Len Downie Novel Gets Positive 'Wash Post' Review

By: Joe Strupp The Washington Post?s review of former executive editor Leonard Downie Jr.?s first novel, ?The Rules of the Game? (Knopf 2009) is published in Sunday?s paper and gives an overall positive take on the book, with some minor quibbles.

Calling it a ?savvy novel,? reviewer Stephen Amidon declares the book ?an engrossing read whose main value is its cunning take on the twisted gamesmanship that underlies Washington politics.

?Despite often resembling a pack of underfed hyenas, Downie's characters all see themselves as playing by rules that are fundamentally ethical. Tucker might look like a garden-variety conman, but in his own mind he is only practicing a time-honored tradition that greases the wheels of a broken-down government.?

Amidon goes on to describe the story of Sarah Page, a young reporter for the fictional Washington Capital newspaper, whose investigation into political players during a presidential campaign reveal some high-stakes backroom dealing and lobbyist-connected corruption.

?While Downie's fictional abilities are not always up to his political sophistication -- his style is never more than pedestrian, and he allows a few of his storylines to wither on the vine ? ?The Rules of the Game? remains a persuasive piece of storytelling.

?Given the author's pedigree, it is hardly surprising that the book has a strong whiff of authenticity. Downie's best scenes involve meetings in which the give-and-take of Washington power is dramatized: a newspaper publisher standing up to the CIA after being summoned to Langley, a lawyer striking a plea arrangement for a client, a congressman and reporter delineating the limits of the personal and professional before jumping into the sack.?

Amidon also credits Downie with having a female vice-presidential candidate among the players, written months before Sarah Palin emerged.

The entire review can be found at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/08/AR2009010802609.html