Vidal reignited his career as a novelist with a historical opus – Julian. Then he tackled American politics with Washington DC, then (after the Myra Breckinridge detour) combined the two genres with this one. It’s about the career of America’s most random politician – a vice president who killed another politician in a duel and went on trial for treason. (Why don’t they still do this? Would save a lot of hassle.)
Burr himself turns out to be a surprisingly dull character – and his famous daughter is also a hazy concoction. More fun is had with the incompetent Washington and unscrupulous Jefferson. Got to say I didn’t enjoy this as much as Julian – it lacked the protagonist having a strong goal. Too much time is spent on the dull journalist rather than Burr. Also it lacks the bright voice of Vidal which features in his essays.
No comments:
Post a Comment