Customer Reviews

Banquet before dawn

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Actor Jason Robards once expressed his desire to play the lead part of Banquet Before Dawn if it ever made it to the big screen. How wonderful this might have been: Robards giving one more grand performance as Congressman Sullivan in his last struggle for the love of the voter. There's a great story in Banquet Before Dawn -- Robards saw it well. So how does this novel by Warren Adler suit the ordinary reader like you and me? (To know your reviewer: in general I'm a reader of both serious works by authors such as J.M. Coetzee and J.G. Ballard, and purely entertaining works by authors such as Warren Adler, Simenon.) First of all I enjoyed the way the main character is portrayed: an old Congressman who finds himself in a new era. He's from another time and he finds himself unable to to connect with the new generations of the 1970s (Banquet Before Dawn was originally published in 1976) that live in his district. When he goes out to shake hands, the average reply he gets sounds like: "No comprendo." That's tough. To add to his feelings of disorientation in a changing world there are private difficulties of marriage and love. Then a new opponent arrives, young, energetic and in touch with the changing population. Should he fight or retire? I was mesmerized by his situation, his old, trusted world falling apart and nothing to replace it. One man goes with the flow and retires, the other man stays put. Sullivan stays put. For me it was also an interesting look into the American world of "campaigning", with its banquets and press conferences and gatherings. Adler even cooks up some surprises and serious life threatening situations that suit the story. Congressman Sullivan is now one of those literary friends I remember fondly, in spite of all his faults.