Take a photo of a barcode or cover
bakkabennu 's review for:
All the King's Men
by Robert Penn Warren
I started up on this very reluctantly, mostly because All The King's Men is advertised as a novel about shady politics. I was glad to find that I was mistaken. Every character in this book is undoubtedly wrapped up in shady politics, but that is hardly the point. The whole thing is very character driven and the narrator (Jack Burden) is the main focus. Jack's ever-changing ethics is the central theme and anyone interested in philosophy (moral philosophy specifically) will like this read. The book takes place in the deep south in the 20s and 30s, and the tone is very cynical so I would even go so far as to put Warren in the company of southern gothic greats like Faulkner and O'Connor. The thing really is well-written cover to cover, with beautiful, elegant pacing. It is a tad longer than it probably should be, but all the little backstories and asides add a lot of depth to the characters. Luckily there are enough crazy plot twists to keep most readers interested. Overall worth a read if you have nothing to do on a Sunday afternoon.