Thank You for Smoking

Rating:
Summary: Read this book 3 times
Review: Fantastic send up of the pc crowd. Enjoyed this book from beginning to end. Looking forward to reading his next book.

Rating:
Summary: Great book - Portuguese reader
Review: Always laughing, from the first to the last page. It's a shame not to have a portuguese translation. Very easy reading, even for non english language natural readers.

Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: Mr. Buckley's novel dealing with a tobacco company press flack is well-developed and strongly presented. Both humorously irreverent and capably defensive of our traditions of freedom, it is a strong statement of the emptiness of the PC Thought Police and of the persons who sell themselves, body and sometimes soul, to make money off of others' misfortunes. In other words, Mr. Buckley has smoothly transferred a political position of live-and-let-live (at least in the case of perfectly legal Merchants of Death (I love that) like guns, tobacco and alcohol - query: knowing the position of WFB and NR, illegal drugs?) while simultaneously manifesting the dangers of hypocrisy to the individual, into a novel of quick action and very lively dialogue. That's no mean feat.

I was impressed enough with this book to begin to look into some of his other novels.

Kelly Whiting

Rating:
Summary: A breath of fresh air.
Review: A comedic novel about a spokesperson for the tobacco industry? At first, this may sound as promising as a novel about a dirt salesperson. But Thank You For Smoking is utterly hilarious, perfectly-pitched comedy. It is swiftly paced, and not easy to put down. It's a great escape to a place you didn't think you'd want to go until you got there.

Rating:
Summary: not recommended
Review: I found it very dull. I mean Extremely DUL

Rating:
Summary: Hilarious
Review: Christopher Buckley is a genius, and "Thank You For Smoking" proves it. Buckley's sly skewering of the tobacco industry is long overdue. His witty prose comes fast and furious and won't give the reader a single moment to catch his breath.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but satire gets a bit too silly at times
Review: Christopher Buckley sure had foresight back in 1994. Five years ago, certain issues surrounding the tobacco industry, such as advertising bans and tax hikes were still just a glimmer in Capitol Hill's eye.

Buckley managed to nail these issues and more via satrical pro-smoking shenanigans in his fictional work "Thank You For Smoking." A political satire that doesn't let up, it is sometimes frighteningly absurd, sometimes frighteningly real, and most of the time both.

"Tobacco takes care of its own" is the motto of the Academy of Tobacco Studies, the tobacco industry's main lobby in Washington, D.C. And through relentless strife, chief spokesman Nick Naylor discovers the different meanings this motto can have.

After being all-but-canned by his boss Bud Rohrabacher, (affectionately referred to as "BR") NIck made a "brilliant" appearance on the Oprah Show. Launching into a tirade, he defended smoking-induced lung cancer by accusing a government official of "manipulating tragedy to increase his budget," and by pointing out that the government "has been producing bombs capable of giving every single person on this planet cancer." Nick instantly rises to superstar status, and is sent all over the U.S. to work his magic.

Quickly becoming a pro-smoking icon, Nick, now with bodyguards in tow, gives equally "inspired" performances withthe likes of Larry King and Ted Koppel. However, the use of such real and prominent public figures is perhaps too harsh of a contrast next to the increasing absurdity of the allegations Nick uses to support his stance. (By any stretch of the imagination would Larry King let his guest publicly say that there is no link between smoking and disease? Or would Ted Koppel let someone use Nightline to start a campaign against Vermont cheddar cheese?)

But some celebrity references are priceless. Such as "Edward Murrow, dear old chain smoking Edward Murrow." And a startling comment that Clinton smokes cigars, "but he doesn't light them." (How timeless is that?)

Nick is a very hated figure in this story. However, the reader is coaxed into feeling more pity than contempt, as Nick is just doing this job "to pay the mortgage" and to pay for his 12-year-old son's private education at the exclusive St. Euthanasius. He finds salvation with two lobbyist buddies, both in comparable fields--promoting guns and alcohol. They call themselves "The Merchants of Death," (hilariously dubbed "The Mod Squad") and argue over death statistics (which industry produces the most each year).

Relentless banter makes this book a bit tedious, along with many flat characters that are unwavering in their predictability. But the reader will see different sides of Nick as the story progresses. At first he is portrayed as a professional liar/talking head, but then his smarts come into play as he makes his way out of the web of deceit the tobacco industry has spun around him.

Although partially predictable, Buckley delivers a satisfying ending that includes an evil twist, a chuckle, and a lesson that even though circumstances may change, people don't

Rating:
Summary: Unique Story Line
Review: This was a good page-turner. The dialog can be a little weak, but the story-line was different. It's nice to have a suspense novel whose plot isn't based on a drug smuggler, a law firm, a serial killer, etc.

Rating:
Summary: I want "Thank You For Smoking -- The Movie"!
Review: Chris Buckley skewers everyone who takes the game of politics seriously. Lobbyists, journalists and political junkies will get the biggest kick out of "Thank You For Smoking." I laughed out loud when I read it, annoying my husband so much that he HAD to read it. He cracked up too, and now we buy everything Chris Buckley writes. But please, won't someone make this one into a movie? I see Tim Robbins starring. If you liked "Bob Roberts," you're a good match for "Thank You For Smoking."

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderfully Funny, Realistic Book
Review: I feel I was very fortunate to read this book, long after I had put down Little Green Men (another book by Buckley). Green Men was a great book- also entertaining, with great writing and a great plot- but Thank You For Smoking is so much more. It has been a while since I have truly identified with a protagonist, in a book. Part of the reason that I loved Smoking so much was that Nick Naylor, the focus of the book, is someone I respect and, if I may, someone I would want to be. Before you remark, "surely this reviewer has gone mad," I must clarify that it was not that Naylor was a spokeman for cigarretes that I admire, but more personal characteristics. In all, Naylor was smart, witty, having an "enough with this" attitude. He was conceded in some respects (a bad quality that some remarked that I have :) ), yet he was inwardly honest and modest (sorry for the rhyme). Buckley has done an admirable feat in taking someone like me (well-read, I like to think) and having him truly associate with a fictional character, in one of his books. This says something remarkable about Buckley and his writing, which I can say about few authors, of nowaday or classic. I think I have found a contemporary author, who is talented and great fun- I hope he proves to be a favorite author of mine, with the great books he is surely to write. (E-mail me with comments or questions...I would love to talk to someone, who read Smoking. Thanks.)