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Hi, all:

The Book of Don. A Sacred Chronicle of the Trump Era by T.B. Calder

Description

He descended from the tower, and America called it politics.

The Book of Don is a sharp, mock-Biblical satire of Donald Trump, American politics, celebrity culture, media obsession, and the national appetite for spectacle.

Written in chapters and verses, this faux-sacred chronicle follows Trump from Queens to Manhattan, from The Apprentice to the presidency, from exile to return. The result is a witty, irreverent, surprisingly even-handed comic account of one of the strangest political eras in American life.

For readers who like their satire smart, topical, literary, and unafraid to laugh at everyone.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/251071894-the-book-of-don?

About the author:

T. B. Calder studied history and law at American universities, which was either excellent preparation for this book or a complete waste of time. They write satire and fiction exploring power, authority, and the myths we build around them. This is their first book.

My review:

I thank Granite Ridge Press LLC and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy of the book, which I freely chose to review.

When I saw this book — described as a ‘mock sacred chronicle” and a “deadpan satire”— I was intrigued by the concept (a book about Donald Trump written in the form of a Gospel), the cover (which I suspect the protagonist of the book would love), and the reviews. And I can confirm that the reading experience is pretty original as well.

The narrator (in this case, ‘The Scribe’) manages to write twelve ‘books’ recording the story of an international figure whose career is ‘peculiar’ to say the least, and whose actions and words do not leave anybody indifferent. The chronicle is unfinished, as the Scribe explains at the end, for evident reasons, and not everything is included either. I am sure most readers will miss events or allegations of one kind or another, but what makes the book fascinating is the way the Scribe sets to record what happened without offering any explicit comment or judgement. He writes in a style and manner that those used to reading the gospels will recognise, and he lets the facts speak for themselves. And they do, loud and clear. This is one of those stories that proves reality is indeed stranger than fiction, and despite being familiar with much (if not all) that is included in the book, the impact of seeing it as a chronological account, without any specific analysis or from any particular point of view, is undeniable.

The writing style and the cleverness of the exercise won me over, and even though the subject might not appeal to many (because there is so much one can read, hear, or watch about a topic before feeling overwhelmed or fed up), it is a fascinating narrative. I will make sure to follow the work of this author, who is not afraid to try novel approaches or tackle controversial issues, to see what he does next. I suspect the surprises will keep coming.

I wanted to share a brief taster, so you can get a sense of what the writing is like:

What the scribe can say about the era, writing from inside it, is this: It was the first era in the scribe’s experience in which the country could not agree on what had happened after it had happened. Previous eras produced contested interpretations of events whose basic facts were shared. This era contested the facts. Whether a given event had occurred, whether a given number was accurate, whether a given statement had been made—these were not questions that resolved when the evidence was examined, because the evidence was also contested, and the institutions that had historically certified facts were themselves subjects of dispute. The scribe has tried to use the record. The scribe has only the record.

Thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this book; thanks to all of you for visiting, liking, sharing, and your ongoing support. Take care and enjoy your summer!