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Apr 09, 2017JLMason rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
If it weren’t for the events of today in the U.S., this 1930’s political satire would be all but forgotten. However, the fascinating similarities in the rise of fictitious fascist populist Buzz Windrip makes you realize that the more things change the more they stay the same. Topical references of the day and the formal writing style do make reading this book sometimes difficult and tedious, but Lewis’ command of language rewards the patient reader with some delightful paragraphs of sly, dry, and wry humour and piercing observations of human nature. The characters who support Windrip are aptly and hilariously named: Dr. Hector Macgoblin, patriot singer and rotary club member Mrs. Adelaide Tarr Gimmitch, Senator Porkwood (the new Attorney General), Bishop Paul Peter Prang, and the League of Forgotten Men. On the other hand, the denigrating attitudes of that time to “Negroes” and “Jews” are jarring and distasteful. One is left despairing of the follies of the human race. It was H.L. Mencken who said in his newspaper column in 1920: “As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”