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becks29 's review for:
All the King's Men
by Robert Penn Warren
This was another book club pick. It was meant originally for November, to fulfill the "political book" theme that we were going with. However, I was pretty much sick of politics by November (I'm sure most Americans were in the same boat), and just couldn't force myself to devote my free time, my relaxing reading time, to a political theme. We were supposed to meet at the end of November, so I decided to give myself a week or so after the election before starting... then the meeting was postponed until Dec. 4, and I put it off again. I really wish I hadn't procrastinated, because it was really good. (I'm sure someone's saying, "duh, it won a Pulitzer.") I started reading a few days before my book club met, and because I really didn't give myself enough time to read what is a pretty long book, I ended up rushing through it, another regret with this book. I feel like some day I need to devote some real time to re-reading this, maybe in the summer while sitting on the banks of a southern lake.
I know this is a crappy review, but I highly recommend this book - it's less about corrupt politicking and more about Jack Burden, the lawyer-turned-historian-turned-reporter who became Willie Stark's right hand man. Jack Burden is an odd character, a man who at times seems [kinda] driven to do something, and then abruptly does a 180 and burns his bridges. He seems to put more energy into burning bridges than to build them in the first place, and content to just let life happen to him. He views the people around him, especially women, almost as objects who each play one role, and becomes jaded when they find they have other facets or touches of individuality that don't relate to their relationship to him. Again, especially women. Whenever life gets tough and he has to deal with responsibilities, he sleeps for weeks on end. And yet... he's a mostly likable - if highly unreliable - narrator. That may be because he views himself in the same flawed way he views others, but also that he's less than the people who make up his world. It's as if he feels he's not a real person, and even refers to himself as a piece of furniture. He's also an idealist - at least he thinks he is - who chooses to see the world, and the people in it, through a filtered lens. He says what you don't know can't hurt you, and chooses to block out anything but the part of the other characters in the novel that makes them appealing, good, pure, larger than life, or whatever description he's decided to attach to that person. When a character breaks the mold by showing a new facet, it always seems to break Jack a little. This is important, because with a guy like Jack telling the story, you're getting an accurate, but very limited picture, and learning the story along with him feels natural. I think, besides taking the time to really do the novel justice, a good understanding of Jack's nature would have been the top thing I wish I had taken into the book with me. So... yeah, crappy review... but go pick it up anyway. Do not just watch the movie (and definitely don't watch the newer one at all because it's horrible despite the stellar cast).
I know this is a crappy review, but I highly recommend this book - it's less about corrupt politicking and more about Jack Burden, the lawyer-turned-historian-turned-reporter who became Willie Stark's right hand man. Jack Burden is an odd character, a man who at times seems [kinda] driven to do something, and then abruptly does a 180 and burns his bridges. He seems to put more energy into burning bridges than to build them in the first place, and content to just let life happen to him. He views the people around him, especially women, almost as objects who each play one role, and becomes jaded when they find they have other facets or touches of individuality that don't relate to their relationship to him. Again, especially women. Whenever life gets tough and he has to deal with responsibilities, he sleeps for weeks on end. And yet... he's a mostly likable - if highly unreliable - narrator. That may be because he views himself in the same flawed way he views others, but also that he's less than the people who make up his world. It's as if he feels he's not a real person, and even refers to himself as a piece of furniture. He's also an idealist - at least he thinks he is - who chooses to see the world, and the people in it, through a filtered lens. He says what you don't know can't hurt you, and chooses to block out anything but the part of the other characters in the novel that makes them appealing, good, pure, larger than life, or whatever description he's decided to attach to that person. When a character breaks the mold by showing a new facet, it always seems to break Jack a little. This is important, because with a guy like Jack telling the story, you're getting an accurate, but very limited picture, and learning the story along with him feels natural. I think, besides taking the time to really do the novel justice, a good understanding of Jack's nature would have been the top thing I wish I had taken into the book with me. So... yeah, crappy review... but go pick it up anyway. Do not just watch the movie (and definitely don't watch the newer one at all because it's horrible despite the stellar cast).