Customer Reviews

The Coup: A Novel

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What Malanowski is able to accomplish with The Coup is rare. He gives the reader an insider's view in to the broad scope of D.C. arenas where deals are made, and it feels strangely authentic, even though the prose is so tight as to provide almost no exposition at all.
I loved this book. It's sarcastic, slick, scary, and even a little romantic. A LOT better than your average airplane read, this book is a must-buy if you love politics, satire, and snappy and smart writing.

I agree with the previous reviewers who note that, while this is a biting and funny political satire, Malanowski's imagined bloodless coup doesn't seem so farfetched. In fact, he makes the gaslighting sound easy. The Coup is seamless, and very entertaining. I think it works especially well because Malanowski gets the details right.

The advent of the current political season brings questions of the lengths that candidates are willing to go and the compromises they will make to achieve their ends. Jamie Malanowski has written an intricately plotted, all too believable story that moves quickly along catching the reader up in the Vice-Presidents schemes. It never, however, loses sight of the fact that it is a satire and the humour is both biting and top-notch. The Coup is an intelligent and fun book. Definitely recommended.

Length:: 3:31 Mins

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Try to imagine a sexy Dick Cheney. It's not easy, of course, but Jamie Malanowski starts with that premise and takes us for a hell of a ride in this novel of political satire and intrigue. Malanowski's prose has an agreeable trait in common with that of Stephen King: the vivid characters appear against the technicolor backdrop of American mass culture. With both authors, the effect is the literary equivalent of the best experience you could ever hope to have with 3-D glasses.

A quick, fun read. The author cleverly weaves together a string of events that, in the wake of the scandals of the last 10 years, are, unfortunately, all too possible. To what lengths are candidates willing to go to acquire and hold onto power? To what extent is appearance more important than substance? This is political satire at its best.

It's hard to top the so-wacky-they-must-be-true dramas to come out of Washington this past decade, from Monicagate to the Looney Tunes/Merry Melodies combo currently in the White House. But Malanowski's satire about a creepy Veep who'll do ANYTHING to be the Prez is cynical and frightening enough to make you think it could happen. If you get your news from Jon Stewart, love a good spin-job and think Condi's kinda hot, you'll tear through this wonky thriller faster than you can say filibuster. Malanowski has a knack for cinematic scenes and it's not hard to imagine somebody like Robert Redford or Aaron Sorking doing the Hollywood version.

I was interested in this book because I knew that the author, Jamie Malanowski, had been founding member of the wonderful "Spy" magazine in the late 80s, so I was hoping for something ironical and humorous. The story itself was interesting, about the corrupt VP Godwin Pope, and his elaborate and ambitious plot to take over the presidency. The main character was engaging enough, though not totally three-dimensional, and the love story sub-plot kept the story moving along, though it was completely unbelievable to me.

And here's where I have the problem with the book. Malanowski doesn't flesh out the characters enough, they seem more like archetypes of modern political people in power now (or in recent power). It's clear that he's more interested in the elaborate story than in giving the reader a deeper glimpse into the characters. Also, he seems overly pre-occupied with coming up with cutesy names for each of the characters, as though the name itself will suffice to import meaning into the character. He doesn't seem to have a firm understanding of women and how to write about them. One chapter in particular, where a female journalist meets a hooker, I found to fall completely flat and be totally unbelievable. This book will not date well, either: he uses many, many topical references that will surely be forgotten 10 or 20 years down the road. In other words, it's a book written specifically for this period in time, which is a negative in my opinion.

If you want a quick, humorous read about today's political ironies, where you don't have to care about the characters too much and just want more of a puzzle-like romp, then this book will be fine. I'm hoping that Mr. Malanowski can take his sparkling wit and agile thinking and flesh out his ideas more in his next novel.

Loved this book. It was a real page turner, frighteningly realistic (in parts) and very timely given the state of American politics. Highly Recommend!

It reads fast and loose, like a particularly juicy episode of the West Wing, only there's no sacchraine ending served up to make everyone feel good. The ending is earned, and resonates as authentic and satisfying. A political satire come thriller that offers the best kind of characters...individuals who are neither good nor bad, but a mixture of shadow and light who battle themselves, and their competitors, to get to the top. It's also damn funny.