The Porkchoppers

Rating:
Summary: Witty and well constructed.
Review: The Porkchoppers by Ross Thomas is a very well plotted and cleverly written novel about the labor union movement.
Sixty-two year old Don Cubbin is the national president of a large, unnamed union. Election time is drawing near. And his opponent is the much younger Sammy Hanks, Don's former protege.
Both men have serious flaws. Don is an alcoholic and Sammy has a tendency to fly into uncontrollable temper tantrums at the most inopportune times. Each candidate has an election team that wants its man to win no matter what the cost. And there are some very powerful outside forces that seek to influence the election outcome.
The Porkchoppers is teeming with a large number of interesting supporting characters. Like Truman Goff, a produce manager at Safeway who moonlights as a paid assassin - to name just one. Written with abundant wit, this novel gives the reader an eye opening insight into the rather dicey world of labor union politics.
I found The Porkchoppers to be a highly entertaining work of fiction. Read it, you'll be glad you did.