Boomsday
by Christopher Buckley
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Book Reviews of Boomsday
Book Review: Great Premise, But Lacks Zing of Thank You for Smoking
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm a huge fan of Thank You for Smoking (five stars) and Boomsday has a great catchphrase title and a dynamite premise (the book is also well-marketed and nicely produced), so I went out and bought it immediately. Unfortunately, Boomsday doesn't maintain the level of shock and awe of its own premise, making reading the novel a letdown compared to reading about the novel. This letdown from admittedly high expectations comes from several things: (1) The prologue and first chapter are later in time than chapters 2 through 7 and, in essence, take the punch out of the punch line of the story; (2) The characters are too glib and facile and too unconflicted to be truly sympathetic; (3) There are too many plot conveniences and clearly non-credible occurrences, making the plot less believable than the premise, which has the effect of undercutting its message; and (4) The story rushes quite a bit at the end only to arrive at a quite lackluster conclusion. Yes, I know it's dark comedy and, therefore, non-realistic, but for dark comedy to have real zing and bite, there has to be enough credibility in the absurdity to scare you. While the premise/hook of this book has that, the machinations that make up the subsequent story arc seem a bit too silly and contrived to maintain the dark undertone. The result is a mildly entertaining book with a smattering of great bits, but not a great book. The overall story doesn't live up to the expectations created by the hype of the book's premise or marketing.Book Review: Without a doubt, the funniest political novel of the year...
Summary: 5 Stars
Without a doubt, the funniest political novel of the year, Christopher Buckley's "Boomsday" is as spot-on a prediction of the oncoming doom of the Social Security system as any other current prognosticator's view; just as ridiculous perhaps, but much more riotous. The story revolves around Cassandra ("Cass") Devine, a political blogger and Capitol Hill operative whose real passion is, in Buckley's words, "instilling in members of her generation outrage against the members of the previous one and toward a government that still, in the language of her generation, didn't get it." While railing against everything from her father to sleazebag P.R. to beltway conflagrations (where Buckley, ironically, also lives), Devine manages (with her sponsor, Massachusetts Senator Randolph K. Jepperson) to incite a movement called "transitioning" which is essentially a government sponsored euthanasia program designed to save Social Security by providing tax breaks to those who take their lives by Boomsday, the day when the baby boomers will first receive benefits. The idea seems to actually take hold in some quarters, creates a generational divide and even makes it's way to the status of a fulcrum issue in the next Presidential campaign! It's the West Wing meets Six Feet Under and with it's various (and hilarious) twists and turns, it's hard not to see this one (like Buckley's recent "Thank You For Smoking") making it's way to the big screen someday soon.Book Review: Buckley is Still Brilliant-- Read it for the wit!
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm a big fan of Christopher Buckley, and will happily pick up anything he writes. He's such a witty genius, I can only measure him against himself! And this is not his best plotted novel, but it is his best humor.
Because Buckley has refined his technique to perfection, he can write in a spare, energetic way that doesn't waste time on description. The dialog crackles like the wittiest screenplay. While many books amuse, this one will have you laughing out loud at the political satire. He has really nailed the insincerety of elected officials, the farce of fund raising, and K street antics. And he does well to pick up on the P.R. theme he did so perfectly in Thank You For Smoking.
Yet this book isn't as tight as Thank You For Smoking, and I couldn't help feeling like the plot gets a bit lost in the middle. The heroine (and Buckley usually has no problem authoring believable women) sets a plan in action which by her own admission is not meant to be 100% serious... but then she spends 2/3 of the novel trying to make it happen anyway. And her love interest is not entirely credible either, which is a shame, because Cassandra is so much fun in other respects.
In spite of this plot weakness, I loved the book anyway. The dialog barbs and the parody are enough to keep me turning pages without any regret.
Book Review: A Great Satire
Summary: 4 Stars
Christopher Buckley is a master at creating a satire out of the world we live in. This time, with Boomsday, Buckley is commenting on the society with live in, the so-called baby boomer generation and on the world of politics.
Angry about the current situation in the US (taxes have been raised for young people in order to pay for all the boomers that are retireing), Cassandra writes a manifesto that quickly awakens the younger generation. In it, she says that if people were giving tax breaks in exchange for committing suicide at the age of 65 or 70, the US government would get out of the deficit it's presently in. Of course, this scenario isn't well perceived by most, especially the US President and the leader of a Christian pro-life organisation.
Cassandra allies herself with a governor who secretly dreams to become President. And soon enough, the generation gap becomes a generation war. Eveyone is after Cassandra, but her wit and her dedication is hard-felt.
Buckley's writing is always witty and funny. I found myself laughing quite often while reading this book. His characters are all very real and Buckley's talent at writing dialogue has never been so-well presented. Boomsday is a very funny novel that also serves as an eye-opener. A great read.
Book Review: A satire that is hard-hitting, timely, and fairly funny
Summary: 4 Stars
After hearing author Buckley's NPR interview some months ago, I knew that I just had to read "Boomsday." Being a boomer myself and understanding the sorry state in which Social Security, as well as other government entities, finds itself, I felt that the novel had something to say to us all.
I was not dissatisfied.
Though the book gets off to a somewhat slow start, it picks up steam once the characters' lives begin to intertwine...and do they ever. From Cassandra Devine, the central character, to her U. S. Senator lover to an overzealous evangelist to the sitting President and his chief aide to a pair of Russian prostitutes, the author populates the book with vivid characterizations that are amusing as well as provocative. He really pulls out all the stops to humorously and effectively relay the political machinations of our nation's capital.
As I was reading the book, I can already imagine the actors playing the various parts, should the rights be sold to Hollywood: Hilary Swank would make a great Cassandra, Julian McMahon could assay the Senator, Robert DeNiro would be great as Cassandra's dad, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman would be perfect as evangelist Gideon Payne.