America America
Published by: Random House
Published on: May 2009
Page Count: 496
Genre: Literary Fiction
My Reading Format: Hardcover given to me as a gift by one of my closest friends, Kristin (can’t wait to see you next month!)
Available Formats: Hardcover, paperback, eBook, audiobook
My Review
Corey Sifter grew up in a working class family in New York state. There was nothing special about his earlier life other than that he had the good fortune to grow up in town founded by the Metarey family. The city was now virtually run by Metarey’s son, Liam. Liam is a kind-hearted and generous man. One day in the early 1970s, while Corey was helping his father extricate some clogged piping from twisted tree roots, Liam took notice of the young man and ultimately offered him a summer job on the grounds of his estate. There, he gets to know the Metarey family, especially his daughters Christian and Clara. Corey and Christian hit it off as friends nearly immediately. Clara seemed to have almost the opposite reaction to him. Throughout that summer, Liam grows more confident in Corey’s abilities and eventually asks him to help out with Senator Bonwiller’s campaign to be the Democratic candidate for president against Richard M. Nixon. The impact of Matarey’s mentor-ship and Corey’s role in the Bonwiller campaign matures him and, although he doesn’t fully understand all that was involved, sets the direction of his life.
I’m not one to enjoy novels about modern day politics. I get tired of all the news of the day and the calls to participate in surveys that I really don’t care to deal with it on my own time. A good friend of mine gave it to me as a Christmas present a couple of years ago. It’s for the best that I didn’t investigate this book more before reading it. I might not have. There was much more to it than evil Republicans and Communist Democrats. Still, when I finished it, my overall opinion was lukewarm. After discussing it with Michelle from My Books. My Life., however, I began to see it in a new way. It’s caused me to think a great deal about the roll of the politician as messenger and ambassador. Mostly, it brings to light the importance of telling the next generation our stories. Just as we learn through our own personal experiences, humanity as a whole can learn from those who have gone before them.
I spent a good deal of time comparing Senator Bonwiller with some of Ted Kennedy’s less heroic moments. Had there not been more to this story, I might have been tempted to put it down. In the end, it was the characters who stood out for me that made all of the difference. Trieste and Mr. McGower were great characters, as minor as they may have been. Trieste is a reminder of what is so wonderful about being young, with your entire life ahead of you. Mr. McGower are reminders of what is wonderful about your average, hard working American. It was nice to get a taste of the innocent and the honorable amidst the powerful and corrupt.
I’ll probably never be this novel’s champion because of the subject matter. I would suggest it for those who enjoy reading about politics and for those in book clubs. If your group is in the mood for something a bit more serious, I don’t think you can go wrong. Conversation about the story made all of the difference for me. [If you missed Michelle's post about our discussion yesterday, check it out.]
Other Voices
Devourer of Books
Lit and Life
It is very rare that I get into a political novel, but every now and again it does happen. I’m willing to take a look at this book when next I’m in the shop, but it always worries me that I might just shrug my shoulders after I finish the book and say “egh.” Neither very good, nor very bad, fairly interesting…I worry that I might have that reaction!
I hate politics, so I’ll probably skip this book. Thanks for your review.
I know the story revolves around politics but I don’t think it’s a book about politics. Does that make sense? It has so much more to it. (That said, my experience working on a presidential campaign made the political side of it very interesting to me).
While I really enjoyed the book, I think you are correct that it is not for everyone. But I do hope some people read/listen to it now.
I do find politics interesting to an extent so I may have to check this one out! Thanks for the review.
Yeah, I hate politics too. I swear, my dad and sister can go at it for hours. My husband storms home some evenings all fired up over it. It just plain wears me out. So I give you credit for tackling this.
Here’s another one from my “haven’t had time to read” shelf. I’m sorry it wasn’t that great for you..but I still will give it a try. I’ll let you know. OK?
I started this book last year and put it down. I picked it up last week and started it anew. This time I really am enjoying the read. I think the politics are more of a back drop than what this book is about. Thanks for your review!
I listened to this one on audio and really enjoyed it–until the last, maybe, fourth and then I just thought it dragged on too long. I enjoyed the way it worked politics into a story about characters rather than having politics as the center and the characters circling around.