Saturday, July 20, 2013

THE SEERSUCKER WHIPSAW by Ross Thomas

Finished Sa 7/20/13

My post on Good Reads-

A short and simple novel about two American political operatives who are approached by a British firm to swing an election for a chief who is seeking the premiership of the, soon-to-be-independent African colony, Albertia. Clinton Shartelle is the cynical and experienced political operative extraordinaire, and Pete Upshaw is a slick public relations expert who could convince Eskimos that they needed to buy more snow. Although Ross Thomas's novel was written in 1967, it's clear that the 'behind the scenes political shenanigans' (as Clint remarks, "We're not in the truth business") have remained the same since the first elections were held, and the book certainly bears out the old adage that "you don't really want to know how this sausage is made". However, although the action is light and lively, I wish there was more depth to the story and the characters. I read the book in a couple of sittings, and it seemed like a first idea for a great book. It's an enjoyable read and not bad, by any means, I just hungered for a much more detailed development.

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