"Hartsburg USA" by David Mizner

OK, this is not the type of book I usually write about. And to be honest, I doubt I will read it. But it looks good, nonetheless, and I am sure there are people reading EDIWTB who will find it compelling (I can think of a few, in fact). So here goes...

Hartsburg USA , by David Mizner, is a new novel "encapsulating sometimes awkwardly the current American political landscape in a dying Ohio steel town's school board election. Long frustrated with the 'thumpers,' local newspaper columnist and failed Hollywood screenwriter Wallace Cormier decides he has to do something after his beloved main street cinema is turned into a church. His plan? To run for the school board against Bevy Baer, a churchgoing mother of five who wants to push an agenda of creationism and zero tolerance. Both candidates get help from veteran political consultants, and things get ugly: rumors circulate about Wallace's mother's sexual activity, and a scandalous film surfaces that reveals a lot about Bevy that she's been trying to hide." (Amazon)

From Forbes: "Wherever you fall on the political spectrum, you'll be able to delight in the triumphs and wince at the disappointments that both characters finally endure. Mizner brings the humanity out of Cormier and Baer, rendering them far more real than any airbrushed and pixelated candidate for national office ever seems... It's really not so much about the battle between left and right but about the tension between the dual American desires for an exciting, cosmopolitan life and a bedrock of stability."

This is probably the first and last time I will link to Daily Kos on this blog (not that I don't like it), but here is an interview with Mizner.  One quote from the author: "I think [the book is] nonpartisan in that it attempts to humanize both liberals and conservatives. It tries to give both a fair hearing. I started writing this book the morning after the 2004 election. It’s an attempt to understand the United States, and I see the book as an anguished love letter to my country."

Anyone out there going to read this? If so, write in and let me know what you thought.

Comments

[david mizner]

Thanks so much for writing about my book. With review pages drying up all over this place, this kind of attention is essential.

And just to be clear, yes, it's about politics--a campaign provides the framework and much of the tension--but in fact the book gives most of its page-time to the main characters and the families. I can't claim it's a domestic drama, but it's not not a domestic drama, so try it...

Best,
David