The Millionaires

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The Millionaires: A Novel of the New South (eBook) Pub. Date: 1/4/2010 Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
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The Millionaires Pub. Date: 1/7/2009 Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.

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Overview

Meet the Cole brothers, charismatic country boys with more money than God—half moonshine and half martini. Roland, the younger, is running for governor of Tennessee, while J.T. maneuvers to bring a full-fledged world's fair to the small city of Glennville. To the dismay of the old guard, the fair succeeds, making the Coles among the most important men in the state. All that stands between them and grander ambitions is an investigation into how their bank made all that money so damn fast.

Life in the fast lane has taken its toll on the Coles' families; their wives and mistresses are among the sharpest, sassiest creations of recent fiction. The quiet center of the story is Mike Teague, the Coles' advisor, who knows one of those women too well, and also where all the bodies are buried. Here is a portrait, raucous yet nuanced, of what the South has been, and what it will become.

Editorial Reviews

Roy Hoffman

Majors is a gentle satirist, affectionately deconstructing a wide range of typically Southern scenes, from a debutante gathering where a mother perceives one girl as "a figure of feminine form out of an animator's imagination" to a glimpse of fans on their way to a college football game, when the crowds are "like a constantly moving and shifting organism, a walking lava lamp." The novel's wry, often ironic narrative voice can be both barbed and tender
—The New York Times

Publishers Weekly

In Majors's (Wonderdog) bloated, frenetic third novel, two young East Tennessee brothers born into extreme wealth struggle to keep their secrets under wraps. J.T. Cole, a fast-driving banker, wants to put Glennville, Tenn., on the map by having the city host a world expo, while his younger and more sophisticated banker brother, Roland, has his heart set on running for the coveted governorship. A successful fairground event nets the brothers some serious cash, much to the chagrin of investigators keeping a close eye on the bankers' shady loan practices. For the duration of the novel, both men are consistently unlikable, cheating on their sassy, perceptive, fedup wives and pushing their weight around their respective territories. By the time J.T.'s wife, Corrine, rightfully throws him out, federal agents descend on the thieving bankers, and a plane disaster shakes everyone up, readers will be too exhausted to care. This sprawling effort is a jumble of excessive exposition and sentence fragments that could have been a lively, spirited tale of greed corrupting absolutely. (Jan.)

More Reviews (3) Fewer Reviews

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In this timely morality tale about money, politics, and ambition set during the late 1970s and early 1980s in Tennessee, Majors (Wonderdog, 2004) credibly conjures politics southern style. The Cole brothers have parlayed their father's one bank into a veritable empire and are still hungry for other outlets for their ambition. Roland decides to run for governor, while big brother J. T. wants to bring a World's Fair to tiny Glennville. They hire savvy political operative Mike Teague to lobby for their interests, and he likes their style-plenty of scotch, card games, and women. When Roland takes as his mistress the woman who almost broke up Mike's marriage, it becomes one of the few difficult patches in their relationship. One failed campaign for governor and one highly successful World's Fair give the brothers an even higher profile until their various banks and savings and loans come under investigation by the Treasury Department. Moving from backroom poker games to pols' hangouts to the governor's office, this expansive, smoothly flowing novel offers a rich look at family dynamics and overweening ambition.

Library Journal

Meet the Cole brothers: J.T. and Roland were born in the backwoods of Tennessee but are now wealthy bankers looking to make their marks on the world. Roland, the younger, is running for governor. J.T. wants to build an exposition in the small city of Glennville that will rival any world's fair. Both are facing opposition from old money types who resent these flashy upstarts trying to buy their way into the good-old-boy network. Unfortunately, some of their success is threatened by pesky investigators who want to know how their bank got so much money so quickly. Mike Teague, a political consultant who works for the Coles, finds himself in the middle of a legal and ethical nightmare that forces him to choose between his own conscience and his future. Majors (Wonderdog; Swimming in Sky) pairs a cast of likable characters with a strong setting, elements that set this novel apart despite its serviceable plot that brings these charming and intriguing men to a predictable end. [See Prepub Alert, LJ9/1/08.]
—Kellie Gillespie

Kirkus Reviews

Ambition, money, politics and women drive a voluminous Southern epic. The money may be new but the format has echoes of Dallas as Majors (Fiction Writing/James Madison Univ.; Wonderdog, 2004, etc.) tackles the story of two over-reaching brothers, "rednecks with money," in the late 1970s and early '80s. The setting is Tennessee not Texas, and J.T. and Roland Cole are not polar opposites, like J.R. and Bobby, but their milieu of substantial homes, restless wives, financial plotting, drinking, keeping mistresses on the side and putting financial advancement above most everything else has a familiar and traditional feel to it. As the novel opens, younger brother Roland is running as the Democratic candidate for governor and hires experienced fixer Mike Teague to help him. The election is lost, but Teague stays on to assist with the brothers' plan to hold the World's Fair in their town of Glennville. Majors' pleasure in his scenario makes for expansive and leisurely narration, thick with description and conversation, and larded with stylistic quirks: scenes presented as screenplay, curious grammar, even free verse. Characterization, however, is light (especially as regards the brothers), and for a social and financial saga there are surprisingly few events. After some machinations the fair does take place, but that achievement marks the highpoint of the brothers' trajectory after which evidence of financial chicanery and accusations of fraud and influence peddling come to light. The shape is mythic but the storytelling is hollow.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780393068023
Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date: 1/7/2009
Pages: 480
Sales rank: 1,033,748
Product dimensions: 6.40 (w) x 9.40 (h) x 1.50 (d)

Meet the Author

Inman Majors teaches fiction writing at James Madison University. He is the author of Wonderdog, Swimming in Sky and The Millionaires. He lives in Waynesboro, Virginia.

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Allen-Atlanta

Posted November 26, 2008

I Also Recommend:

An Excellent Novel

I just finished reading an advanced reading copy of this brilliant
new novel. It is a captivating mixture of All the King's Men and The Great
Gatsby with a southern flair. The novel explores man's most
dangerous enemies--greed and ambition--while offering a look at the
changing south in all its complexities. The Teague character is
especially fascinating in how real he is-- not all virtuous, not
entirely corrupt. This is a must read and will be one of the best
novels released in 2009.

I question whether the Publishers Weekly reviewer above even read
the book. The first sentence of the review refers to the Cole
brothers as being "born into extreme wealth," when in reality they
are country boys, born on a farm in the rural south, who eventually build a banking and political empire. Hard to make mistakes like that and remain
credible. I encourage all to read this revealing tale.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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bookaddictNC

Posted March 9, 2009

more from this reviewer

Annoying

This book was highly annoying. The writer's style made the story (hackneyed) difficult to follow. It was written in a manner that suggests the author already had the screen play in mind when he wrote the novel. As a book lover and JMU graduate, I was disappointed.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted April 20, 2009

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