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Donald
As America’s most infamous former Secretary of Defense lies poised to unleash his wistful recollections and rewriting of the war on terror, authors Eric Martin and Stephen Elliott humbly submit their take to the historical record: Donald.
What would happen if Donald Rumsfeld, former defense secretary and architect of the war on terror, was abducted at night from his Maryland home, held without charges in his own prison system, denied a trial, and kept in a place where no one could find him, beyond the reach of the law? Donald is a high-wire allegory that answers this question, in equal parts breakneck thriller and gradual descent into madness. But it is also a novel rooted in the harrowing stories of real people caught in America’s military campaigns. And while there are those who would try to convince us that war is full of uncertainty—of knowns and unknowns—Donald reminds us that there remain things we know to be wrong.
What would happen if Donald Rumsfeld, former defense secretary and architect of the war on terror, was abducted at night from his Maryland home, held without charges in his own prison system, denied a trial, and kept in a place where no one could find him, beyond the reach of the law? Donald is a high-wire allegory that answers this question, in equal parts breakneck thriller and gradual descent into madness. But it is also a novel rooted in the harrowing stories of real people caught in America’s military campaigns. And while there are those who would try to convince us that war is full of uncertainty—of knowns and unknowns—Donald reminds us that there remain things we know to be wrong.
- GenresFiction
112 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2011
31 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 11, 2011
The writing in this is beautiful, and Elliott and Martin nail Rumsfeld's narcissism and arrogance, and his voice is pitch-perfect. But I agree with the reviewers who said the book didn't get beyond its clever premise. It needed a little more imaginative life, I think, and maybe a more complete ending.
Still, a good book and an interesting read.
One thing that occurred to me half-way though: This book can be read as a metaphor for Rumsfeld's composition of his own memoir. The book begins with Donald in his library, researching his memoir. Following a dinner party, he's kidnapped and sent away. All he wants from his captors, it seems, is a pencil and some paper, so he can keep writing. When he finally receives them, he writes what seems to be notes on his own memoir. Could it be that Elliott and Martin have written a metaphorical tale of a memoirist's inability to come to terms with his own life? Writing is torture, especially when you don't really yourself, and you've chosen yourself as your subject . . .
Still, a good book and an interesting read.
One thing that occurred to me half-way though: This book can be read as a metaphor for Rumsfeld's composition of his own memoir. The book begins with Donald in his library, researching his memoir. Following a dinner party, he's kidnapped and sent away. All he wants from his captors, it seems, is a pencil and some paper, so he can keep writing. When he finally receives them, he writes what seems to be notes on his own memoir. Could it be that Elliott and Martin have written a metaphorical tale of a memoirist's inability to come to terms with his own life? Writing is torture, especially when you don't really yourself, and you've chosen yourself as your subject . . .
February 16, 2011
A mind-expanding piece of fiction, in which the authors somehow managed to get inside Donald Rumsfeld's brain to present this story from his perspective: What would happen if Donald Rumsfeld -- former US Secretary of Defense and architect of the War on Terror -- was abducted at night from his Maryland home, held without charges in his own prison system, denied a trial, and kept in a place where no one could find him, beyond the reach of the law?
Intriguing concept, sharp writing, a quick read, and totally outside my normal genre.
Intriguing concept, sharp writing, a quick read, and totally outside my normal genre.
December 4, 2011
The briefness of the thing dictates my rating of it. The attempt to humanize the polarizing figure of Rumsfeld within the shadowy detention system he helped create is a good one, but the narrative feels cramped and underdeveloped within its page count. I'm all for lean, mean stories, but this could have breathed a little more. Good read, though. The prose is tight and the depiction of Rumsfeld is an intriguing one, of a man aware of his sins and trying to live without regret of them until they are spat into his face.
February 4, 2017
Co-authors Martin and Elliott thrill with this seamless collaboration, a delicious fantasy in which nasty Donald Rumsfeld gets a dose of his own medicine: kidnapped and tortured in prison.
A quick read at only 110 pages, with shades of the outrageous creativity of DeLillo's Underworld and the magic of Joyce Carol Oates' Black Water.
A quick read at only 110 pages, with shades of the outrageous creativity of DeLillo's Underworld and the magic of Joyce Carol Oates' Black Water.
May 11, 2011
As I walk through
This wicked world
Searchin' for light in the darkness of insanity.
I ask myself
Is all hope lost?
Is there only pain and hatred, and misery?
And each time I feel like this inside,
There's one thing I wanna know:
What's so funny bout peace love & understanding? ohhhh
What's so funny bout peace love & understanding?
--Elvis Costello, "Peace, Love & Understanding"
---
Why I am glad that I read this book:
1. It's from McSweeney's
2. Simultaneous publication with Donald Rumsfeld's memoir
3. Relatively short - jukin' my book stats!
4. Very solid writing - way to go co-authors!
This wicked world
Searchin' for light in the darkness of insanity.
I ask myself
Is all hope lost?
Is there only pain and hatred, and misery?
And each time I feel like this inside,
There's one thing I wanna know:
What's so funny bout peace love & understanding? ohhhh
What's so funny bout peace love & understanding?
--Elvis Costello, "Peace, Love & Understanding"
---
Why I am glad that I read this book:
1. It's from McSweeney's
2. Simultaneous publication with Donald Rumsfeld's memoir
3. Relatively short - jukin' my book stats!
4. Very solid writing - way to go co-authors!
February 3, 2011
Weighing in at (barely) 110 pages, the book is more novella than novel. Despite the quick pacing of the plot, Eric Martin does a wonderful job of stoking a slow burn of dread as events play themselves out. Martin captures Rumsfeld's voice well while simultaneously portraying him as very sympathetic, very likable. I finished this book in one sitting and despite being vaguely dissatisfied with the ending I liked it. And I am somewhat disturbed by it as the imprisonment details are based on non-fictional sources.
November 20, 2013
While I wasn't familiar with Eric Martin, this was the only piece of Stephen Elliot's that I hadn't errand. The writing is amazing and the opening grabs you and pulls you in. A challenging concept that rushes into the inner psyche of a very polarizing figure. While it has to be impossible to truly capture someone's mentality from an outsider's perspective in a situation that never occurred, Martin & Elliott capture confliction and hubris and an inner working both brilliant and frightening.
February 24, 2011
Curious what-if. Nicely atmospheric but ultimately too slim to really generate the menace necessary. Sort of DeLillo lite. Too, Donald's fate is not quite as refreshingly dire as some (eg, me) might want...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 31, 2011
I only read a little over half of this book. I couldn't finish it, it just would not hold my attention. I thought the concept was very interesting and I was eager to see what the premise was going to be, but I soon got bored and decided to put it down.
December 10, 2011
Donal Rumsfeld is kidnapped by the U.S. government and interned in Gitmo-type detention centers. What happens to him in the book is kinder than he deserves. Think "Unbroken," but Rumsfeld's remaining shell is all asshole--assuming the yolk wasn't asshole, too.
February 27, 2011
This book got extremely boring after the authors put Donald in jail. Boo. I really didn't care for this despite the clever idea.
April 3, 2011
Fun to read about Donald Rumsfield's fictional experiences in a prison system of his own making. The writing skill declines noticeably as the book progresses.
August 8, 2011
loved the book but hated the anti-climax.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews