They Eat Puppies, Don't They?

March 19, 2012
Buckley takes on another hot-button political issue in his latest satire. Returning somewhat to the Thank You For Smoking model, he presents “Bird” McIntyre, PR functionary for another unappealing lobby: arms manufacturers. His employers, Groepping-Sprunt, have a solution without a problem: a secret defense system, related to a near-future China, that is threatening in its ascendance authoritarianism, and ownership of American debt, if not actively dangerous. The company hopes that Bird’s fomenting of anti-China sentiment will mean appropriations. His attentions soon turn to an ailing Dalai Lama, and a complex game of manipulation involving the upper echelons of the Chinese and American governments is afoot. Buckley has a smart grasp of the issues and plots a convincingly byzantine series of machinations, maintaining a light tone while discussing topics like state-sponsored assassination and drones. He’s at his funniest when describing Bird’s efforts to complete his hackneyed quartet of political thrillers, a self-aware move that revels in thriller clichés like the irresistible “blond, buff miniskirted” co-conspirator. There are a few sags and predictable twists, but overall this is a well-built addition to Buckley’s oeuvre. Agent: Amanda Urban, ICM.

April 15, 2012
The title refers to the supposed culinary propensities of the Chinese, but as this novel makes clear, it's said with more than a twist of irony. Defense lobbyist Walter "Bird" McIntyre is not having a good day, for his big push for aerospace contractor Groepping-Sprunt to secure a multi-billion dollar contract for drones the size of jumbo jets has fallen through. He retires to his modest home, which he's dubbed the Military Industrial Duplex, to plot a new direction for his life. Fortuitously, he quickly links up with Angel Templeton, a sexy, frighteningly unsentimental and ultraconservative pundit--so conservative she's named her son Barry Goldwater Templeton--who has a wacko plan to embarrass the Chinese by claiming their secret service is planning to assassinate the Dalai Lama. Blindsided by the false media campaign, the Chinese are caught by surprise but need to deal with the crisis, artificially induced though it may be. McIntyre has to balance both domestic and political troubles when his wife, Myndi, is named to the United States equestrian team that's scheduled to have a meet in China, one that might be canceled owing to the newest Sino-American conflict. And things get really complicated when, predictably, Bird and Angel begin an affair--and the Dalai Lama develops pheochromocytoma, and then dies. Buckley handles all of these strange machinations with a breezy style and loves mixing the fictional with the real--for example, by having Angel Templeton engage in a mano a mano debate on Chris Matthews' Hardball. A lively and politically spirited read.

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December 1, 2011

Bird McIntyre, a Washington lobbyist and novelist manque with a few really bad thrillers in his closet, and neo-con Wonkette Angel Templeton want to make sure that Congress approves a top-secret weapons system. So they start a rumor that the Chinese secret service wants to assassinate the Dalai Lama. Expect more barbed political humor from Buckley, who sells quite nicely.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2012
In his latest novel of bull's-eye political satire, Buckley (Supreme Courtship, 2008) skewers our adversarial yet symbiotic relationship with China, along with the corruption endemic to lobbying, weapons manufacturing, and media spin. Walter Bird McIntyre, lobbyist for an aerospace behemoth, is instructed to whip up . . . anti-Chinese fervor to help secure government funding for a new secret weapon. Hapless and endearing, Bird divides his time between the condo he calls the Military-Industrial Duplex and the country estate he dubbed Upkeep, home to his equestrian wife, Alzheimer's-afflicted mother, and freeloading brother Bewks, a Civil War reenactor, while writing egregiously cliched thrillers. Bring on sexy-scary hawk and neocon Angel Templeton, and Bird is in more trouble than he concocts for his tough-guy heroes. Vicious confrontations break out on Chris Matthews' Hardball, the Dalai Lama is in peril, and the eminently reasonable president of China can talk with his trusted aide only in the bathroom with the water running full blast to foil their enemies' listening devices. Buckley balances bayonet humor and tenderness in this canny and diverting send-up.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

Starred review from July 30, 2012
In Buckley’s novel and political satire, to win approval for a new weapons system, lobbyist Bird McIntyre partners with a beautiful, right-minded radical named—of all things—Angel to turn the American public against the Chinese. But when their efforts fail, the duo concocts a story so outrageous that it just might end up becoming the truth. Narrator Robert Petkoff’s straightforward yet inspired reading brings this audio edition of Buckley’s novel to life. Petkoff’s narration is relaxed and steady, and his interpretations of the characters feature slight shifts in dialect and pitch—making them all the more realistic. Ably capturing the spirit of Buckley’s prose, Petkoff provides a reading that is sure to entertain. A Hachette/Twelve hardcover.