Cassidy

by Morris L. West

Charles Parnell Cassidy is an Australian politician cast in the traditional Irish-Catholic mold of rhetoric, dynasty, and influence-peddling. Martin Gregory is the moral and disenchanted protege who married Cassidy's daughter, went to Europe, became a success on his own merits, and scorned his father-in-law. When the terminally ill Cassidy appears in London to die, he makes Gregory the executor of his legal estate and sets a complex trap by offering him the keys to a vast empire of wealth and corruption spanning Australia and Southeast Asia. With Cassidy's evil influence ever present, Gregory tries to unravel the complications of the old man's estate, obligations, and debts, while struggling with his own ambition and the security of his family. A powerful story from a master storyteller.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller

Paperback

First published October 1, 1986

About the author

Morris Langlo West was born in St Kilda, Melbourne in 1916. At the age of fourteen, he entered the Christian Brothers seminary ‘as a kind of refuge’ from a difficult childhood. He attended the University of Melbourne and worked as a teacher. In 1941 he left the Christian Brothers without taking final vows. In World War II he worked as a code-breaker, and for a time he was private secretary to former prime minister Billy Hughes.

After the war, West became a successful writer and producer of radio serials. In 1955 he left Australia to build an international career as a writer. With his family, he lived in Austria, Italy, England and the USA, including a stint as the Vatican correspondent for the British newspaper, the Daily Mail. He returned to Australia in 1982.

Morris West wrote 30 books and many plays, and several of his novels were adapted for film. His books were published in 28 languages and sold more than 60 million copies worldwide. Each new book he wrote after he became an established writer sold more than one million copies.

West received many awards and accolades over his long writing career, including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the W.H. Heinemann Award of the Royal Society of Literature for The Devil's Advocate. In 1978 he was elected a fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1985, and was made an Officer of the Order (AO) in 1997.

Morris West died at his desk in 1999.

Reviews

[Sandra Yuen (MacKay) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Charlie Cassidy, a powerful politician, dies and leaves his son-in-law Martin Gregory to deal with his secrets and legacy. From the grave, he still wields great power but Martin must find his own answers. This book was published in 1986 so I felt it was a little dated. The ending was fine but I felt it lost momentum in the middle.

[Lizziet · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a huge disappointment. I thought it would be a quicker read. I was wrong. It dragged.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dated, poorly written and unconvincing. Not awful

[Guillermo Ramón Gil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente.

[Isabel Luna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Si bien es un libro muy bien escrito, no puedo decir q me haya gustado. Tal vez xq cuando lo leí estaba demasiado verde para entender la verdadera complejidad de la historia pero es q resulta un poco difícil de entender, aún ahora q supuestamente estoy un poco más madura (o tal vez lo correcto sería decir, q estoy más curtida) el nivel de manipulación al q puede llegar una persona. Simplemente no me entra en la cabeza q quieras a alguien como a un hijo, le quieras organizar la vida, él no se deja, se casa con tu hija, los apartas de tu vida y luego vuelves a ellos tan campante con ganas de ver si ahora sí ya puedes manipular a todo el mundo a tu gusto, para q cada uno ocupe el lugar que tu elegiste para cada uno y si te cargas la vida y la felicidad de las personas q dices amar, la verdad te importa un ardite xq al fin y al cabo te saliste con la tuya y al final es lo q importa.
Solo de escribir esto ya me cansé. Cuestión q no me gustó. No lo voy a recomendar.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

West is a master storyteller and can turn his imagination and writing skills to a host of subjects and scenarios. In Cassidy he explores the underbelly of Australian politics and organised crime and in doing so, once again, tries to expose more aspects of the human condition.
This time it’s greed, power and temptation. He shows one mans drive and determination to succeed at whatever cost who in turn puts another mans conscience, personal integrity and morality in jeopardy.
Morris always writes with evocative and sometimes explosive prose offering knowing and sometimes world weary observations on his very human and flawed characters and their various interactions and machinations. A great read and heartily recommended to those who enjoy intelligent writing at its best!

[Shailesh Dhume · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book creates a fantastic setup at the start . But unfortunately that's where it stays. The sense of suspense and unknown becomes repetitive and even the plot stalls. There are intriguing characters, globe trotting scenes and lot of subterfuge but somehow it never comes together and the pace never pick up.
A strictly so so book.

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cassidy, a master politician has died and left his crooked empire to be disposed of to his hated son-in-law. A nightmare journey through a savage underworld of corruption, terror and shattering revelation as the sins of one man reach out to possess another. Made into a TV mini series.

[Mario Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

0

[Maria do Socorro Baptista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gosto de Morris West, mas este não é meu livro favorito.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book. Thrilling and utterly absorbing. I couldn't put it down. Riveting. What a great storyteller!

[Liliana Costa]

Li em Portugues e não em Inglês.
ISBN 9780340364741

[Rajat Narula · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wily Australian politician leaves his estate affairs in a way that cause problems to his son-in-law. An interesting story not told well.

[Mary Coz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe 3 stars because it’s approaching archaic on some levels. I do, however, like me some Morris West.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

i judged it by the cover. title really. bad judgement.

[Mary Coz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't finish. I'm a tolerant reader and could not take the redundancy of putting each convesation and decision under a microscope. I lost patience and gave up - haven't done that in decades.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of the few Morris West books I have not enjoyed - maybe the lawyers and economists amongst us might enjoy it. It seemed to be trying to hard

[Mike Sobyra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A long time has passed since I've read a Morris West novel. But i have to admit I've found this as good as the rest of his works that I've read. He weaves a very real story that keeps you interested. I couldn't put it down.