Reviews

All Her Father's Guns by James Warner

heat_her's review against another edition

3.0

All Her Father’s Guns was funny and scary at the same time. The story takes place in the west (California, Arizona, Nevada) and is told from two alternating points of view–those of Cal and Reid. It essentially makes fun of the extremes seen everywhere in the United States, both on the left and the right: from politics, to religion, to academics, to the corporate world, no extremist view is safe from Warner’s satire and wit. All Her Father’s Guns is a (fictitious) study on just how ridiculous our political system–and pretty much everything else–can be. It also reminds us that we are human, and no matter what we believe in or how hard we work at it, we are never going to be perfect (and the more staunch/extreme our beliefs, the more room there will be for hypocrisy, which will happen). Parts made me laugh, parts made me shudder, and overall it was a decent book.

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sshabein's review against another edition

3.0

All Her Father’s Guns is a quick bit of entertainment, one that might have been stronger with the focus given to just a few ridiculous elements, rather than a hundred. While I would not say it’s been one of my recent favorites, I still enjoyed reading it. Knowing what we do about the current election climate, the book’s election concerns are somewhat nostalgic relief.

(My full review can be found on Glorified Love Letters.)

abookishaffair's review

4.0

Snappy writing and a great sense of humor are the draws for this book. The humor is not going to be for everyone (think of Chuck Palahniuk's type of humor; not for everyone but it's right down my alley) but for me, it was spot on. In fact, I would liken this book to Palahniuk's writing if he started writing about politics. Now this is a really highly honored comparison for me as I'm a huge Palahniuk fan. Warner has a great sense of humor and makes some really keen observations through his characters about the state of politics in the United States.

This book has a great story line and is totally irreverent and I liked it. The characters aren't exactly likable. Some of them are a little full of themselves. Some of them are more than just a little ridiculous. Some of them are flat out crazy but they make for a great story that will definitely keep you engaged. The characters are definitely not role models and this is by no means a morality play. Warner shows, rather than tells through the characters how ridiculous the political world is. I read this book at a particularly timely time with everything happening on the campaign trail right now.

This book will not be for everyone but if you have a good sense of humor (if not a bit off kilter) about things, this one is for you.