Talk Back

[UncleDon]

This book traces the life of the fictional Willie Stark, who, according to the book's dust jacket, is based on the real-life Huey Long of Louisiana. I really don't know many details of Huey Long's life, so I can't say for sure which parts of the book are fact and which are fiction. I read it as if it was just about the fictional character.

Based on your political ideology, Stark starts out either as a well-meaning politician or a staunch liberal. As his political career progresses and he gains more and more influence, he changes -- not so much in his goals as in what he's willing to do to see that his goals are met.

The story is told mainly through the eyes of Jack Burden, a "researcher" whose relationship with Willie changes profoundly over the years.

The book took me a while to get into, but once I was into it, it held my interest. I wouldn't call it one of my favorite books of all time, but I did like it. The character of Jack was a difficult one for me to figure out: it couldn't really see his underlying motivations for a few of his actions. Another aspect of this novel that was interesting to me was looking at some changing views on personal responsibility. I wouldn't have guessed it from the start, but it's a book that I would recommend. Many of the political aspects of the book are hard to tolerate, but I think it brings up a lot of points worthy of discussion.