Christopher Buckley established himself as one of our funniest political satirists with his earlier novels like Thank You for Smoking and The White House Mess. Buckley has been taking a break from contemporary political satire and for some reason decided that today's political climate wasn't absurd enough in reality, so he has written Make Russia Great Again.
Late in President his first term, Trump appoints his long-time employee Herb Nutterman as White House Chief of Staff. Herb has been a reliable, loyal employee at Trump's hotels and clubs, and brings his hospitality instincts to politics and international affairs. Things start to get messy when Herb learns that a US-created rogue AI has interfered with Russia's presidential election, pushing a Communist Party candidate that had been way behind in the polls into a runoff with Putin. Meanwhile, a Russian oligarch has videos of Trump having sex with all the contestants at the Moscow Miss Universe competition and has certain demands he is asking of Trump. Herb, needless to say, is in way over his head.
While there are some funny scenes among the absurd scenarios Buckley writes, the whole novel has the feel of laziness. Buckley takes Trump's worst stereotypes, the administration's most ridiculous characteristics, and the left's most over-the-top accusations, to create this alternative history of the Trump presidency. It's too dull to be vicious, and too silly to make any meaningful point. It's like a Hilary Clinton delusion in which the Steele "pee tape" turned out to be real and Trump is actually in Putin's back pocket. Maybe Trump haters will love it, I don't know. I have a feeling the author's father would dismiss Make Russia Great Again as a silly waste of time.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!
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