About two years ago, I reviewed Buckley's previous satirical Washington novel, Boomsday, and I'll direct interested parties there for a more general discussion of Buckley's work and strengths. (Short version: very funny, very good at insider Washington, not always great with women. Thank You for Smoking is best.)Supreme Courtship was his new novel last year, about what happens when an unpopular president nominates a TV judge for the Supreme Court after his first two -- highly qualified -- nominees are shot down for spiteful reasons by the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee (who wants the seat himself).
I read it quickly and with great appreciation back in April -- Buckley is both funny and witty, with a deep knowledge of the workings of Washington specifically and power generally -- but neglected to write anything about it here at the time. This would have been a great book to read during the Sotomayor hearings, but, sadly, I missed those. On the other hand, the Court is pretty old right now -- there might be another opening soon. In any case, this is a solidly funny novel about Washington by a man who knows how to do that very well. And Buckley also has the advantage of not having overly obvious partisan axes to grind; this isn't a novel set up to be against "those guys," unless by "those guys" you mean "the idiots running the country."
No comments:
Post a Comment