2019-11-08
In this debut novel, a rising American politician becomes dangerously intoxicated with power, a problem that takes on biblical proportions.
Joseph F. Bridgeman's grandparents largely raised him—both his mother and father died in an automobile accident—but that gloomy start in life doesn't dampen his ambition. Once out of the Army, he becomes a lawyer in his native Maryland but pines for more. He runs for Congress as a candidate with the Universal Party, a centrist organization that attempts to pragmatically synthesize the best that both sides of the political aisle have to offer. Joseph wins the seat, and his combination of unpretentious charm and candor propels him into the national spotlight; he eventually becomes a senator who is known as a "motivator, reasonable conciliator, a pragmatic yet innovative idealist." But as he gears up for a presidential run, he becomes increasingly drawn to the allure of power itself, an issue exemplified by his obsessive quest to exact revenge on a political adversary who crossed him. In this ambitious tale, Strittmatter deftly chronicles Joseph's meteoric political ascent that culminates in a crisis of faith—he once believed religion "caused as much trouble as anything he had known," but comes to find both strength and solace in biblical wisdom. Unfortunately, a shadowy group entices him with the prospect of becoming a global dictator, a potential described in comically implausible terms, one that promises "worldwide powers, beyond anything ever envisioned before, except, of course, for those crazy megalomaniacs in the spy and horror movies." The author admits that the novel is "more than a story"—it's clearly intended as some sort of political parable. But the worthy message—beware the prideful lust for power—is hardly untrammeled literary ground, and has a shopworn feel to it. In addition, the plot moves at a glacial pace and is more didactic than dramatic. In the absence of drama, Strittmatter supplies breathless melodrama, and his tale of increasingly cosmic measures eventually involves a scheming Satan in search of an Antichrist.
An intriguing political tale more interested in imparting a lesson than crafting a believable story.
