Condominium

Posted In: Condominium

Tori Terre says...

I hesitate to call Condominium John D. MacDonald's best novel, not yet having plowed through his entire canon.I will say, though, that it is the best of his novels that I have read to date.

The story's build andmomentum is remarkable, simulating the steady gathering of storm clouds ina hurricane like the one that brings this novel to its climax.From pageone, the reader knows that trouble is brewing, and after the introductionof several shady characters bent on exploiting the masses lured to theAmerican Eden, you begin to crave a good comeuppance for thecorrupt.

Only, life has an odd way of punishing not only the rotten, butthe innocent who cross their path.

MacDonald is always true to thesocial reality of Florida and, make no mistake, this book is as timely aswhen it was first printed. Finely written and one of MacDonald's mostengaging reads.

Posted on December 13, 2010

Jude Conant says...

"Condominium" may be MacDonald's best novel. Much of it is still relevant after 20 years. No other book I've read captures the perils and paranoias of aging with such pithy eloquence. Here on the wet coast ofBritish Columbia, this novel has new relevance, for we have leaky condos bythe hundreds.

Posted on December 14, 2010

Dorethea Kurdyla says...

John D. MacDonald is ruthless.First, he pillories "community leaders" whose greed and self agrandizement victimize retirees who flock to the tropical paradise of the Florida keys.Then, just as ruthlessly, he describes the realities of the "golden years," years of disenchantment, boredom, paranoia, disease.Here the master (ask Hiaasen and other younger authors whom he as inspired) turns from his usual genre, the detective romp, to a disaster saga.His Hurricane Ella wreaks havoc on scam artist and mark alike.A very good read . . .a very illuminating expose.Never been disappointed yet with a J.D. MacD. novel

Posted on December 15, 2010

Frida Deeg says...

My God, reading this book you can't tell whether it is 1977 (which is when it was written) or 2009.And, I'm reading it as two hurricanes are churning across the Atlantic.Condo boom in Florida?Check.Unsustainable home values?Check.Corrupt builders/bankers/politicians?Check.Shoddy construction?Check.People looking to fulfill a dream and being severely disappointed?Check.I can't speak for the all the marriage infidelity but I'm sure that's happening too.The book was extremely funny until it was extremely sad.But, you might say many of them got what they deserved.Nature (and life in general) has an uncanny way of turning things around.

Posted on December 17, 2010

Daria Grannell says...

Of perhaps half a dozen MacDonald books I've read, this one stands out a mile. I only wonder what kind of life he had, that drove him to create so many utterly despicable characters.The few likable ones are viciously scarred by tragedy even before the book starts--and things only get worse.The old folks here are mostly busy dying even before trouble comes, and the young ones are too busy jumping each other's bones to care if the old even die with any dignity.the righteous and the unrighteous alike mostly end up at the bottom of Davy Jones' Locker, and none will be lamented--though many are unforgettable, even in their nastiness.I can't see the printed edition, so I don't know if MacDonald intended the characters Mcginity and Brenhamer in particular to use thedialect employed by the narrator in the audio edition.This is so much better than the Travis Mcgee series that it could have been written by a different man.

Posted on December 17, 2010

Valery Frisinger says...

I read this book many years ago and I have told many people about it.I am going to purchase it now to give to my children to read.It is perfectly true even by today's standards. They actually made a mini-series of it back in the day when those were all the rage.I would be interested in seeing that again as well.Just as an aside--he also wrote a very astute book about all the tele-evangelists and this was BEFORE the Jimmy Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart scandals.He was a true visionary.I love the whole Travis McGee series as well.

Posted on December 18, 2010

Rosette Bulland says...

First of all, let me say that I was for years, a zealous John D. MacDonald fan.....I have all the Travis McGee books, and had at one time read virtually everything he had put down on paper.I lived in Southern California for over twenty years and saw orange grove after beach land disappear,,,then I moved to the desert and was utterly dismayed to see it happen there also. So, the message of Condominium is something I feel strongly about. But I thought this book had entirely too many characters to keep track of.I found it confusing, as if I needed to make a chart to follow the action.And I found it predictable.

Posted on December 18, 2010

Marth Entrikin says...

An awesome look at the reality of what they do to the old people here in Florida. MacDonald essentially indicts our entire society. This novel's more relevant today than ever, MacDonald was truly visionary. These characters are real people and they live here in Florida, except for the hero character, Sam Harrison, who might as well have been named Travis McGee. I haven't read all of Johnny Mac, but this might be his best one.

Posted on December 19, 2010

Hedy Feldkamp says...

Living in Florida I read Condominium each year just to remember how fragile a peninsula it is we live on.The discipline helps me make decisions when hurricanes threaten.I've given this book to others to read as a reminder.

Posted on December 19, 2010

Shaun Ghazal says...

I've liked the 10 or so Travis McGee books I've read quite a lot.



With those in mind I picked up 'Condominium'. Wow, what a vast disappointment.



MacDonald is a great writer, and he puts all his talent to waste with this detailed, lengthy book about absolutely nothing. Literally dozens of boring characters compete to be the least interesting, while the overall 'plot' (if you can call it that) finally emerges in the last section of the book to be about as exciting as your local weatherman harping about hurricane swells.



Do yourself a favor and skip this totally forgettable travesty.

Posted on December 20, 2010