Jason Allen (1)

The East End by Jason Allen is an upstairs-downstairs of the Hamptons, where everyone has a different style of misery.

The accidental death at the beginning puts the plot in motion, so overlook that the entire novel could have been avoided with a call to the family lawyer. A man who quickly gets his hands on a million dollars in cash probably has one on retainer, or at least in his contacts list. And rich Manhattanites never go to jail for possession.

There is a heavy sense of unhappiness show more throughout this book, as characters made self-destructive choices. The author plays with invisible class markers here — whose depression sends them to an upscale psych ward and whose to the liquor store? Which teenagers get to be rebellious? The novel stops short of equalizing classes, never conflating problems of survival and of social positioning, but there’s a sense of dissatisfaction and unhappiness though all the characters.

I read this novel immediately after finishing Out East, a memoir about finding love and identity in the Hamptons party scene. I enjoyed Out East, and of course the Hive tribe isn’t quite at the Sheffield’s level (yet), but I felt like I connected more with the working-class Hamptons. For many years, I supplemented my regular work by taking waitressing shifts over holidays. I’ve worked summer Saturdays at beer tents, Christmas day at a Chinese takeout, covered for others taking the holiday weekend off, etc., so I appreciated the details of the underclass doing the invisible work of making A Weekend In The Hamptons happen.

At times, the female dialogue feels slightly forced, particularly in conversations between Tiffany and Angelique, and Gina and Marianne.

The final scene is heavyhanded, forced and awkward, in a way that doesn’t do justice to the subtlety of the rest to the novel. Just skip the heavyhanded Grand Canyon scene for a solid manners novel of the Hamptons. show less

The East End by Jason Allen is an upstairs-downstairs of the Hamptons, where everyone has a different style of misery.

The accidental death at the beginning puts the plot in motion, so overlook that the entire novel could have been avoided with a call to the family lawyer. A man who quickly gets his hands on a million dollars in cash probably has one on retainer, or at least in his contacts list. And rich Manhattanites never go to jail for possession.

There is a heavy sense of unhappiness show more throughout this book, as characters made self-destructive choices. The author plays with invisible class markers here — whose depression sends them to an upscale psych ward and whose to the liquor store? Which teenagers get to be rebellious? The novel stops short of equalizing classes, never conflating problems of survival and of social positioning, but there’s a sense of dissatisfaction and unhappiness though all the characters.

I read this novel immediately after finishing Out East, a memoir about finding love and identity in the Hamptons party scene. I enjoyed Out East, and of course the Hive tribe isn’t quite at the Sheffield’s level (yet), but I felt like I connected more with the working-class Hamptons. For many years, I supplemented my regular work by taking waitressing shifts over holidays. I’ve worked summer Saturdays at beer tents, Christmas day at a Chinese takeout, covered for others taking the holiday weekend off, etc., so I appreciated the details of the underclass doing the invisible work of making A Weekend In The Hamptons happen.

At times, the female dialogue feels slightly forced, particularly in conversations between Tiffany and Angelique, or Gina and Marianne.

The final scene is heavyhanded, forced and awkward, in a way that doesn’t do justice to the subtlety of the rest to the novel. Just skip the heavyhanded Grand Canyon scene for a solid manners novel of the Hamptons. show less

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Life in the Hamptons for two very different families unravels faster than a spool of yarn when an accidental death appears to be murder.

Corey Halpern, recently a high school graduate, with college on the horizon, has a habit of breaking into homes. As Corey lives in the affluent community, one would think his motive would be robbery. Why not take incredible valuables from the homes? Instead, Corey just wants to cause havoc. An example is to pour salt into a gallon of show more milk, simply to imagine the response of the people using it the following day. However, Corey gets far more than he bargained for when he witnesses a accident by the pool. The man that died was apparently the lover of the homeowner, Leo Sheffield. Leo is actually the boss of Corey and his mother, Gina.

When this happens, Corey realizes that he is not the only witness. Due to some rather odd conniving, a plan is hatched, and this sets the pattern for events that no one will be able to turn back from.

This exciting debut story is delivered in rapid succession from several points of view. What is explored is how something as tragic as an untimely death pushed people to behave in an abominable manner. However, the story is much more than that. It becomes a powerful reminder that we live in a society that is bent by many unpleasant things. Not the least in this situation are, to mention a few, class differences, secrecy, obsession and desperation.

This stunning and rather shocking read was difficult to put down. It was compelling, leaving me desperate to see how everything would develop and what possible resolution could be experienced. The fact that everything happened in just a two-day span was incredible. Jason Allen is most certainly talented and I am glad to have been afforded the opportunity to read this book. I most certainly am eager to read his next one.

Many thanks to Park Row Books, Harper Collins and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion. show less

THE EAST END, BY Jason Allen, really studies what people do in desperate situations. Is anyone really so altruistic as to put others above themselves and does escaping problems really make them go away? Using these themes, Allen tells about a series of events that threaten to change the lives of several people over a weekend in the Hamptons.
Allen does a good job creating characters that are layered, flawed, and very believable. The reader feels the sadness, the hope, the desperation of each show more person throughout the whole book. The story takes place over a rather short amount of time and the reader's imagination and need to fill in the blanks are kept to a minimum. A point that Allen emphasizes throughout the book that resonated with me was that money and success is not the sole generator of happiness; successful people can struggle to find contentment, while simple choices made by the young and poor can bring endless happiness. The plot progresses well and culminates a confrontation that ties up most of the loose ends.
While unhappy people trying to find happiness and fulfillment is not a new topic in the current book landscape, there is something about THE EAST END that stands apart. Maybe its the short time frame and the well-developed characters, maybe it's how that story is successfully tied up in the end. Whatever it is, I enjoyed it.
Thank you to Harlequin/Park Row, Jason Allen ,and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! show less