The Coup

What Malanowski is able to accomplish with The Coup is rare. He gives the reader an insider's view in to the broad scope of D.C. arenas where deals are made, and it feels strangely authentic, even though the prose is so tight as to provide almost no exposition at all. I loved this book. It's sarcastic, slick, scary, and even a little romantic. A LOT better than your average airplane read, this book is a must-buy if you love politics, satire, and snappy and smart writing.

I agree with the previous reviewers who note that, while this is a biting and funny political satire, Malanowski's imagined bloodless coup doesn't seem so farfetched. In fact, he makes the gaslighting sound easy. The Coup is seamless, and very entertaining. I think it works especially well because Malanowski gets the details right.

It's hard to top the so-wacky-they-must-be-true dramas to come out of Washington this past decade, from Monicagate to the Looney Tunes/Merry Melodies combo currently in the White House. But Malanowski's satire about a creepy Veep who'll do ANYTHING to be the Prez is cynical and frightening enough to make you think it could happen. If you get your news from Jon Stewart, love a good spin-job and think Condi's kinda hot, you'll tear through this wonky thriller faster than you can say filibuster. Malanowski has a knack for cinematic scenes and it's not hard to imagine somebody like Robert Redford or Aaron Sorking doing the Hollywood version.

The advent of the current political season brings questions of the lengths that candidates are willing to go and the compromises they will make to achieve their ends. Jamie Malanowski has written an intricately plotted, all too believable story that moves quickly along catching the reader up in the Vice-Presidents schemes. It never, however, loses sight of the fact that it is a satire and the humour is both biting and top-notch. The Coup is an intelligent and fun book. Definitely recommended.