Advise and Consent

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Book -- But Skip the Five Follow-ups
Review: Advise and Consent was written 45 years ago but still holds up wonderfully because it has a gripping, timeless story, interesting characters with sufficient ambiguity to them to make them more than cardboard figures, narrative surprises from time to time, and an even-handed omniscient author's viewpoint that is masterly in evoking the reader's emotions first in one direction and then the other. A number of other Amazon reviewers have called it either the best Washington novel ever written or the best political novel ever written. It's probably both -- get it and read it!

After the runaway success of this book, however, Drury spent the next 15 years writing another five books in what became an apparently endless series. Although the background in the stories changed subtly to reflect the passing of Drury's time, in the books themselves only about 2 years passed from the events of Advise and Consent to the events of the final book. I advise you not to read them -- you'll be greatly disappointed.

I have just read all five of them, and you will find lengthy reviews of all five, varying from 1 star to 4 stars. The 1-star review, telling enough, is for the final book in the series, the one that *should* have neatly and conclusively wrapped up the 1,500,000 words and 3,000 pages that Drury devoted to the same characters but didn't.

Instead, Drury gives the reader the most awful, non-conclusive ending that anyone could ever hope to avoid. Moreover, the last five books are, in many ways, polemical diatribes that the increasely conservative Drury directs at the liberal media and the apparent doom and ruin that they are bringing to the American Republic. I'm a political moderate myself and I didn't feel particularly offended by Drury's political opinions; but as a reader and a fiction writer myself I was offended and upset by the heavy-handed, comic-book treatment that he gives to those he disagrees with. What he, I suppose, considered biting satire, most readers will probably consider tiring, tedious, repetitive, over-the-top caricatures.

I did read all five books, however, and all of them show ample amounts of the narrative skill that Drury so obviously possessed. Even in the worst of them you may groan here and there at his heavy-handedness, you may skip 10 or 15 pages from time to time when he is clumsily and boringly bringing in so-called "human interest" vignettes, but you *do* keep turning the pages.

In the end, though, the last pages of the books are simply not worth it to justify your expenditure of effort. There's either an unexplained cliff-hanger ending geared to get you to go out and buy the next book or the book itself is such a massive downer (Come Nineveh, Come Tyre, possibly the gloomiest book ever written)that you regret having picked it up in the first place.

Trust me: read Advise and Consent. Think charitable thoughts about Mr. Drury for having given us such a wonderful book. And don't be tempted to try reading any of the others....

Rating:
Summary: The Most Enjoyable novel I have ever read!!!
Review: At the age of 18 in 1963 while my husband and I were stationed in Chambley France (USAF) I discovered this wonderful political novel, almost by accident. Later, and with great anticipation, I read the follow ups all the way to The Promise of Joy. Later in life, I managed to obtain all 6 of this series (hardback of course, because I knew that they would be used over and over) for my personal library and as of today have re-read them several times (each time, enjoying them even more). Back in '63 I never thought that America could really become what Mr Duruy was writing about, cause after all we all love our country Right?? Well, as the years have passed, I do see exacally what he meant. There really are a great many Americans that would do harm to her. Although these may be novels, I do believe that there is a lot to lean about the workings of our govenment. Although I have read several reviews of the series, I disagree with most and advise you to read them ALL!! Each one deals with different area of the government and are well worth the read.. As I travel to Washington D.C. for the first time next month, I have a burning desire to see our National history and it great part it stems from reading and enjoying to the fullest these great works of a brilliant mind.

Rating:
Summary: Great book in a great series!!!!
Review: I first read Mr. Drury's entire "Advise/Consent" series of novels when in high school and have read each book several times again since, for the pure enjoyment of it all. All books in this series were well written, with great plots and characters. One could not help but feel as if one was part of the story. The plots could very well be characterizations of today's leaders and situations, both racial and political. Also, the way Mr. Drury split off into 2 story-lines on how each presidency would look had one man lived and the other died in the last novel of this series was pure genius and writing at its best!! The "Advise and Consent" novel was a VERY GOOD and EXCELLENT story of how the Senate goes about its business and the viciousness of politics. It was very exciting and a very fast read, NOT BORING as Mr. Leffingwell would have us all believe. For a good companion to this first novel, I would highly recommend the movie version of "Advise and Consent," starring Henry Fonda.