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The Best People
When Jim and Casey Cromwell get the offer of a luxurious new apartment at 617 Park Avenue in New York City, they become the envy of all their friends and colleagues. Life would have been idyllic, if it had not been that Stewart, Sutton and Atherton, the advertising agency Jim worked for, was on the verge of losing a very important client’s account to a rival agency—and if that happened, financial ruin would be bound to follow for Jim and his firm.The biased and intolerant owners of 617 Park Avenue also become involved, and the drama unfolds as blackmail, law suits and the exposure of former enemies is combined with emotion, intrigue and suffering.(Formerly titled ALL VISITORS MUST BE ANNOUNCED)
Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 14, 2017
This book gives some interesting perspective on late 1960s and early 1970s. The author refers to "women's lib" (unfortunately always in a semi-derogatory way) and describes a sort of "Mad Men" atmosphere at the advertising firm where the protagonist (Jim) works - the women are secretaries who get coffee. For this reason, the book has cultural value as a time and place in social history.
The plot centers around the residents at 617 Park Avenue wanting to keep their world a certain way - quiet, elitist, snobby. The issue the author focuses on is that the building residents (the WASPs) want to keep the building "restricted" - meaning no blacks, Jews, Catholics, uneducated people, loud people, etc. But the author and characters use the term WASP as a synonym for an anti-semite and this becomes offensive. Not all WASPS (white anglo-saxon protestant) are anti-semitic, so the author and her characters are very bigoted by assigning anti-semitism to millions and millions of WASPs whom they've never met.
I also had a problem with the hypocrisy of Jim and his wife Casey being appalled by behavior of a Jewish woman who grew up in the Bronx and quit school, while they are pointing the finger of bigotry at the tenants of 617 Park. All the characters were bigots, but the most manipulative were the ones trying to point out the bigotry of others.
One of the minor characters was interesting because she had grammar issues that were funny. The rest were not. Trying to portray someone as likable because they are against something unlikable just doesn't make an interesting character.
And then there is use of the word faggot in the book without qualm. Such condescension.
The plot centers around the residents at 617 Park Avenue wanting to keep their world a certain way - quiet, elitist, snobby. The issue the author focuses on is that the building residents (the WASPs) want to keep the building "restricted" - meaning no blacks, Jews, Catholics, uneducated people, loud people, etc. But the author and characters use the term WASP as a synonym for an anti-semite and this becomes offensive. Not all WASPS (white anglo-saxon protestant) are anti-semitic, so the author and her characters are very bigoted by assigning anti-semitism to millions and millions of WASPs whom they've never met.
I also had a problem with the hypocrisy of Jim and his wife Casey being appalled by behavior of a Jewish woman who grew up in the Bronx and quit school, while they are pointing the finger of bigotry at the tenants of 617 Park. All the characters were bigots, but the most manipulative were the ones trying to point out the bigotry of others.
One of the minor characters was interesting because she had grammar issues that were funny. The rest were not. Trying to portray someone as likable because they are against something unlikable just doesn't make an interesting character.
And then there is use of the word faggot in the book without qualm. Such condescension.
July 8, 2025
“Abbiamo sempre paura che un gruppetto di persone senza importanza non ci rispetti. Sempre preoccupati di quello che diranno gli altri, chiunque siano questi “altri” -
Ambientato negli anni Settanta, e’ un ritratto impietoso del bel mondo newyorchese,
Quella società benpensante che difende strenuamente il proprio status quo, impedendo che qualcuno possa contaminare la loro quotidianità.
Una giovane coppia si trasferisce in un elegante palazzo e il loro arrivo porta cambiamenti affatto graditi agli altri inquilini
Eppure, molti di loro, nascondono segreti e bugie riguardo le loro vere origini…
Ho ritrovato un libro della Van Slyke dopo anni, avevo letto da ragazza altri suoi romanzi.
I tempi sono cambiati, il libro è pieno di luoghi comuni e termini che, oggi, risultano sgradevoli e fuori luogo.
Probabilmente oggi non verrebbe pubblicato.
Ambientato negli anni Settanta, e’ un ritratto impietoso del bel mondo newyorchese,
Quella società benpensante che difende strenuamente il proprio status quo, impedendo che qualcuno possa contaminare la loro quotidianità.
Una giovane coppia si trasferisce in un elegante palazzo e il loro arrivo porta cambiamenti affatto graditi agli altri inquilini
Eppure, molti di loro, nascondono segreti e bugie riguardo le loro vere origini…
Ho ritrovato un libro della Van Slyke dopo anni, avevo letto da ragazza altri suoi romanzi.
I tempi sono cambiati, il libro è pieno di luoghi comuni e termini che, oggi, risultano sgradevoli e fuori luogo.
Probabilmente oggi non verrebbe pubblicato.
October 10, 2020
Such a dated study in religious prejudice and discrimination. And the plot to gain a shoe manufacturer's advertising campaign was so far-fetched and convoluted there's absolutely no way it could have worked. Yet, they went for it anyway!
November 16, 2022
Much ado about nothing!
May 13, 2011
Inhabitants of a posh NY co-op.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews