic signifiers for his characters to truly connect - though his description of Lemaster Carlyle is so clear that one wonders if it's a character sketch based on a living person. Julia Carlyle, Lemaster's wife, on whom the book ultimately revolves is a confusing, and at times infuriating woman, and her daughter is even more troublesome - particularly with the assumed youthful language Carter gives Vanessa Carlyle for dialogue.
  
  The gist of the plot is this: elite Black family living in a New England college town become involved in an elite Black ecomonomist's plot to reveal the deeds of two powerful white men. The economist, Kellen Zant, never stopped loving his former flame, none other than Julia Carlyle to whom he leaves all the clues to his discoveries after he's murdered.
  
  New England White grabbed me because of its willingness to investigate and even interrogate the Black elite. In fact, some character sketches ran true, but Carter overestimates how much his readers will understand and opts to tell as opposed to show the way that privilege, access, and elitism operate in the high echelons of the Black community.
  
  Were the book 200 pages shorter, I could forgive the shortcomings and enjoy it as a frolicking mystery. Carter needed to exorcise his use of the key phrases, such as: the darker nation, the paler nation, the Clan, and the word nibbled. He also needed a ferocious editor, who would suggest that he keep the book to no more than 350 pages - following the model established by mystery afficionado James Patterson, who so elegantly brings to life his Black characters. Instead, the book is modeled like a Dumas mystery, which means at times too involved and too long. The last 50 pages or so, in varying intensity, show Carter's real talent for suspence and writing action scenes. Alas, it's not enough to save the book for me.
• 
  Vedran Karlić

  Gledati subjektivno ili objektivno? Ako gledam objektivno, ovo bi mogla biti dobra mini serija koja ima neku radnju, pa čak i poruku. No ako gledam subjektivno dat ću joj barem dvije ocijene niže i bez imalo razmišljanja je srušiti jedinicom.
  
  Prokleto dosadno od početka do kraja. I još k tome prokleto predugo. Čitam ja nju, čita ona mene. Ili bolje rečeno muči ona mene. Likovi su kriminalno grozni, slučaj još gori. Ubojstvo čovjeka koji je valjda prvi puta u životu htio napraviti nešto dobro, no s apsolutno pogrešnim i pokvarenim ciljem. Istražiti ubojstvo od prije 30 godina za kojeg je možda optužen krivi čovjek. I turbo tajne poruke koje je pokojni ostavio svojoj bivšoj ljubavi. I sve to uz dobru dozu nekakvih religijskih spika koje su ni vrit ni mimo. Te još više priča o rasnoj podijeli Amerike. Ako niste shvatili da su glavni likovi crnci u izrazito bijelom mjestu, ne brinite, pisac će vas na to podsjetiti maltene svaku stranicu. Znam da je rasna segregacija u Americi još uvijek goruće pitanje, no ja sam očigledno bio krivi čovjek, na krivom mjestu, u krivo vrijeme, kada sam čitao ovu knjigu.
  
  Ipak, ima jedna dobra stvar kod ove knjige, odlučio sam da ću od sada prekinuti čitati sve što mi se ne sviđa. Nema više dovršavanja loših knjiga. A za mene, ova to je.
  
• 
  Stephanie

  I was curious about this book, because his first novel (The Emperor of Ocean Park) was read and discussed by the mini-book-club (comprised of my husband, our friends Bert & Carolyn, and me) and we found much to think about. Once again, SLC follows characters whose background is the upper-middle-class African-American culture about which we collectively seemed to know NOTHING. The use of the phrase "the paler nation" really got our attention, and reminded us that for people of color, EVERYTHING is race-based in some way. We take so much for granted if we are white and comfortable economically...but economic comfort doesn't guarantee comfort in daily life.
  
  I liked the story, was held by the mystery, and had some problems that necessitated willing suspension of disbelief re the plot development. Overall, I wanted to give it a 3.5 but couldn't figure out how to do that, so left it at a 4.
  
  But I enjoyed the experience of reading it.
  
• 
  Vanessa S.

  3.5 stars
  
  New England White is a quite hefty novel and not necessarily an easy read. It caught my attention from the get-go because I love a good mystery, but all of the political talk decreased my interest. I commend Carter on crafting such a complicated storyline, but perhaps some aspects of the story remained unclear to me at the ending because of its intricacy. Nonetheless, I could not wait to discover who was behind the two deaths on which the novel focused.
• 
  Natalia

  A fascinating look into a world I know nothing about. It was a great mystery too, but like a lot of mysteries, the best thing about it is how the mystery provides an excuse to see into a different world. In this case, the story centers around a family of upper-class African-American academics. I had no idea about the world of social clubs and and things that they move in. Fascinating
• 
  Kye

  Another great read from this author
• 
  Jenny

  I have mixed feelings about this book. It drew me in and I wanted to keep reading but there was a lot in there that was unnecessary and the ending left me feeling dissatisfied.
  
  I read through a lot of other readers' reviews and a lot of us agree that this book could have been trimmed down to a more manageable 350-400 pages. I read this book relatively quickly (in about 5 days) but I had a lot of trouble keeping track of all the characters and how they factored into the story.
  
  The mystery was not wrapped up satisfactorily to me. First off, did Kellen know he was going to die? Why did he go off with his killer - unless he was okay dying? Since this wasn't addressed, I have problems with the basis of the entire story! It all relied on too many people to work out - Rod, Vera, Vanessa. And as someone else pointed out in a review, the whole thing could have been revealed by Lemaster (who did not strike me as someone who would like being called "Lemmie" at all!)
  
  A few other things -
  1. How did Julia not notice that Mary stole her keys? Did she not try and go into her office over the winter break?
  2. Who is Jeremy Flew?!
  3. What did the Joules do thinking they were getting justice?
  4. How is anyone that good at anagrams? Obviously it worked out great that AW Acme Surveyors turned into an anagram of Vera was my source but it's too much of a coincidence that would not be found not in a book.
  5. It seems like a lot of work for Lemaster to help Land concoct that story about Kellen and the British woman, leaving too much up to assumption and chance.
  6. The comments about the paler nation and the darker nation were overused but I can see why they did it. It almost becomes a Dan Brown novel, with the idea of a secret society working in the background influencing politics and the President.
  
  This story both intrigues me and aggravates me!
• 
  KC

  I've never gravitated towards mystery/suspense but ever since I read several of my collegues books from the Harlem Writers Guild I've been hooked. So I read Carter's second book with eagerness. It started off strong and I marvelled at how he could keep a mystery going for 550 pages but he did it. And he did it well. New England White is compelling, smart, and good. It can be a little repetitive but given the subject matter---the murder of a genius, controversial black econ professor at a liberal white college, whose ex-lover and wife of the new president of the college (both black)is forced into solving---I can forgive Carter. He draws you into a rarified world of black academia, Jack and Jill Clubs and life outside the "ghetto", all the while serving up a nice twisty mystery. I found it a fun and worthy read.
• 
  Nicole Sackin

  I had high expectations for this novel and I think it fails to deliver.
  The author creates a very racial divided world as the backdrop for this murder mystery. As compelling as the who done it part is, he introduced too many characters without explanation and he spends so much of the book talking about race division, the murder suspense is not able to build up to a climax.
  In a word, I say the plot is disorganized.
• 
  Scott Rhee

  Stephen L. Carter's "New England White" is more than a typical murder mystery. If you happened to be one of the fortunate ones to have read Carter's previous novel, "The Emperor of Ocean Park", you'll know what I mean. Carter, a Yale law scholar and an African-American, hails from the corridors of academe, and his very prim and proper prose style reflects that. He also writes from a culture that the average reader (assuming one is NOT African-American and a graduate of Yale) may not be familiar with: the black upper-class. Indeed, the novel, at times, reads a lot like a nonfiction examination (and sometimes criticism) of a very specific subculture of New England high society. This is not a negative observation, by the way. I found Carter's descriptions and details about this culture to be extremely enlightening and fascinating, and they are essential in understanding the whys and wherefores of the characters' actions and motivations. Spinning off from "The Emperor of Ocean Park", Carter takes some of the very minor characters in his first book--Lemaster and Julia Carlyle--and puts them in the forefront of this novel. Lemaster is the president of a prestigious New England university. His wife, Julia, is a teacher at an equally prestigious parochial school. Driving home from a dinner party one night, they discover a corpse at the side of the road. It happens to be someone they know: Professor Kellen Zant, a rather controversial figure on campus, and, as we discover, a former lover of Julia's. From this point, the novel spins its seductive web, slowly and intricately. Julia, despite her husband's forceful attempts at stopping her, decides to play detective, a role that threatens to destroy her carefully-constructed life of country-club gossip circles, political fundraisers, and picture-perfect marriages. What she uncovers involves a mysterious thirty-year-old Chappaquiddick-style death of a young girl that may threaten the careers and lives of several men in positions of the highest authority in the federal government, as well as her husband's. "New England White" is an extremely well-written and suspenseful thriller, but don't expect the break-neck pacing of John Grisham or Harlan Coben. Carter's pacing is careful and precise, much like an artist painting an elaborate picture.
• 
  Joanne

  Carter’s mystery is complex and compelling, but also confusing at some points with all the characters and sub plots. Just when you think you’ve got it under control, another conspiracy starts to take form.
  
  The Carlyle’s are upper class members of the “darker nation” who on the way home from a Connecticut university fundraiser happen upon a dead body that also just happens to Mrs. Julia Carlyle’s ex-boyfriend!
  
  Then Carter tosses in another murder from 30 years prior of a young local girl and the accused “darker nation” young man. Professor Zant and the Carlye’s teen daughter Vanessa (who’s a little more troubled than the usual teen) have an interest in this case.
  
  Zant and Julia still have a connection and he leaves her little clues along the way to help solve both murders. Her detective work is aided by a retired police officer that now works for the university in security and befriended by a writer who exposes secrets of well-known individuals. There is also some blackmail of “pale nation” Ivy League students who are now prominent political figures that have been funding a powerful “darker nation” secret society and their initiatives since the neighborhood girl is found dead. Add in the local characters of the predominately white small town of Tylers Landing, undertones of prejudice and racial issues, and the ever-present New England white snowstorms to complete this lengthy publication.
  
  Overall a good read, but can be intimidating with the size and complexity of the storyline.
  
• 
  Matt

  A good book by Carter, whose 'thick' intertwining storyline makes for a 'heavy' read, but still a fairly good one. I enjoyed the book, though, at times, I got lost in the storyline, which does seem to drag. That said, when you step back, you can see the progress that occurs chapter by chapter and the deeper issues that help push the book along.
  
  Back in Elm Harbour, Carter takes us through a mysterious set of murders, one in the present and one 30 years old. Characters vie for a better understanding of what happened to a well-known university professor and the romantic entanglements he had with the locals. Add to that, the murder in the community 30 years ago comes to light and people start asking questions. Was a young black man wrongfully accused of the crime, or are people simply stirring the pot? Plus as things surrounding the recent murder come to light, old answers turn into larger questions.
  
  Carter uses a very unique style to present this book, which examines not only the underpinnings of old romances, but also race politics and the place of blacks in the larger American community in the early 21st century. Not a quick read, but very worth the investment of one's time.
  
  Kudos, Mr. Carter!
• 
  Judy

  I had the strangest experience reading this book. I've had it on my TBR list for a long time. I read Carter's first book and enjoyed it. When I started reading this book, it was very familiar. So, at first I thought he is continuing the same characters and giving a re-cap for those who didn't read his first book. But as I continued reading I became convinced that I had begun reading this book. I couldn't tell you what was going to happen, but when I read the event, I knew I'd read of it before. I stayed and read the entire book thinking I had stopped at some point in the past. Eventually, I realized I had indeed read the book. But I was so far along and still couldn't remember how it ended. So I think I should get double for this book, (LOL) especially since it is such a long book. Okay, on to the book--I did enjoy Carter's first book. And in this one he devised a very complex plot that kept me guessing how it would turn out (even the second time!). But I can't honestly recommend the book. He uses far too many words and flowery language that bogs the story down. I had thought I'd read his third book, but it will be quite some time before I look at it.
• 
  Drick

  This was one of the best books I have read recently. It combines a great story (the attempt to uncover the cause behind the murder of economics professor Kellen Zandt, and the 30 year old murder of a 17 year old Gina Jule), and insightful commentary on Black-White relations in the United States. Like Carter's other book, Emperor of Ocean Park, this book gives white readers into the diversity and class consciousness within the "darker nation," as well as their common distrust of the "paler nation." At times the plot gets so convoluted, it is hard to keep track of what is going on, but that is because of Carter's attention to detail (let's face it he is a law professor), and the many layers operating at once and interchageably in the book. Because the African American secret societies play such a signfiicant role in this story, I wonder if Carter is playing with us white folks, or he is giving us an insight into a world heretofore hidden from white eyes. Perhaps the whole thing is a tease, and we will never really know, and black folks will never really tell.
• 
  Kirby

  550+ page book, but reads pretty quickly. Didn't think it worked that well as a small town murder/mystery, even with the rich detail. But it did provoke larger questions about how Black elites might use whatever power and leverage they can obtain within the paler nation in service of the darker nation (Carter's terminology) and thoughtfully explores what the consequences of such choices might be -- on individuals, on the exclusive clubs/organizations/associations allegedly dedicated to such work, and on the communities they hope to serve. In other words, Carter airs some dirty cultural laundry and is an honest skeptic, but thinks the ends justify the means. I'm not so sure.
• 
  Celia

  The beginning of this book was compelling. It got less so, but I was enjoying it. The humor of the academic setting was familiar for this author, I could tell. He enjoyed replacing white Ivy League characters with black counterparts.
  
  Unfortunately, the lightweight-ness of the mystery, even with some good racial lessons, didn't warrant my slow plowing through 600-plus pages.
• 
  Kaitlyn Wb

  Just terrible. I thought that Emperor of Ocean Park was fascinating and well-written, but I found the characters in this one acting in such bizarre manners (Julia was basically attacked something like 3 separate times and just goes about her daily business, for one thing) that it kept taking me out of the book. And there were far too many twists. I had to force myself to finish it.
• 
  Dona

  This was an okay read, but I felt that Carter tried too hard to make this an adventuresome read with plot twists and turns that were more cumbersome than interesting. He could have wrapped up the story much quicker than he did. Instead of asking myself, "what next" in eager anticipation, it was "what next" in terms of "can't we just get this over with already."
• 
  Don Friedman

  My first book by Stephen L. Carter. A remarkable person, African-American, now a professor at Yale Law School, author of lots of fine scholarship, and then started writing novels, with great success. This one is about a black family in a very white, possibly New Haven-ish town, where the patriarch of the family is a major powerhouse, friends with the U.S. president, and now himself president of a prestigious university, his wife is, as are many of the characters, part of the African-American elite. The book is filled with richly imagined characters, their daughter, who obsesses about how a woman was killed many years before, the black ex-cop who breaks all kinds of protocols to relentlessly re-examine the case, etc. A key character is Kellen Zant, is killed at the very start of the book, and much of the rest of the book pursues the dual efforts to figure out who killed and who killed Gina many years ago. And it turns out that Kellen was killed because he was coming to close to finding out how Gina was killed! And Julia, the Univ. Pres's wife, can't let it drop, and emerges from a shell as well-behaved president's wife, to a strong, stubborn force in her own right. And a key players in the book are multiple characters in black men's and black women's social clubs, the women's often about highs society and gossip, the mens' sometimes very secretive and out to gain power by any means necessary, including digging up dirt on powerful white guys and threatening to destroy their careers - sometimes in exchange for important progressive changes for the black community...