Purple Dots: A Novel [Paperback]

Jim Lehrer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 28, 2002

Charles Avenue Henderson claims to want nothing more than to relax in rural West Virginia with his beloved wife Mary Jane and live the genteel life of a successful bed-and-breakfast proprietor. But readers of Lehrer's Blue Hearts will know that Henderson can turn at the drop of a hat from the lovely dinners of Rappahannock oysters with sweet potatoes allumettes to his old tricks as a CIA agent whenever he or someone he cares about is in trouble. In Purple Dots, it is Henderson's longtime friend and CIA protege Joshua Bennett who is threatened by a group of senators seeking to derail his nomination as director of the CIA. Purple Dots is both a page turning thriller and something of a spoof of the thriller genre. Henderson, our hero, gathers together all of his retired CIA friends in order to launch a counteroffensive against the senators and their efforts are sometimes ridiculously over the top. As with Blue Hearts and the Last Debate, Lehrer takes the reader on another tour of Washington with all of its vanities and local curiosities exposed. And the search for the famous and mysterious purple dot, the ultimate Washington perk, continues....

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Charlie Henderson's favorite poet is Po Chu-i, a 9th-century Chinese who wrote, when he hit 60, "I have put behind me Love and Greed. I have done with Profit and Fame. I am still short of illness and decay and far from decrepit age." But Mary Jane, Charlie's wife, "sometimes saw Charlie's fondness for the words less a belief in a poetic creed than as proof that he had simply moved into his second childhood. Charlie claimed he had been lucky enough never to have had to end his first, having gone directly from high school to college to the U.S. Navy and then to the Central Intelligence Agency without missing a beat or being forced to do anything other than little-boy work." Charlie now helps his wife run a small, upscale West Virginia hotel where for $450 a night guests get to eat turtle soup amontillado and hear about how George Washington once had a meal in the same room. He's also one of the two narrators of veteran PBS newsman Jim Lehrer's sly and satisfying new political thriller. The other is a much tougher and more ambitious young Republican senatorial assistant named Marty Madigan, who works for a New Mexico conservative bent on keeping Henderson's best friend Josh Bennett from becoming the new CIA director.

Lehrer mostly plays fair with both sides, poking fun at Washington/Langley treats and privileges--such as the purple dots on license plates, which warn off police tow trucks. But you might come away thinking he's more sympathetic to Charlie and his gang of past and present spooks, who cluster in the lovely country towns around Washington and run antique toy stores or restore old dairy trucks while hatching plans to make sure Bennett gets the top job. Purple Dots is a richly detailed, highly amusing, and even occasionally suspenseful story from the author of Crown Oklahoma, Kick the Can, The Sooner Spy, and White Widow. --Dick Adler --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

PBS newsman and veteran novelist Lehrer (White Widow) neatly interweaves ruthlessness, hypocrisy and CIA intrigue in this disarming political thriller. Ex-CIA operative Charlie Henderson comes out of retirement to clear the name of his friend and fellow spy Josh Bennett, whose nomination for CIA chief has Republican Senator Marty Madigan frantically digging for dirt. It seems Madigan is following orders from Senator Lank Simmons of New Mexico, who is being blackmailed, in turn, by a Texas senator who has New Mexico's water supply under his thumb and happens to back a certain undesirable candidate for the Supreme Court. Lehrer gains satirical mileage by narrating the same events from the viewpoints of both Charlie and Marty. Although Marty comes off as a slick, aggressive opportunist in Charlie's version, he earns the reader's sympathy in his own account as a young, ambitious politician caught in a complicated power struggle between his self-interested superiors. As the opponents wrestle their way toward a gratifying resolution, Lehrer deftly exposes duplicity and pettiness on both sides through smart (if occasionally overblown) dialogue that spoofs their simultaneous lack of communication and merciless competition for powers great and small (such as the "purple dots" on license plates, which prevent car towing in Washington). Lehrer maintains admirable objectivity: no character is ultimately sympathetic or completely tarred and feathered by the end of this pointed portrait of Capitol Hill. (Oct.) FYI: In October, Doubleday will publish Breaking News, the third novel by Lehrer's longtime (and now former) collaborator on The News Hour, Robert MacNeil.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs; 1 edition (May 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586480324
• ISBN-13: 978-1586480325
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,225,413 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I thought it was a witty, insightful political novel, March 6, 1999

By 

[e-mail], Linda D. Sny (Layton, Utah) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Purple Dots: A Novel (Hardcover)

I thoroughly enjoyed this, the first Jim Lehrer novel I've read. I found it to be a witty, insightful probe into the complicated inner sanctum of our nation's capital. The two main characters were quite realistic, both with foibles and strengths. I particularly enjoyed the details regarding restaurants and hotels and such, being a frequent visitor (and soon to be resident) of the fabulous amalgam that is Washington. Although I felt that the subplot of the fish hatchery scheme was a stretch, it did contribute to the conclusion in an interesting way. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys political thrillers with a satiristic subtext--plus, I read it in 2 evenings! I'll certainly read more of Lehrer's earlier offerings.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jim Lehrer's Purple Dots, May 14, 2001

By 

Susan Laden (Tampa, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Purple Dots: A Novel (Hardcover)

Jim Lehrer, in Purple Dots, puts us in the confirmation hearings of veteran CIA agent, Josh Bennett, as the new agency director. Josh finds himself, not only in a fishbowl, but the key to the advancement of a secret political agenda. Can his loyal friend and retired co-worker, Charlie, prevent damage to Josh's reputation? The author develops two symbolic themes. First, the cleansing properties of water and its ability to sustain life are shown in the need for Josh to restore honor and professionalism to CIA operations. Second, the symbiotic nature of fish propagation parallels how politics works in Washington. Lehrer's mystery describes how much camaraderie men can experience without actually building a treehouse. The humor and action flow as though you are watching Purple Dots "the movie."

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Purple Dots are amusing!, September 3, 2000

By 

Rebecca Brown "rebeccasreads" (Clallam Bay, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Purple Dots: A Novel (Hardcover)

I didn't know Jim Lehrer wrote novels - amusing, articulate & suspenseful political thrillers. A rather telling expose of how a nomination can be torpedoed before it gets out of the bay & the bargaining that goes on behind the scenes. Both Charlie & Marty are likable rogues - one because he's seen it all & the other because he can't believe all he's seeing. One has an enduring marriage, likes his creature comforts & has a cadre of loyal retired spooks still active in the old bomb-the-opposition game. The other because he's so green & full of self-righteous perfect dreams. When the two of them clash the fun begins. & those purple dots? Ah, how petty are the things with which we barter. I enjoyed the romp. For my full review do check out [my website].