The Columnist

Rating:
Summary: MEET THE PRESS
Review: Every once in a while you find a book like The Columnist that is more than just a story. Staged as the tell it all autobiography of a Washington syndicated columnist at the nadir of his career, this short novel is both a parable of misguided egos and misplaced values and also a satire of high profile journalism. The rags to riches story of Brandon Sladder, the consummate Washington journalist is told with a reflective message. In its pages, we learn the story of a widely syndicated newspaper columnist who rose from humble beginnings as a city reporter in Buffalo to become the confidant of Presidents and senators; the most sought after dinner guest at Georgetown dinner parties; the witty and engaging TV panelist beamed into millions of American homes every week; and the inquisitive and challenging intellect in love with the power of ideas. But hold on, there is a price to be paid for such fame. In his private life, Sladder is the last to know husband; the estranged son; the forgotten friend; the distant father; and a generally dislikeable figure.

In this well written volume, author Jeffrey Franks examines the less than noble connection between politics and the press. We learn why politicians cultivate members of the press; why political positions often gain momentum with the voters because of a favorable news editor or just a photo opportunity given to a reporter. You will ask yourself whether you are a "source" or a "friend " to a reporter. Author Franks does a fine job of satirizing the fourth estate and its elite ranks. "As my column became more popular, so did I, and I found myself drawn deeper into the social life of Washington. All at once I knew everyone (occasionally I even sensed a small stir when I entered a room)..." These are the thoughts of the novel's main character on the occasion of his 29th birthday; who else could fit into a room with him given the size of that ego?

As I read this book, which at times has some very dark and disturbing passages particularly involving the daughter of the main character, I had to put it down. I can appreciate satire and cynicism with the best of them, but some of the author's attempts to skewer go too far astray to be effective parody. Washingtonians will gobble up this book looking to find some veiled reference to themselves; "journalists" (who will purchase this book but never admit owning it) will sneer at the parody. When you're finished reading this one, you'll shake your head glad that you didn't make Mr. Sladder's acquaintance.

Rating:
Summary: also sick of pompous, full of themselves journalists
Review: For the most part, I grew up and developed my understanding of the world during the '70s and early '80s. In other words, my youth was spent in the aftermath of Watergate, Abscam, and other scandals that rocked Washington, D.C. and were somberly commented on by sonerous-voiced, grim-faced men who usually seemed to end each report by somehow working in their own close, personal friendship with John and Bobby Kennedy. This figure, who always seemed to be trying to play Jason Robards playing Ben Bradlee, became one of the most annoying cliches of my youth. As evidence of media bias became more obvious, these self-important men no longer seemed to be wise, old men [...] For anyone who agrees with those sentiments, Jeffrey Frank's The Columnist is a must read.

The novel is presented as being the memiors of political columnist Brandon Sladder who takes us through the last fifty years of American history with a remarkable, and sadly quite plausible, vacousness. The book's humor, which had my laughing out loud through most of the read, comes not from the slight plot but from the way Frank manages to perfectly capture this character in all of his pompous, self-important, and ignorant glory. In creative writing classes, we are all taught the importance of maintaining a unique "voice." This is one of the best examples of how this can be done while still managing to write an entertaining, readable novel.

For me, a perfect example of the book's subtle and truthful humor comes from Sladder's description of meeting JFK a few weeks before Kennedy's death. When JFK assures Sladder that he intends to read Sladder's columns as soon as he gets a chance, Sladder solmenly informs us, "I never found out if he kept his promise." Now, too many, that probably doesn't sound like much but to anyone who has read the preening memoirs of actual political columnists will recognize this line as one of the cherished standards of the genre. Frank's use of it punctures the self-serving arrogance of so many of those columnists. In short, it says what readers like me have always wanted to say -- "Who cares if you knew Kennedy, you irrelavent windbag!?"

Anyway, if you got the above joke, this book is definitely for you. And if you didn't, you probably won't get as much out of it but I'd suggest reading this novel anyway. Even beyond the political satire beloved by lonely political junkies like myself, this book is very funny. Its also very short and a quick read. I read it in about two hours so even if you don't love it as much as I did, at least you won't have to sacrifice a great deal of your time to disagree.

Rating:
Summary: Sick of pompous "journalists?" Apparently, you're not alone
Review: For the most part, I grew up and developed my understanding of the world during the '70s and early '80s. In other words, my youth was spent in the aftermath of Watergate, Abscam, and other scandals that rocked Washington, D.C. and were somberly commented on by sonerous-voiced, grim-faced men who usually seemed to end each report by somehow working in their own close, personal friendship with John and Bobby Kennedy. This figure, who always seemed to be trying to play Jason Robards playing Ben Bradlee, became one of the most annoying cliches of my youth. As evidence of media bias became more obvious, these self-important men no longer seemed to be wise, old men [...] For anyone who agrees with those sentiments, Jeffrey Frank's The Columnist is a must read.

The novel is presented as being the memiors of political columnist Brandon Sladder who takes us through the last fifty years of American history with a remarkable, and sadly quite plausible, vacousness. The book's humor, which had my laughing out loud through most of the read, comes not from the slight plot but from the way Frank manages to perfectly capture this character in all of his pompous, self-important, and ignorant glory. In creative writing classes, we are all taught the importance of maintaining a unique "voice." This is one of the best examples of how this can be done while still managing to write an entertaining, readable novel.

For me, a perfect example of the book's subtle and truthful humor comes from Sladder's description of meeting JFK a few weeks before Kennedy's death. When JFK assures Sladder that he intends to read Sladder's columns as soon as he gets a chance, Sladder solmenly informs us, "I never found out if he kept his promise." Now, too many, that probably doesn't sound like much but to anyone who has read the preening memoirs of actual political columnists will recognize this line as one of the cherished standards of the genre. Frank's use of it punctures the self-serving arrogance of so many of those columnists. In short, it says what readers like me have always wanted to say -- "Who cares if you knew Kennedy, you irrelavent windbag!?"

Anyway, if you got the above joke, this book is definitely for you. And if you didn't, you probably won't get as much out of it but I'd suggest reading this novel anyway. Even beyond the political satire beloved by lonely political junkies like myself, this book is very funny. Its also very short and a quick read. I read it in about two hours so even if you don't love it as much as I did, at least you won't have to sacrifice a great deal of your time to disagree.

Rating:
Summary: Chattering And Nattering
Review: Frank's novel is short and a bit slight, but is a worthwhile read for any Washingtonian and any obsessive viewer of the Sunday morning chat shows.
In Brandon Sladder, Frank has invented a curious and fascinating antihero. He is venal, craven, and ruthless -- and utterly oblivious to all of this. As he rockets up the Washington journalistic career ladder, he genuinely seems not to know that he is crushing everyone -- family, friends, wives, mentors -- he crosses paths with. For this alone, Sladder is a character worth discovering. His characterization was the strongest part of the book.
It is also interesting to see how Sladder moved up the ranks of punditry, following a career path that rings relatively close to the truth. I did find it a shame, however, that Frank chose to portray Sladder's increasingly conservative views as a sign of his repugnance -- a bit of bias the author does not defend, and that the book did not require.

Rating:
Summary: A story of ruthless ambition!
Review: In this highly political tale of climbing the career heap, Brandon Sladder wants to become the most successful journalist of his time -- even if he has to backstab his way to the top. But his selfish ways don't end there. Sladder tells the story of his illicit affairs, substance abuse, and various wives. Years after having retired, he leaves his outrageous legacy in an attempt to come clean.

Frank has created the perfect anti-hero, but his preoccupation with office politics shadows Sladder's exploits. Also, the secondary characters don't play an important role in the overall story. Despite the aforementioned flaws, The Columnist is an interesting and dark novel that deserves to be read. I suggest you give it a whirl.

Rating:
Summary: Great Tale of a Man's Faustian Bargain
Review: The unreliable first-person narrator of this novel of blind ambition tries to ingratiate himself with the reader with the "gentle" means he used to become one of the top news columnists in the country. We travel with him during his ascent to political and social power as he tries to downplay all the backstabbing he does to become a hot shot or what is in reality a cliche-mongering, bloviator who has no principles but can only opine in order to further his career. As with most deals with the devil, this one doesn't end the way the bargainer thought it would. We see a portrait of a sad, lonely man trying to tell us he is on top of the world.

Rumors have it that this narrator is based on a real-life news personality who shall remain nameless. Whether the rumors are true or not, I suspect this novel applies to dozens and dozens of power players who've "made it" the same way this lugubrious narrator has.

Rating:
Summary: I am missing the excitement over this
Review: This book was strongly recommended by someone I trust - but I admit I was disappointed by the book. I am completely missing the excitement and buzz around this book - I obviously am just missing something. I found the narrator annoying, unsympathetic and insufferable. Frank alludes occassionally to the fact that the people around the narrator find him to be a different person than he describes himself to be to the reader, but the few glimpses you get of what other characters think is not enough to sustain my interest. I wish I could have seen more of the 'real world' and how others saw Sladder, rather than the 200 pages of Sladder's own narcissistic world view.

Sladder is ultimately a dull, self-absorbed, uninteresting character, and others who may be more interesting never get any play (for example, his son Branny - he becomes a very troubled adult, most likely from his father's absence in his childhood. I would have liked to have known more about that dynamic). I appreciate that the very limited development of other characters and the use of the sole voice of the self-centered Sladder may have been Frank's way to drive home the point that Sladder was a horrid and narcissistic person; but I also found that it made for a dull, repetitive, predictable plot.

Without giving away the end, I thought the resolution of several plot lines at the end was what I call the "whiz bang" ending - i.e., when an author gets so far along in a story, and recognizes that it is time to wrap it up, they just throw a tawdry, allegedly shocking, but often predictable, twist in the story in an attempt to make the reader gasp, and then just end it without further development. I was unimpressed.

I work in politics, and I know "Washington" - thus, I was hoping for so much more. But I didn't laugh once, and I found that I could not wait for this book to end. I only finished because I really hate to not finish a book once I have started it. What ever the charm of this book is, I just don't get it.

Rating:
Summary: Very Insider, Very Funny
Review: This is great satire that reads more like a long magazine piece than a 200+ page novel. Totally skewers the self-important behavior , ethics and attitudes of the Washington "power" crowd and wannabes. My concern - not necessarily criticism - is that you might have be inside-the -beltway to completely get it. Trying to guess the amalgamation of real life characters that make up Sladder, Hudnut and the various female characters is fun. Recommend reading this as comedic companion piece to Meg Greenfield's Washington, which paints some of the same characters in a more serious way.

Rating:
Summary: Terrific
Review: Well-written, funny, thoughful. A delightful book in every respect. Just the right length too -- any longer and the souffle would have fallen. A real pleasure to read. Gets a bit frayed toward the end, but so what? Buy, read, enjoy...