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Papaya Sunset – Living Aboard Sailboat In Key West – Review

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Robert E. Schiller, a life-long and highly sought-after public education administrator now serving as the interim superintendent of the Falls Church, Virginia, public schools, knows basketball, and in “PAPAYA SUNSET” he manages to draw the reader into the excitement of a close game, a last minute basket, and the intricate moves of the players. Papaya Sunset.

As skillfully and colorfully as he describes a basketball game, he tells the story of Stewart Anderson (Sam) Mackenzie, an extremely successful Chicago lawyer who married into a wealthy society family in his early 20s, became a partner in his father-in-law’s law firm, and whose life goes bottom up after his extra-marital affair is discovered.

On a “sabbatical,” a euphemism for being tossed out of his family and his law firm, Sam lands in Key West, aboard his sail boat, the “Jump Shot.”  The crisis of his forced sabbatical coincides with his middle aged crisis. Together they are a five alarm fire. We learn that Sam was a star, All American, basketball player who destroyed his leg while making a game winning shot.  With pro-basketball an impossibility, he allowed his girlfriend’s well-connected family to take control of his life: marriage, law school, partnership, and summers on Mackinaw Island.

After sleepwalking through his life, Sam lands in Key West (the “Conch Republic”), apparently as far from a button down, white shoe law firm as he could get. If you have visited Key West, you will appreciate Schiller’s wonderful description of its people, its food, its bars and restaurants, and the beauty of its sunsets.

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Schiller also skillfully introduces us to the colorful people who befriend Sam, including Freddy, the extroverted Cuban fishing boat captain who loves women from the cruise ships because they get back on the ship and leave after a passionate night.  They also include Moira and Felicia, a beautiful Cuban refugee and her small daughter. Schiller clearly has a talent for bringing his characters to life. Although a tad didactic, each character has a chance to tell his/her story and each has a different, recognizable voice.  This is the hallmark of a good writer.

“Papaya Sunset” is a good read.  I know little about basketball, but Schiller kept me involved in the game. Similarly, Schiller skillfully framed Sam’s middle aged crisis without resorting to tired cliches. This is definitely a five star book.

Source: Book Review: “Papaya Sunset” – Falls Church News-Press Online

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