Customer Reviews

A Thing of State

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. . .that all previous reviews were written prior to September 11, 2001.

Once again, Allen Drury, the 20th century master of the political novel, has demonstrated that his analysis of soon-to-be events is frighteningly accurate.

While this novel is no "Advise and Consent", it nevertheless deserves attention and careful reading. (And the cameo appearances of characters in some of his earlier novels is amusing for those who have been following his books for years).

Somehow, I'm glad that Mr. Drury passed away prior to the events of last September. I suspect that he would have been grieved to have been, once again, proven right.

Drury has written this book in the same style as Advise and Consent and some of his earlier bestsellers, but that's where the comparison ends. A Thing Of State only mildly holds your attention. Too little happens over long passages to keep you engrossed. On a few occasions I even thought about giving up on it. While Drury continues to demonstrate his strong knowledge of high level politics (although you might not agree with his personal opinions), my basic reaction to this is WHO CARES if he's not telling a story that sustains my interest. Save your time and money and read something else.

Drury has written this book in the same style as Advise and Consent and some of his earlier bestsellers, but that's where the comparison ends. A Thing Of State only mildly holds your attention. Too little happens over long passages to keep you engrossed. On a few occasions I even thought about giving up on it. While Drury continues to demonstrate his strong knowledge of high level politics (although you might not agree with his personal opinions), my basic reaction to this is WHO CARES if he's not telling a story that sustains my interest. Save your time and money and read something else.

Drury has become a lot more cynical since his "Advise and Consent" days, when chummy senators protected themselves but ultimately protected the country from its worst traits. In "A Thing of State," Drury proceeds to berate Bush, Clinton, and their nameless successor for being all talk, no action, and for selling out America's foreign policy dominance for a shot at reelection. He condemns voters as having the attention span of two year-olds, and (remarkably) produces a conspiracy among a trusted group of Arab-Americans in Washington -- a description that is reminiscient of the racist paranoia that gave rise to the Japanese internments in World War II. Drury hits the reader square in the face with his message repeatedly to the point where you just want him to shut up. Still, it's a compelling read and a thought-provoking message, although one wishes he'd concentrated more on character and story -- as he did in previous works -- than on lecturing us.