According to legend, people who go to the Jersey Shore, get “sand in their shoes” and they never leave or always return, contributing to the theme: If you do not create your own life, the environment you are in will create you
Castles in the Sand is about those people, stressing character pitted against atmosphere, making Atlantic City itself a character. It’s 1961 and the resort slouches toward oblivion in a vivid portrait of people in a particular time and place in our history; people too mesmerized by seashore beauty and lifestyle—in spite of a three month economy, dwindling conventions, and unemployment checks—to let it go. Strokes of nostalgia in this multi-viewpoint novel, painted by select characters, also present the resort’s beginnings in the 1800’s and the exciting World War II years as a rehabilitation center for wounded soldiers.
Seasons of the year dictate the lives of a restaurateur and four women, who continue to work for him, despite his sexual harassment, as the once great resort deteriorates during the decade before its both glitzy and tawdry casino future. ARTHUR TEMPLETON battles family, union, fire, flood, the Mafia to save Arthur’s Castle, Restaurant of Epicurean Delight, his valuable Boardwalk property, coveted for a possible future casino site by a cartel of corrupt politicians and businessmen. Will he succeed? Will his wife leave him? How long can the working women put up with his unwanted overtures? Will one of them fall for him? Can a leopard change his spots?
