Book Evaluation Of Landmark Status By Alan Rolnick
February 24, 2018
Miami Beach
An unique based around property in Miami, I was not convinced that I would enjoy it. I had thoughts of tawdry love affairs among realtor’s, and board space has a hard time in between power brokers. However, rather I discovered an extremely entertaining, and side splittingly amusing novel that makes me chuckle every time I see the cover. This is humor at its very apex. Humor is a tough category to be successful in but this author definitely has ‘The Write Stuff.’
Alan Rolnick has developed a vignette of life in Miami with Landmark Status that should have a spot on the best seller list. The characters are wild, bent politicians, bent land designers, as well as a Ponzi scheme included for good procedure, and what finer setting than Miami?
The hero in our story is lawyer Steven Benjamin Bluestone, Benjy to his friends. Benjy is a delightful character, and as he discusses early in the book, he became a lawyer because his daddy was one, but he has little interest in wrangling and courtroom drama preferring the more sedate kind of lawyering that involves smoking cigarettes Cuban stogies and ogling girls! He avoids at all cost the world of Real Estate, ‘Dirt Lawyers’ is how he explains them.
Regrettably for Benjy an old customer returns, one who had used his services in a divorce (something else that Benjy doesn’t do), and encourages him to help in a ‘dirt deal’. If Benjy has a fault it is not having the ability to say no, when ex customer, and good friend Walter, who also takes place to own one of Benji’s favorite watering holes needs ‘dirt help’, he jumps, albeit hesitantly, into the trip of his life.
The rather run-down Century Club that Walter owns has actually all of a sudden ended up being a much sought after piece of dirt. And there are couple of lengths that a deceitful designer will not go to secure it’s ownership.
The characters that Alan Rolnick has created are wild. From the mishap prone Benjy, to the loan starving mayor Oscar Torres, the even money hungrier would be land developer Chuck Steinbeck and his a little aging trophy partner Evelyn, they are all so well explained I can guarantee you will like them.
There are cars and trucks damageded, aircrafts burned, Voodoo curses, even cemeteries desecrated, and this is all achieved with a dark humor that I discover difficult to believe comes from a first time author. And I did note that Alan Rolnick is not only a lawyer, and an author, he is likewise a director, so come on Alan, make it occur!
Benjy is a wonderful character, and as he describes early in the book, he ended up being an attorney because his father was one, but he has little interest in wrangling and courtroom drama preferring the more sedate type of lawyering that involves smoking Cuban cigars and ogling young women! The characters that Alan Rolnick has actually produced are wild. From the accident susceptible Benjy, to the loan hungry mayor Oscar Torres, the even cash hungrier would be land developer Chuck Steinbeck and his a little aging prize spouse Evelyn, they are all so well described I can guarantee you will like them. And I did note that Alan Rolnick is not just an attorney, and an author, he is also a director, so come on Alan, make it happen!