Not a Love Story

This powerful debut novel is, primarily, a look at human love-lust and how it can manifest itself. But it is also a detailed description of how a lovely place turns into what is now generically called a “tourist trap,” as well as a book with a worldview that is a pivotal part of its discourse. If one reads this book with all these levels of thought in mind, then it should be a worthwhile experience.

Jerome Grapel was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1945 and raised in the New York City area in what could be called a vintage middle class upbringing. He attended Temple University in Philadelphia where he played baseball and graduated with a B.A. in history in 1967. With a noticeable lack of vocation for anything, and not knowing what else to do, he continued at Temple Law School, graduating in 1970.
After a short stint at a small law firm, Grapel’s courtship with the American Dream ended unsuccessfully. In 1972, a friend from college introduced him to Key West, the perfect antidote for cultural misfits. He has lived there ever since, working a multitude of inconsequential jobs, none of which had to be taken home with him.