Success as a rare books dealer, academic, publisher, broadcaster and author of several non-fiction books — at 70, Rick Gekoski had ticked all the boxes. Time to relax, perhaps? Gekoski thought otherwise: he wrote his first novel, published last year, a quirky black farce mutating into a revelation of love and loss. Heaped with praise, Darke has since been shortlisted for two best first novel prizes.
A triumph, then. Followed by the familiar fate of the second novel — heightened expectations. Darke was a witty metro-politan narrative with a sharp literary edge. A Long Island Story is warmer, more leisurely, awash with period background; an affectionate portrait of the author’s family, drawing on Gekoski’s childhood in America.
It’s the summer of 1953 and Long Island is wilting in a heatwave. Forget Gatsby; we’re in Hartington, a suburban corner of the peninsula — a place of cramped houses, polluted beaches, narrow minds; a stepping-stone to disappointment.
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