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The Last Paradise: A Novel

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Michael Kasenow clearly did his research for "The Last Paradise: A Novel" a wonderful testament to the enduring fortitude of the outcast and underprivileged in Galveston, TX circa 1900. In Paradise, Kasenow paints a vivid portrait of a bustling, thriving port city alive with ambition and progress. Indeed, by 1900, Galveston was dubbed the "Wall Street of the Southwest," being home to the largest wholesale houses west of the Mississippi. Galveston enjoyed Texas' first medical college, first opera house, first naval base, and the list goes on.

However, all of this progress came at a cost. During the age of unregulated capitalism, the trench between the haves and the have-nots was enormous and oftentimes insurmountable. Good old boys wearing police uniforms, (or judicial robes, or three-piece suits for that matter) by day donned KKK hoods by night, ensuring that Jim Crow laws were strictly and enthusiastically enforced. The stench of corruption and racism permeated the entire city, but nowhere more so that the alleyways inhabited by the poorest of Galveston's citizens.

Lest you get the idea that this is a depressing novel about a wretched underclass, let me assure you nothing could be farther from the truth! Kasenow's cast of characters is one of the most endearing motley crews I've had the pleasure of joining since John Steinbeck's Tortilla Flats!

Kasenow constructs a diverse group of souls including Newt, the Harvard-educated blasphemous rogue, Maxwell, the prison-escapee who could teach a class on personal integrity, Scurvy, the sailor who burned down a ship while frying bacon in the galley while in a drunken stupor, and many more wonderful and rich souls. The most moving characters are the novel's oppressed African Americans, for whom Kasenow reserved the kid gloves:

"The Galveston alleys were filled with...black women who cherished their freedom and who refused defeat during the age of Jim Crow - who pushed their husbands, cajoled, gave them confidence and aspiring wisdom - who whispered secrets into the tired and weary ear of hard-working men - who bathed and dressed their children, worked ten hours a day...kept the faith, believed in righteousness, followed the path of goodwill - who mended their tears and patched up broken souls."

It is this kind of evocative writing that makes "The Last Paradise" so enjoyable. I highly recommend "The Last Paradise."

The Union's treatment of the former Confederacy was in no way saintly. "The Last Paradise" is a fictional tale focusing on post-Civil War Galveston, Texas. Focusing on the town as a whole several decades after the conflict, author Michael Kasenow draws a picture of a town trying to forge their way in the world. A tale of fighting upwards against societal and corporate pressures, "The Last Paradise" is an inspiring story and an utterly fascinating read. "The Last Paradise" is a top pick for those looking for a good story about people.

As the twentieth century began, Galveston Island was home to a boomtown with a seemingly unlimited future. For good reason, the city called itself "Wall Street of the Southwest," a title its citizens felt secure to claim because of Galveston's number of large banks, cotton merchants and brokers. Most importantly, Galveston Bay formed a natural harbor that allowed Galveston to have become the largest city in the state of Texas, home to some 42,000 citizens.

It is at this point that Michael Kasenow's debut novel, "The Last Paradise," begins. Rather than telling Galveston's story through the eyes of its wealthiest citizens, however, Kasenow decided to do so from the point-of-view of the racially diverse bunch inhabiting a lively Galveston neighborhood called the Alleys. The Alleys is home to former slaves, prostitutes, gamblers, alcoholics and other down-and-outers of all stripes.

Starting his story at a deceptively slow pace, Kasenow introduces a host of characters that readers will long remember. The character around whom the book is centered is drifter Maxwell Hayes, a man who, despite having experienced the worst that life can throw at a person, still knows right from wrong and is willing to defend those unable to defend themselves. Newt Haskins, Maxwell's best friend, is a former Yale man and card shark who works on the docks with Maxwell. Maxwell, despite himself, is fond of prostitute Fanny Brown, a woman willing to sell herself if it means that her son Cody will be able to afford college one day.

Despite what the rest of the city is like, in the Alleys blacks and whites mingle freely and skin color is not a big issue. Jake Bishop, a black man who works with Maxwell and Newt, wants nothing more than to see his son and two daughters make more of themselves than he was allowed to make of himself. As the book opens, young Jake is preparing to leave Galveston for his first year's schooling, still trying to choose between becoming a doctor or a schoolteacher.

These are just some of the characters that readers will come to know. There are numerous others, including the delightful Catholic nuns who run the orphanage, a happily in love, but mentally handicapped couple, corrupt businessmen, deadly policemen who double as Klan members, and other colorful hangers-on who frequent Maxwell's favorite saloon.

"The Last Paradise" is a frank look at how those at the bottom of the economic ladder were exploited by those at the top in turn-of-the-century America. Life is not easy in Maxwell's world but those who inhabit it along side him are surprisingly happy with their day-to-day existence right up to the point that others decide to remind them of how powerless they really are. Just when their little community suffers a mortal blow, and it seems that things cannot possibly get any worse, the famous Galveston hurricane of September 8, 1900 strikes the island.

Michael Kasenow's description of the storm and its aftermath is haunting, especially knowing that Galveston was almost destroyed again in 2008, this time by Hurricane Ike. What Kasenow describes is so gut wrenching and horrible that the reader begins to feel like a storm survivor in search of loved ones. It is only when all the book's characters are finally accounted for, in fact, that readers will feel ready to learn what life has in store for the survivors.

"The Last Paradise," filled with humor, drama, tragedy and colorful characters, is a worthy piece of historical fiction. Michael Kasenow tells the story of a city that would likely be much different today if not for the storm that almost destroyed it 108 years ago.

The Last Paradise is a grand, sweeping panoramic novel of post-Civil War Galveston, Texas, in 1900. It is a poetic novel of warmth and humor, of philosophic musings and deep insights into the human psyche. I was reminded of the writing of John Steinbeck, in that both often dealt with themes involving the struggle of the working class. This is Kasenow's debut novel, yet it is imbued with a rich flair and characterization rare for any novel. The friendship of two rough working men, Newt Haskins and Maxwell Hayes, and their lives and interactions with the racially diverse inhabitants of an area of Galveston that was known as the Alleys makes up much of the book. The descriptions of Galveston during the Reconstruction era leading up to and including the infamous 1900 hurricane are wondrous. The book is like a time capsule, taking the readers to that time of Jim Crow laws, the Klan and crooked cops, making the readers feel they are there and witnessing it all.

Galveston was a paradise in many ways, and the moneyed businessmen of the city tried their best to market that sort of image to companies like Sears to draw even more wealth to the city and their coffers. The title of the book acts on different levels, also being ironic, in that if it could be said that Galveston was a sort of paradise, it was a fallen one, due to pervasive class and racial injustices that ran rampant through the city like the proverbial worm in the apple. The people of the Alleys serve as the cohesive focus of the novel, and characters such as the simple-minded woman called Burly Horse and the love of her life, a man called Marbles who had his head kicked by a horse when he was twelve, are very memorable creations that seem as if they could step right out of the pages into your living rooms.

The novel starts with a court scene. Newt and Maxwell are up before Judge Hammer, because they supposedly were having a drunken knife fight. We learn later that it was something more, and the "knife fight" was a diversion, but all they know at the time is they're before a judge known for his toughness and mysogynism with an incompetent lawyer defending them. It's one of many funny scenes in the book. They stage as much of the proceedings as they can, having Burly Horse masquerade as Newt's lover and the reason behind the fight, as the third point of a romantic triangle. She shouts out at various times "Kill `im, Newt! Kill `im!"

Because they throw the judge off on tangents as he talks to them, and messes with his train of thought by their bizarre and unlikely reason for their knife fight, he goes relatively easy on them. He tells Newt in a humorous interchange:

"I'm going to fine you three dollars, with the stipulation
that you don't have a drink for one year."
"I can do that, Your Honor," Newt said.
"Like hell you can! That's three-hundred-and sixty-five
days without a drink. Not one single drop."
"Yes, sir."
"Of alcohol."
"Beer, too?"
"No alcohol of any kind!"
"That doesn't seem to be hardly fair," Newt whined.

The kicker is he also has to do a year's worth of "community service, three times a week, at St. Mary's Orphanage." Newt's protestation that "No way, You Honor! I hate kids!" falls on deaf ears. The judge tells him it's either that or "it's one year in the big house."

Maxwell talks about his dad, claiming: "My Pappy died at Shilo. Fightin' for the Rebs." He shows the judge a Civil War pistol he has with him, which kind of freaks the judge out: "Jesus Christ! What the hell's he doing with a gun in my courtroom?" Max has only one bullet in the gun, a golden one. When the judge asks him why, he says:

"I can't get into too much trouble with a single shot,"
Maxwell answered. "I can only shoot one man. With six
bullets I can kill six."

The Last Paradise pits Maxwell and Newt against Boss Connor, a ruthless businessman who is an archetype of white supremacy and racial prejudice. Boss Conner owns the sawmill Maxwell and Newt work at, and has his fingers in many other pies, including being the owner of the bar and whorehouse where another memorable figure, the albino Bleach, acts as the proprietor. Old Man Connor owns the cops, also, and orders the cruel policeman Brood Hale to beat Maxwell up on more than one occasion in the book. He wants to prevent the "coloreds" from demanding better pay and being involved in a union, and he doesn't like to see them with any of the white women of the city. Maxwell's eventual revenge against Hale is one of several superbly realized scenes in the novel.

If you like sweeping historical novels that draw you into to the tale and make you empathize with the characters, if you like books that will grab a hold of you, and thrill you with both lots of action and descriptive, poetic language, The Last Paradise is one of the year's must reads. It should be on every best selling books list, and it is a very impressive debut from an extremely gifted author. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more novels by Michael Kasenow in the future.

--Douglas R. Cobb--

Finally a novel that held my attention! I laughed and cried as I followed the adventures of the lovable characters of "Tin Pan Alley" in turn of the century Galveston prior to, during and after the infamous hurricane! The themes woven throughout the novel, The Last Paradise, are as relevant today as was then. Through vivid imagery and strong character development, Kasenow lets us experience the lives of these hard working men and women who must not only struggle to survive the devastation caused by the hurricane but their own personal survival against bigotry and power. This novel was a joy to read! I highly recommend it.