Literate levity of this sort suffuses this account of the 4½ months - from mid-August 1986 until New Year’s Day 1987 - during which Reagan and first lady Nancy face the most challenging days of his - or should one say “their”? - administration.
Why didn’t she take care of them? It was like looking at some spectacular Cecil Beaton set through a scrim.” “And there … was Jackie … flashing that huge smile so unfortunately compromised by her smoker’s teeth.
Here, for example, is Harriman again, this time as she sees Jackie Onassis: Then sit back, smile, chuckle and laugh aloud at a feast of catty lines that evoke zinger-rich films like “The Women” and “All About Eve.” suspects, actors such as Merv Griffin, Cary Grant, Eva Gabor, Bette Davis and many others show up on the list.Īnd keep in mind that the book’s two leads, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, were former film actors (though we’re told that friends were admonished never to speak of the first lady’s, um, shall we say “uneven” film career). Consider the title itself, with its promise of a big finish, and then the four-page “Cast of Characters” that prefaces the book, identifying its players. Harriman’s remark suggests many interpretations, but in Mallon’s novel, one take seems most likely: Like actors, politicians must believe their lines, however true or false the words may be.įor performance is at the heart of this scintillating comic epic of politics. “What other way is there to go through life?” Harriman replies.
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