East Side Story (2004)

In his 60th book, Louis Auchincloss turns his eye to the Carnochan clan, Scottish émigrés who make (and lose) various fortunes, all the while staying firmly ensconced in Manhattan's upper strata, nestled alongside the likes of the Vanderbilts. The 12 chapters present interesting character sketches of different family members over the course of the 20th century, but East Side Story fails to add up to a gripping, cohesive whole. With the Carnochans' choices seemingly limited to Yale or Harvard, the law or business, and marrying well or badly, there just isn't enough diversity to carry these pages.