The Story
In About Schmidt, Albert Schmidt, last of New York's white shoe lawyers, was almost down for the count. After the untimely death of the wife who was the anchor in his life, he was pushed out of his firm and into early retirement -- with not a little help from the crass yuppie his beloved, perfectly bred daughter had mercilessly decided to marry. The only glimmer of salvation was his unlikely, and mysteriously dangerous, love affair with Carry, a Puerto Rican waitress younger than his daughter. Now in Schmidt Delivered, Louis Begley revisits his anti-hero -- triumphantly back from the brink -- to give us a winning story of the tables turned. Within the modest luxury of his East Hampton home, Schmidtie rediscovers domestic bliss with Carrie. He keeps his own hours and selects his own society, even as he becomes increasingly ensnared by the odd oriental billionaire Michael Mansour, who seeks Schmidtie's worldly expertise in his plots to better the universe. Among his other satisfactions: the cold dish of "I told you so" he serves himself as his humorless daughter's marriage to the base Jon Riker hits the skids. Where will it all lead? Can May and December remain on the same calendar as the sun sets? Can the irrepressible Schmidtie remain content in his deck chair indefinitely? With all the elegance and mordant wit we have come to expect of him, Louis Begley has created a magnificent story of recovery from late-life disaster.
Description
In About Schmidt, Albert Schmidt, last of New York's white shoe lawyers, was almost down for the count. After the untimely death of the wife who was the anchor in his life, he was pushed out of his firm and into early retirement -- with not a little help from the crass yuppie his beloved, perfectly bred daughter had mercilessly decided to marry. The only glimmer of salvation was his unlikely, and mysteriously dangerous, love affair with Carry, a Puerto Rican waitress younger than his daughter. Now in Schmidt Delivered, Louis Begley revisits his anti-hero -- triumphantly back from the brink -- to give us a winning story of the tables turned. Within the modest luxury of his East Hampton home, Schmidtie rediscovers domestic bliss with Carrie. He keeps his own hours and selects his own society, even as he becomes increasingly ensnared by the odd oriental billionaire Michael Mansour, who seeks Schmidtie's worldly expertise in his plots to better the universe. Among his other satisfactions: the cold dish of "I told you so" he serves himself as his humorless daughter's marriage to the base Jon Riker hits the skids. Where will it all lead? Can May and December remain on the same calendar as the sun sets? Can the irrepressible Schmidtie remain content in his deck chair indefinitely? With all the elegance and mordant wit we have come to expect of him, Louis Begley has created a magnificent story of recovery from late-life disaster.
