eh, could have lived without it!

elibrary

All The King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren won The Pulitzer Prize in 1947, it is also included on The Modern Library Best Novels of The 20th Century, and The TIME 100 Best Novels, and other lists – hundreds of these works are reviewed on my blog, where the best thing would be https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20...

Willie Stark versus Orange Willy aka MAGA Arse Hole
9 out of 10


Spoiler alert – I have read this Pulitzer Prize Winner maybe ten years ago, and I have seen recently that, wither I failed to post a review, or it was Lost in Translation, meaning maybe it is on this old blog, for which I forgot the password, and I can’t do anything anymore, edit or add something, nonetheless, here we go…

I was thinking about the populist Wilie Stark, the protagonist of All The King’s Men, his machinations, schemes, shrewdness, talents and flaws and the decline, catastrophe that we contemplate these days in that once great country, and now turned into a vicious would-be empire by the MAGA and their cult leader
This is fast moving the emphasis, as if it is not already there, on the present, with a passing mention on the fact that Willie Stark was a lamb, innocent baby, with all his wrong doing, when set against this awful ordeal we have on display every single day, and multiple times, if we really want to follow this disgusting circus

This Made-Up Drama Queen is now the official Mafia Boss – shaking down, using extortion against allies, an invaded country, and offering nothing but adulation to a murderous dictator, just like Justin Trudeau said – and the CEO of a MAGA cult, we have had Ceausescu here, and this is a reincarnation, in some way
Influence https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... is a psychology classic by Robert Cialdini, where you find the six principles, one of which is Authority, or the respect thereof and there are quite a few examples in there, and I was reminded of them by this heinous mutant, new age Willie Stark

One way they tested the effectiveness of the Respect for Authority was to inflict pain on participants – just like this Orange ‘Authority’ has been doing to Ukraine and soon to the world – to see if those ordered to be sadistic will comply, and you know what, they did, the majority anyway, and this is what we witness now
It is a more complex situation, but if you want to know more, hey, ask, now I move to another argument in this authority thing, the case of the Mass suicides that took place, because of deranged leaders (MAGA now) and one such horror took place in Guyana, where followers listened to their mad man and killed themselves

Contempt https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... is a magnum opus by Alberto Moravia, and I have nothing but Mepris (the name of the fabulous adaptation of this chef d’oeuvre, with Brigitte Bardot in the title role) for MAGA and their emperor without clothes, I mean may they rot in hell!
To try and cool down, as if this is even conceivable – that was funny in The Princess Bride – let me mention the ‘economic measures’ taken by these Mafiosi, and I need to insist that the calamity is this idiot who paints his face and, but he is not alone, he represents the vileness that is evident in multitudes, he has a few billion fans

They praised him for the ‘boost to the economy’ he will bring about, indeed, many said they do not care either way – just like that other vicious bastard, JD, said about Ukraine, he is not interested in their fate, I mean, if there is a God and the devil, this fellow will burn for ever – but they want more money, affluence
Incidentally, that is not the key to happiness and the superb Stumbling on Happiness https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... by Harvard Professor Daniel Gilbert explains how we think some things will make us happy, only it turns out they do not

In any case, the would-be emperor does not bring prosperity, he has brought chaos, attacking with tariffs Canada and Mexico, prompting a swift, smart response from Justin Trudeau, who told his counterpart ‘This is a dumb thing to do’, not able to say plainly you are a moron, this is as close as we can get these days
Representatives of other countries have to come and beg, fall to the ground in front of this Mad Man, who has been anointed the Boss of The Big Family – you want weapons to defend yourselves, you give me 500 billion dollars, what, it is only 120 you received, and then these were pieces we chose, never mind that!

It is one thing to lie, and another to make this a compulsion, and distort the reality to the point where the world – at least that MAGA realm – does not have integrity, embraces the evil, Putin and his friends, the orange dog now, and extorts the victims, again, Trudeau was speaking about the war (economic) launched on friends
Instead of exposing the tyrant Putin for what he is, this pathetic ‘deal maker’ has already thrown out the NATO membership, stopped the Pentagon from activities targeting Russia, is out to get the allies, not the enemies…

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

I wrote a big fat report on this in junior year of high school and found out a lot about how politics work, so it's worth a read for that. I remember that there are some literary values to it, but it's not what I remember 30 odd years later.

This is one of the greatest novels I've ever read. Definitely in my top 5, along with the Bible, Shakespeare, and Faulkner.

I wanted to read this because is is considered an American classic. It is said in many circles that it is one of the best novelizations of the American political system. It took me awhile to get through it, Robert Penn Warren's writing style may be off-putting to some people. He has long drawn out explanations that sometimes (in my opinion) are a little TOO much, taking the reader away from the central story. I think Warren's strengths in being able to weave words and make the reader really see his story is great though.

This is not an "easy" read by any means - and if you don't have any desire to read about American politics this is not for you. Took me a couple months. Overall a good book.

Overrated American play and novel about an ambitious politician's rise and fall.