Big Government [Paperback]

Ev Ehrlich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1999

In this hilarious, scathing, and passionate novel of politics gone haywire, Ev Ehrlich tells the story of an innocent in wonderland, of the woman he falls in love with, and of players, politicians, and panderers of all shapes and sizes. Here is a Washington as seen through the lens of a Twain, Heller, or Christopher Buckley, but with an insider's knowledge of just how outrageous -- and, thankfully, just how irrelevant -- the government can be.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Big business turned to Republican Wade Hoak to keep the United States on track, and for three years as president that's just what he's done. But "when it's not depressing or frightening," he says, "being president is just annoying. I'm tired of meeting Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and Olympic heroes and people with diseases. I live in a fishbowl and I'm surrounded by Secret Service agents. I have to wear a bulletproof vest that makes me sweat like a pig. I have to fly everywhere and you know how I hate that. I've forgotten how to balance my checkbook, and how to light a barbecue. I'm sixty-two years old and, frankly, I don't need it." So he quits.

Shortly afterward, a geology professor with a fellowship to work as an aide to a congressional committee is handed a loser issue--a call for increased daylight saving time--and somehow manages to keep falling upward. Another congressional aide befriends Rep. Senior Younger Jr., 114 years old and ready to be a congressman forever: "I don't want to live in a home, so I'd better stay here." Behind the farcical plotting, Ev Ehrlich gets in some savagely funny digs at the deal brokering and image management that make up American politics in the 1990s. Big Government is a brisk, entertaining romp that leaves the reader eager for more. --Ron Hogan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

To say that Clinton White House veteran Erlich's characters are cardboard is not a criticism: this debut novel, a rollicking parody of current American political life, works like a puppet show. The Being There plot follows the elevation of naive incompetents through the self-serving machinations of soulless politicos. Many of the scenes are brilliantly absurd, as when one Senator Moss is eaten by an alligator while wooing a militant naturalist for campaign support, or when the campaign staff of ailing Senator Wheezle restricts media access because being in a coma "is usually perceived as a negative." There are hilarious lampoons of political double-think, e.g., the "universal daylight savings time initiative," a pork barrel for the electric companies, and the "equipment that doesn't work tax credit," baldly subsidizing businesses for giving away things they never needed in the first place. All the men in power speak like the puppet Punch, unashamedly full of themselves, generally to hilarious effect. ("No, it's absolutely legal," says one, "and we can always give the money back if we're caught.") On the other hand, Ehrlich is given to excessive exposition and summary narrative, as if he doubted the readers' ability to appreciate the satire in the action itself. Some interior monologues militate against the total effect, and, because the characters are so thin, it's sometimes too easy to confuse them for one another as the novel jumps from one crazy subplot to another. In the last few pages, Ehrlich tries to draw an uplifting moral that is not at all warranted by the horrific picture he has painted: everyone is for sale, and only fools and losers have scruples. Author tour; simultaneous Time Warner audio.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (December 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446675555
• ISBN-13: 978-0446675550
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,990,898 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A funny book that makes some interesting points, October 24, 2001

By 

New York Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Government: A Novel (Hardcover)

Ehrlich has created an interesting book in writing Big Government. On average, it is quite funny throughout, although by about halfway through, it becomes too predictable and looses some of its punch. At the same time, Ehrlich isn't just trying to entertain - he is trying to make serious points about government, political campaigns, and how in both areas, our leaders fall far short of the ideals of public service (in Ehrlich's belief). In some cases, the juxtaposition of humor and serious points is a bit uneasy, as Ehrlich's writing strays away from satire and becomes more meditative and almost preachy. However, the book is punctuated with enough humorous barbs to keep it from boring the reader.
As a veteran of several Congressional campaigns, I have seen enough of the way that Washington works first-hand to find many of the situations and characters Ehrlich creates to be so realistic, yet so ridiculous, that they are purely hilarious. I'm really not sure that those who have never been on the "inside" of politics would find this book funny in the same way I did, but I think that anyone would find it at least mildly amusing. Another of the book's strong points is that Ehrlich keeps it short, making it an enjoyable read that I would recommend.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very funny and maybe accurate, January 10, 2000

By 

Roger Karraker "luftmensch" (Sonoma County, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Big Government: A Novel (Hardcover)

Thirty years ago I worked as what is called today a spin doctor. I have a love/hate relationship with politics. I think Ev Ehrlich's book is really quite excellent, especially for a first-time novelist. It belongs to a long, honorable history of political burlesque. On occasion it's over-the-top, in a Carl Hiaasen kind of way. (That's high praise; I think Hiaasen is wonderful).

There's also a not-so-subtle, very disquieting subtext to the book, one that the author makes explicit in the closing pages. In short, among the fun there's also some serious food for thought here. This book would make a great movie, too. Let's hope some Hollywood producer picks it up.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! If Washington were only this funny...., October 8, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Government: A Novel (Hardcover)

It is amazing that Washington hasn't shut down from shame. Not from the silliness of multi-million dollar investigations into extra-marital sex, but from taking the natural material our nation's capitol provides and failing to make it as funny as Ev Ehrlich does in Big Government.

Ehrlich takes the innate ridiculousness of the national political scene and turns it into a fast paced flood of sublime humor. This is not a book about our current politcal quagmire, thank God, but you might think you recognize your representatives because the writing is that good.

Ehrlich has taken the sights, sounds, beats and personalities of Washington D.C. and turned them into a piece of tongue in cheek humor any author would be proud to call their own. This is an excellent piece of fiction that rakes politicians and their ambitious young staffers across the coals with a sneer and a guffaw.

If the politicians were this funny in real life, people might actually turn out to vote... just to have something entertaining to watch on the evening news.