Apr 28, 2016

21 novels about politics

Politics fascinates me. Always has. Which is why I gravitate toward books that bear on the subject, nonfiction and fiction alike. Here are 21 novels that are worth considering, if you too are intrigued by the give and take of politics in a democratic society. These novels run the gamut from accounts of nasty and sometimes violent electioneering, to bureaucratic intrigue, and to influence-peddling by lobbyists, both official and non. Many of the stories take place in the United States. Others are set in the UK, Australia, Western Africa, and ancient Rome. One even detours to Yemen. The titles are arranged in alphabetical order by the authors’ surnames.

In the last few years I’ve read and reviewed all but two of these books. I’ve inserted links to my reviews below. Stay tuned for reviews of the last two sometime in the months ahead.

The Mormon Candidate, by Avraham Azrieli

No Way To Treat a First Lady, The White House Mess, and They Eat Puppies, Don’t They?, all by Christopher Buckley

Amnesia: A Novel, by Peter Carey

Advise and Consent, by Allen Drury

Then Everything Changed: Stunning Alternate Histories of American Politics, JFK, RFK, Carter, Ford, Reagan, by Jeff Greenfield

Conspirata (Ancient Rome Trilogy #2) and Dictator (Ancient Rome Trilogy #3), both by Robert Harris

Echo House, by Ward Just

11/22/63, by Stephen King

The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver

Fellow Travelers: A Novel, Watergate: A Novel, and Finale: A Novel of the Reagan Years, all by Thomas Mallon

Head of State, by Andrew Marr

The Seersucker Whipsaw and The Porkchoppers, by Ross Thomas