Another Christoper Buckley satirical novel. In this one, Washington lobbyist, spin doctor and all-around sleazy dude “Bird” McIntyre has been tasked with creating anti-Chinese sentiment in order to increase the defense budget and therefore benefit a weapons manufacturer. To do this, he teams up with a Angel Templeton, who has a sharp brain, long legs and no morals. Together, they create a rumor that the Chinese have poisoned the Dalai lama, and everything goes to hell from there.
Like most (all?) of Buckley’s novels, the characters are basically satirical caricatures, which makes the book silly and smart. He’s got the Chinese government bugging each other as well as the Americans, forcing the president and his adviser to meet in the bathroom. Bird is married to an equestrienne hell-bent on participating in a Chinese sporting event, despite the fact that Bird himself is trying to start a war with China. Fun stuff.
What really worked for me in this novel was the novel that Bird was trying to write. A trilogy, then a quartet, of un-publishable crap about a hero named Turk trying to win the heart of “Bouncing” Betty, while also saving the world. The excerpts from this novel were hysterical.
Another great thing about Buckley’s writing that I’ve noticed before but really stood out in this book: the man’s vocabulary is outstanding. I have an above average vocabulary, thanks primarily to an upbringing by a man who is a Scrabble champion, but Buckley blows me out of the water. Definitely an author who forces me to Google the definitions of three or four words per novel, and I love that.
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