God's Favorite: A Novel [Hardcover]

Lawrence Wright (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 9, 2000

In this fascinating work of historical fiction, award-winning author Lawrence Wright captures all the gripping drama and black humor of Panama during the final, nerve-racking days of its legendary dictator, Manuel Antonio Noriega.

It is Christmas 1989, and Tony Noriega's demons are finally beginning to catch up with him. A former friend of President Bush, Fidel Castro, and Oliver North, this universally reviled strongman is on the run from the U.S. Congress, the Justice Department, the Colombian mob, and a host of political rivals. In his desperation, Tony Noriega seeks salvation from any and all quarters -- God, Satan, a voodoo priest, even the spirits of his murdered enemies. But with a million-dollar price on his head and 20,000 American soldiers on his trail, Noriega is fast running out of options.

Drawn from a historical record more dramatic than even the most artful spy novel. "God's Favorite" is a riveting and darkly comic fictional account of the events that occurred in Panama from 1985 to the dictator's capture in 1989. With a journalist's eye for detail, Lawrence Wright leads the reader toward a dramatic face-off in the Vatican embassy, where Noriega confronts his psychological match in the Papal Nuncio.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Lawrence Wright is the author of several books of nonfiction, including the gripping Remembering Satan (1994), about an epidemic of "recovered" memories of Satanic ritual abuse in Olympia, Washington. God's Favorite is his first work of fiction, but it more accurately falls into the category of what Truman Capote called the nonfiction novel, since it is based in historical fact (the ouster of General Manuel Noriega in Panama)--but dialogue, description, and characters are embellished and in some cases entirely invented. As a political thriller, it is a genuine page-turner. Wright's prose has always been full of grit and electricity, but he has fun with fiction in a way he couldn't as a reporter.

At the heart of the book are two men living somewhat parallel lives: General Noriega and the Papal Nuncio--a burnt out, disgraced priest who revels in corruption: "He adored the secrecy, the scheming and plotting, the intricate connivings, the hidden meanings that made life in Panama a study in human duplicity." It's an atmosphere Wright captures masterfully--"a country that dines on gossip," the Chorrillo neighborhood where "rotten buildings slumped against one another like a bunch of packing boxes that had been left out in the rain." Moving through various private and public lives, Wright reveals how both men come to fear for their lives in a virtually lawless country where torture is an art form.

Like a superior made-for-TV miniseries, Wright's book brings the past alive in the form of melodrama. Noriega, the acne-scarred, sexually voracious dictator is a truly twisted villain: spooky and pathetic at once. One of the book's greatest scenes happens aboard a yacht, the Macho III, where Noriega and Oliver North are being waited on by a topless stewardess named Chiquita. North delivers the bad news that with his best pal William Casey dead, Noriega may be indicted for drug trafficking. As he talks, the American quaffs carrot juice and eats ribs, wiping sauce from his chin and trying not to ogle the girls. Meanwhile, Noriega tells him, "I think it's a sin to eat the flesh of other animals. Of course, you should enjoy your meal, don't worry about the moral consequences." It's a scene so twisted it made me feel positively patriotic. --Emily White

From Library Journal

Wright, an award-winning New Yorker staff writer, here follows Panamanian strongman Manuel Antonio Noriego as he flees U.S. troopsAall the way to the Vatican Embassy. Look for the motion picture.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1ST edition (March 9, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684868105
• ISBN-13: 978-0684868103
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,247,771 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In a word--Outstanding, March 21, 2000

By 

Darlynne (Reno, NV) - See all my reviews

This review is from: God's Favorite: A Novel (Hardcover)

Once started, I simply could not put this book down--an intelligent thriller/political satire from someone who writes SO well. Wright spares no one in his telling of the fiasco in Panama and if you aren't compelled after finishing it to read the factual accounts, you clearly didn't read the same book I did. At times appalling and comic, the story and its characters are completely fascinating and heart-breakingly sad. How does George Bush sleep at night?

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Panamanian Panorama, June 25, 2000

By 

L. Carl (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: God's Favorite: A Novel (Hardcover)

A novel of the highest order, taking in religion, history, various world views, politics, and cultures while introducing the reader to modern times. Set in Panama in the late '80's it is a bottom's up view of the top of the hierarchy and how the way that world works from both the macro and microscopic view. The bloody view of personal and corrupted power will make the reader wince, laugh out loud, and possibly bring a tear to the eye. We find out how an ugly Mestizo can own a country and as the reader gets into Mr. Noriega's skin to see his view, we find that the writer has a good grasp on the ordinary things that bring meaning to one's life; however it is also the view of a mad man. We are given a look at the USA machinations into that region and the ultimate purposes involving new-old fashion terrorism, narco-terrorism, with a pinch of romance. Often I felt as if I were participating in the movie Casablanca. An enjoyable read from front to back. On the other hand, my wife put the book down after page 10.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting Reading., October 14, 2000

By 

Irene Suver "Irene Suver" (SEATTLE, WA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: God's Favorite: A Novel (Hardcover)

An utterly arresting blend of fact and fiction, "God's Favorite" thrusts the reader into the bloody maelstrom of Panama under Noriega. The book is incredibly accessible, even entertaining, but it never loses its intent to put you into the heart of the situation, sparing no one, revealing everything. Of course, one cannot know what a historical figure thinks, believes or desires. Even their own words are tainted by the unswerving gaze of history. Wright, however, does not let his book rest on his assumtions of thoughts and feeling. He brings a trained observers calculated analysis and the well known documented facts of the situation to frame his narrative.

This is a truly delightful experience, crisp in style, engaging in content and memorable in the final experience. Recommended.