Spin

by Tom Lowe

Gulf War vet Jim Asher gets a crash course in politics--and life--when he decides to join the Senate campaign of a California business magnate, in this steamy debut novel which mixes an exhilarating cocktail of sex, money and high-stakes Republican powerbrokers.

Genres: Fiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1998

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Political thriller, about like something Charlie Sheen might have starred in back in the 1990's. A guy works in politics, is quickly promoted, gets in over his head, gets an attack of conscience, and gets in all kinds of trouble.

I felt like I read it all before.

[Carla · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hands down, without a doubt, the worst book I've ever read in my life. Full of cliche and relentlessly hamfisted misogynistic views on just about every topic conceivable. That said.... ever read a book so bad that you can't stop reading because you're laughing so hard? This is one of those. Simply incredibly bad in the most grandiose and expansive sense possible.

[Cheryle · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS WAS NOT THE TOM LOWE I HAVE READ BEFORE. I FINISHED THE BOOK, BUT IT WAS NOT AS GOOD AS THE OTHER TOM LOWE.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

for most of this, i couldn't decide if tom lowe was serious or not. it's hard not to give him the benefit of satire with passages like:

"Is it good?" "I think so. I put a lot of Reagan quotes in it." "Good. I love Reagan quotes. They always get the crowd pumped."
(p.176)

"As I gaze out across the blue and green horizon, it occurs to me that our lives are like the ocean - every stream runs into them, but like the sea, our souls are never full; and what could possibly be more elegant and inspiring than that?"
(p. 287)

but when the last page of fiction gave way to the acknowledgements and the narrative voice didn't falter, i knew it was straight-up cock.

calls itself a tale of conscience, but i think that only applies if you're a super-privileged white boy from newport beach.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard of/from Tom Lowe via Goodreads. Thought I'd give him a read.
First book I read was SPIN. I wasn't sure this was the book for me since I'm a flaming liberal and
get nervous when I cross the Orange curtain into Orange County.
But I definitely got hooked with the protagonist, Jim or as Sam referred to him "Boo Boo" (which I assume is from Yogi Bear). I am a political junky but more on the nerd end and not the swinging end of politics. As the story progressed, it was becoming obvious this book was turning into a cautionary tale.
I saw some of the other Goodreads comments and I disagree with the harshness of a few of them.

I'm still amazed I kept reading after page two but I did.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not brilliantly written, but still a good yard about the highly charged world of politics.

Jim Asher is a twenty-something Gulf War vet who is casting about for something to do with his life. He volunteers to work on a campaign for a local conservative politician and is quickly enamored of the lifestyle: the late nights, the adrenaline of small victories, the parties, the girls, the sex... Soon, his wide-eyed political conviction is replaced by a burning desire to succeed at all costs.

It's a pretty standard cautionary tale, but set in the world of politics. It's got just enough inside knowledge to make it interesting and believable.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book..... ever?