Casing the Promised Land

by Caleb Carr

The characters in Caleb Carr's arresting first novel, Casing the Promised Land, speak for a generation that has come of age in the 1970s, people for whom Vietnam and Watergate are not disillusionments but historical facts of life.

The book's narrator, Jason Foster, is a recent college graduate who works in a record store in order to pay the rent on the Greenwich Village apartment he shares with his younger brother, Henry, and their friend Michael Collins. None of the three knows yet who he is or what he will become; and their story is, among other things, a journey in search of the self. Its focal point soon becomes Mike, trapped between his own desire to be a rock guitarist and his inability to reject his family's conventional ambitions for him, a dilemma compounded by the two young women he loves and their own differing dreams for him.

Casing the Promised Land is very much a young man's novel. In the way it takes for granted sexual freedom, pot, booze, television and, above all, rock and roll, it is one of the first works of fiction to describe today's youth. But in other, deeper ways it is a timelessly romantic work to which no one who is either young or young in heart can fail to respond.

Genres: Fiction

265 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1980

About the author

Caleb Carr was an American novelist and military historian. The son of Lucien Carr, a former UPI editor and a key Beat generation figure, he was born in Manhattan and lived for much of his life on the Lower East Side. He attended Kenyon College and New York University, earning a B.A. in military and diplomatic history. He was a contributing editor of MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History and wrote frequently on military and political affairs.

Reviews

[Tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Should've done what the author asked, to "read ANYTHING else I've written" and not this book. Curiosity got the better of me. Luckily, I came away unscathed; just slightly jolted. Admittedly, I've known people like those described in the book, however, they were not worth writing a book about, and even though the writing is amateur at best, there were still a few funny lines and a few thought-provoking scenes. Themes Carr uses in his Alienist novels, obviously got their initial start with this book, particularly his favorite: juxtaposition, comparing contrasting elements of the world in which his characters maneuver throughout, as well as a comparison of the characters themselves.

Despite all of the above, it was interesting to read about New York and the street life on Hudson, and I could almost see myself walking beside Jason and his friends late at night, pondering and wondering, "what does it all mean, man?" From what I gathered in this book, what *it* means is sticking to your principles, do what you feel best for yourself, fit for who you are, and not giving in to others' expectations that are, to you, highly erroneous.

[Sheldon Lehman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why did so many young authors write these "coming of age" books in the early 80's. I'm glad I didn't read this book first.