Recommended by: Susan Kraat, Librarian
Call Number: PS3545.A748 A4 1963
I first read All the King’s Men, while vacationing in Maine this summer. No, I had never been assigned to read it, or picked it up until now. In preparation for our trip, I noticed that more than one “best novel” list included Robert Penn Warren’s classic tale of southern politics, based upon Huey Long, former governor (and senator) of Louisiana. It is a vivid story of ambition, blackmail, deception, hubris, and murder, told by a narrator who attempts to distance himself from the dirty nature of his work, as well as from his past. The poetic language draws you into a world of southern politics and competing ideologies from the first page, and never disappoints. This is a story about a man of humble origins who rises to power, uses his oratory skills and his influence to commit dark deeds in the name of idealism, and who must suffer for his sins in the end. It tells of the struggle between the old South and the new South, and lets us know that politics remains a dirty business. But after the turmoil and bloodshed there is still a bit of hope at the end. Penn Warren quotes Dante at the beginning of the book: “Mentre che la speranza ha fior del verde” I did not look for the translation until the end and I am glad that I waited.
