CarlAlves

I enjoyed The Gate House when I first started reading the novel mostly because of the first person narrator’s voice, unfortunately after a few chapters, it crashed and burned like a fighter jet being shot down. This novel was bad on so many different levels that it’s hard to find a starting point. First off, the novel was obscenely long. Three quarters of this novel could be cut off without missing a beat. It seemed like the author could not go more than a few paragraphs without lapsing back into flashbacks. Even worse, he kept regurgitating the same information over and over again. I heard the details of John Sutter’s wife killing Frank Bellarosa about 87,000 times including every aspect of his feelings and what happened and the events surrounding it. Enough already. Secondly, the characters in this novel were awful. There was not a single likeable character. I was liking John Sutter a little at first until the point where despite his ex-wife cheating on him and killing her lover, as well as being depicted as self-centered, spoiled, clueless rich girl, it took him about two seconds to get back together with her after the first time they met in a decade. After that point, the novel was all downhill. The writing was weak. There was very little positive to say about this. Avoid this novel at all costs.

Carl Alves – author of Blood Street