O, Democracy!

by Kathleen Rooney

It’s late spring of 2008, and one of Illinois’ two Democratic senators is poised to become the next president of the United States. Colleen Dugan works for the other one—not on Capitol Hill, but in a Chicago skyscraper that overlooks Lake Michigan, among coworkers with little to do but field calls from angry constituents while the future of the nation gets decided elsewhere. In the coming weeks, Colleen will navigate the perils of costumed protestors, thuggish union reps, vacuous interns, trifling bureaucrats, dirty tricks by the senator’s Republican rival, and the unexpected discovery of a scandalous secret that will give her the power to change the course of the election and shape her own fate—though not necessarily for the better. A quarter-life crisis viewed from the ghostly perspective of the Founding Fathers, this is a hilarious and heartbreaking story about American politics and the difficult business of being a good walking the tricky line between self-sacrifice and self-sabotage, between doing your part and knowing your place.

Genres: Fiction, Politics, Literary Fiction, Novels

416 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 22, 2014

About the author

Kathleen Rooney is a founding editor of Rose Metal Press, a publisher of literary work in hybrid genres, and a founding member of Poems While You Wait, a team of poets and their typewriters who compose commissioned poetry on demand.

She is the author, most recently, of the novels Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk and Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey. Her latest collection Where Are the Snows, winner of the XJ Kennedy Prize, was published by Texas Review Press in September 2022. Her novel from Dust to Stardust, was published by Lake Union Press in Fall of 2023, and her debut picture book--co-written with her sister Beth Rooney and illustrated by Betsy Bowen--was published by University of Minnesota Press in Fall of 2025.

Her fifth novel, Man Overboard!, is coming out with Gallery Books in July of 2026.

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not that I'm biased or anything.

[Paul Bryant · Rating 2 out of 5]

First there was Reading with Oprah, a totally delightful, brainy and funny book about the famous book club and what it did to America - RECOMMENDED - then there was Live Nude Girl, a self-regarding but cool memoir about being an artist's model - also RECOMMENDED - and thirdly there was For You, For You, I am Trilling These Songs, which was autobiographical essays, in which the self-regard was cranked up to 10 and became bang bang bang on the ceiling "Miss Rooney? Can you turn down your self-regard? I can't hardly think down here!" bang bang - and now here is this novel which is yet more autobiography about KR's life on the staff of Senator Dick Durbin at the time Barack Obama was junior Illinois senator and running for Prez. She never mentions any of these names, it's all "the junior senator", "the senior senator", "the chief of staff". That in itself is tiresome - don't do that, just give them fictitious names already.

Anyway, this is as dull as the ditchwater even other ditchwater won't talk to because it's too boring. If there ever was a plot in this novel it came too late to save me. I died in the cruel pathless desert from not caring about the day-by-day intricacies and compromises of senatorial campaigning. I couldn't give a rat's arse.

O Kathleen - what went wrong?

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read 1/28/14 - 2/8/14
3 Stars - Recommended to those in the political-know, though knowledge of politics is actually not required!
416 Pages
Publisher: Fifth Star Press
Releases: April 2014


When Kathleen initially approached me about reviewing O, Democracy! I was hesitant and confessed my political ignorance, fearing the entirety of the novel would be lost on me. I mean, I don't vote, I don't follow candidates, I ignore every debate or presidential speech on TV, and I (gasp!) can't even tell you the difference between a republican and a democrat other than the former identifies with an elephant while the latter identifies with a donkey.

Maybe my political ignorance makes me a jackass, and thus a democrat by default?! Ok, forget I said that.

In my defense, if this can be called a defense, (as though I need a defense), I'm a Gen-Xer through and through, preferring to let others worry about the state of the world as I continue to make my way through it, perfectly content in blaming others when it all goes to hell. I look at those who prance around in front of the cameras, making impossible promises to the public, saying things they know we want to hear just to get elected - "pro-life", "affordable healthcare for all", "create more jobs" - when in reality, they can't make it happen anymore than I can. Puppets, one and all. Ok. Forget I said that too.

Actually, let's just forget politics all together. Because in O, Democracy! we are treated to a behind-the-scenes look at a job that, despite the fact that it's at the Illinois Senator's office, looks and sounds very much like any one of our jobs... training young and clueless interns, dealing with ridiculous interoffice politics, putting up with bitchy bosses, and submitting to the whims of a powerful pervert who think it's ok to abuse his position by sexually harassing you.

The book's events take place during the 2008 election year (even I know that this is a fictional spin on Obama's initial run for the presidency), and is being relayed to us through the eyes of our dead forefathers. They are watching over the career of Colleen, a mid-level lackey for the Illinois Senator who is NOT running for president. Her various and incredibly unglamorous responsibilities include staff photographer, part-time personal escort to the Senator, and one time garbage-cleaner-upper. When her dreams of being part of the actual campaign team are squashed, she mopes around the Chicago office with the interns and other-left-behind staffers souring with each passing debate. That is, until she unexpectedly becomes the possessor of a video starring the Senator's republican rival that could change the course of the campaign in an instant.

In this well written tale of a women caught up in a job that fails to live up to her expectations, Kathleen creatively captures our collective longing and desire to be a part of something bigger. She also succeeds at not naming names - both presidential and brand - by employing trivia and well known facts in their place, forcing her readers to work out what she is referring to. I've never known another author to attempt anything like it before. Most of the time, I picked up what she was putting down. For the few times I couldn't work it out on my own, google got me there.

While it may appear a little bit lengthy at the start, O, Democracy! is a worthy read and audiences of all sorts - politically savvy and otherwise - will find something to latch onto within its pages.

[John M.]

For a political junkie, this exceptional novel is catnip of the highest order.

First, the writing is masterful. Ms. Rooney's talent has always impressed me. I read her other novels and loved them. Her ability as a writer continues to impress and stun me. Deceptively simple at times as she offers insight into a character's motivations, observations, fears, longings, desires, and hopes. Her experience as a senatorial aid brings the touch of brazen reality to her narrative, which seems as applicable to today as its own timeframe. Set on the office of an Illinois senator campaigning for reelection, she focuses on a press aide who struggles with ambition, a desire to win, and the ethics of what she will do to insure victory.

Second, like what I consider all good fiction, it is driven by internal conflict, both personal and professional. "O, Democracy!" skewers politics and government, but with idealism, which all too often partners with disappointment and disillusionment. The MC, Colleen Dugan, pulled at my heartstrings. Idealistic, ambitious, intelligent, naive, and passionate, with flaws most people should admire.

Third, Kathleen Rooney crafted a novel I found myself slowing down to savor. The plot tempted me into rushing ahead to discover what happened next, but the artfulness of the prose enthralled me, with a simple turn of phrase causing pause for admiration and fellow-writer envy. I rated this a five-star novel, but add a plus sign to it!

[Patrick Sprunger · Rating 3 out of 5]

A life in public service is like the five stages of grief. And like O, Democracy!'s protagonist, Colleen's, experience with the five stages of grief, the public servant (especially the lower-mid-level one) experiences them all at the same time, superimposed on top of each other and without the luxury of time to space them out and put the raw and screaming emotions they awaken back to rest. It is also like the movie Groundhog Day, in that this cycle repeats over and over again, several times over the course of the public servant's career.

The five stages of grief are (if I remember correctly without consulting the Internet): denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The five indices of civil service ennui are more specialized, and include frustration, cynicism, isolation, fatigue, betrayal, and a general feeling of impotence (wait, that's six...). For an ideological Gen-X/Y/Milennial, these feelings hit even harder. We tend to feel the "betrayal" part the most. And this cycle, like it does for the protagonist, frequently pushes the, quote, "conscientious," bleeding-heart generations out of public service before their souls acclimate. Kathleen Rooney captures all of this, spot on, in O, Democracy!

There were many times Rooney's book made me want to exclaim, "Yes! That's happened to me! That's my life!" while reading O, Democracy!, particularly the observation that great passion is required to compensate for loss of individual agency. At the mid-lower-level, the public servant is shut out from the decision making processes, is not given the real reasons behind certain decisions, and is asked to toe the line without question. The low-mid-level person is meant to keep the water smooth so that the organization can operate in a stable environment - that is, one that protects the organization's most fiercely guarded goal: continued existence. Government organizations want only to continue; they do not want to change.

This is tough on the "conscientious" generations, who trusted their social science and liberal arts instructors and believed they would change the world if they found the right organization. This is double tough on those of us who set aside projects, such as photography or screaming in a band, to join the machine and be disenchanted. Waking up at 28 with the realization that civil service is less romantic than promised - coupled with the realization that you never got that MFA and/or that you're now too old to grow your hair long again and start a new band - is tough. And, again, the author has perfectly captured it.

O, Democracy! isn't quite All the King's Men, but then Dick Durbin is hardly a Huey Long. O, Democracy! isn't Game Change either. Rooney employs all of those real world characters and drama - and more - but without the use of names. Characters are referred to obliquely, as the Illinois governor who is grotesquely Elvis Presley-esque or the tortured singer-songwriter who stabbed himself in the heart. The book is full of codes. The more closely the reader's life resembles that of the protagonist, the more unnamed mise en scene is understood. I found this aspect of the book immensely enjoyable. And it also reminded me that - oh my God, 2008 was six years ago!

The protagonist, Colleen, made it out. Presumably it is now 2014 for her, too, and she's 34. We hope she's happy doing whatever she's doing (though I'm not sure she will be). For those of us who are still in the public service role, trying to project competence, trying to be pleasant, patiently waiting for the old guard to get old and retire so the apparatus will select us as their replacements, O, Democracy! can be a little confrontational, reminding us how bleak it is out here. O, Democracy! is a little longer than it needs to be.

But it ends on a high - a high the reader (presuming s/he is Democrat, I suppose) can remember and relate to. The novel ends in Lincoln Park, with the 2008 presidential election called - with Senator McCain's concession speech and President-elect Obama's hopeful aria. It doesn't seem to matter that the novel's cast has divided by this time - with the lower level staff doffing margaritas and reveling in the park and the upper level staff entrenched in their policy bunkers already planning the next phase. The reader was, literally there, man, with them (whether in Chicago that night or in a bar or a living room in middle America). I remember how warm it was that Tuesday night. And what it felt like. And how the world seemed to have changed. Turns out it didn't, but it turns out it never does. Rooney's novel captures the majesty of this beautiful and maddening reality wonderfully.

[Rita Dragonette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talk about the right book for the right time. This novel is nothing short of a love story about democracy, warts and all. How it both fails and fulfills us, as our idealism ebbs and flows in the face of sometimes downright dirty practicality, yet still stirring principles. Rooney makes this all highly engaging and relatable by setting it during the Obama election, and narrating it through the eyes of Colleen Dugan a twenty-something underling working on a lesser campaign, always sidelined from the main action, desperate to be in on the game. Her often hilarious perspective on the highjinks of the political process is balanced with a genuine love of country. One day she’s presented with a scandalous secret that gives her the power to tip the scales for her ideals, but there is a price to pay. Will she? The end, I guarantee, will have you in tears—good ones—as you relive a time when we not so long ago thought we’d taken the right step. And, gives us faith that we have the power to do it again.

[Greg Zimmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Review first appeared at http://www.thenewdorkreviewofbooks.co...)

A "Rapacious British Oil Company" has just received permits to dump pollutants into Lake Michigan. It's crazy, but it's perfectly legal. So the Senator for whom our protagonist Colleen works in Kathleen Rooney's fantastic under-the-radar, indie-published novel O, Democracy! holds a press conference to denounce this burgeoning environmental disaster. But the Senator's opponent in the upcoming election holds another press conference and claims that dumping toxins in the lake helps create jobs, and also, there's "some evidence" that plants and animals that live in the lake use these pollutants as food.

It's preposterous! But this anecdote perfectly captures one of the main themes of this novel: That politics are ridiculous. As the staffers for the Senator discuss later, they're sure that at least 50 percent of voters will believe that plant and animal life will actually benefit from swimming in toxic industrial waste — not because it possibly could be true, but because they want to believe anything their candidate says and disbelieve whatever the other guy says. It's not about being factually accurate, it's about muddying the waters just enough to plant seeds of doubt — especially among "low-information voters."

Yes, politics are ridiculous. As Rooney says, they're also funny in a "have-to-laugh-or-you'll-probably-cry kind of way." And that certainly shines through in this novel about Colleen's experiences as a staffer for the Senior Senator from Illiniois. It's the summer/fall of 2008, and election fever — both for the Senator's re-election and for the Presidential election, which includes the Junior Senator from Illinois — is in full pitch.

This novel is based on Rooney's own experiences on Senator Dick Durbin's staff between 2007-2010. Rooney's fictional stand-in for herself, Colleen, dodges blatant sexual harassment by the smarmy yet somehow likeable chief of staff, deals with ridiculous requests from the public (can the Senator get me an extension on my mortgage so I'm foreclosed on? Help!) and extremist protest groups, and trains new interns, including a former dancer for the Chicago Bulls (a Lovabull) who has dubbed herself J-Lock, and who annoys Colleen to no end.

The big hook for the novel is when Colleen comes into possession of a video that would absolutely destroy the Senator's opponent. She has to decide whether to make the video public — to play dirty politics, as the Senator's opponent, a despicable politician who is using every dirty trick in the book, is.

If you're interested in politics, especially those of the left-leaning variety, you'll love this novel. Rooney doesn't use any real names of people, and the Senator's opponent is totally invented, but if you know politics and Chicago, you'll be able to easily tell who she's talking about. I actually really liked this part of the novel — because when you can decipher her clues, you feel like you're in on the joke. And, each reference – to the 39th governor of Illinois who is currently in jail for corruption (George Ryan) or the current (in 2008) governor of Illinois who has ridiculous hair and will soon go to jail for trying to sell the Junior Senator's seat (Rod Blagojevic) — feels like a trivia contest. So it's just fun! (Oh, and the Rapacious British Oil Company? BP, obviously.)

Anyway, this is a small press book that really deserves a wider readership. It's a novel that's as infuriating as it is entertaining. I loved it!

[Jaclyn Eccesso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woodrdge native, Kathleen Rooney’s, latest literary venture O, Democracy! is a notable and welcome addition to the genre of literary fiction. Well-crafted with quick witted characters as well as an absolutely enthralling plotline and narrative voice, the novel has the aura of being an instant classic.

Rooney's semi-autobiographical protagonist Colleen is a photographer striving to create art and make her work seen, yet struggles to stay afloat a wave of optimism in a world of politics, pragmatism and often self-persuaded corruption. An aide in the unnamed Senior Senator of Illinois’ office during the year that the first African-American candidate is running for president, Rooney’s story takes place in a well-remembered near past.

The clever, aspirational and often critical Colleen is juxtaposed with her terminally egotistical, chauvinistic turd of a boss, the Chief of Staff. Juggling the pinches and winks of her boss, her seeming lack of creative success and then a scandal she’s not sure how to handle, Colleen, an unsurprising chronic insomniac, winds through election year torn and dragged in unforeseen directions as the reader scrambles to keep up.

Told in the rarely employed third person present active voice with occasional looks into the past, Rooney’s novel is one of intelligence, intrigue and enduring thematic climax. There are periodic interjections made by the ghostly figures of the Founding Fathers as they gaze down upon Colleen, which at first seem to give a sort of out of place, sci-fi spin to the would-be practical novel, but as they progress, bring a befitting mildness to break up Rooney’s robust cadence.

Rooney also has a way of talking about things without actually naming them, which at times can be a little bit overwhelming. With everything from Wayne’s World references to Henri Barbusse (obscure, right?) allusions, the novel gives you the feeling of a book that one day will be riddled with footnotes pointing out the major political, pop cultural and Chicago local references. Rooney’s technique, though, is only too perfectly paired with her vacillation between high and low language, throwing out “fuck” and “apocryphal” with the same even keeled tone.

All in all, O, Democracy! is a refreshing wave of literary mastery that blends politics, philosophy and art with seamless ingenuity.

http://chicagoist.com/2014/06/17/o_de...

[Carlo Matos]

Kathleen Rooney’s novel, O, Democracy! tells the story of an idealist, a twenty-something working in the Chicago office of the Senior Senator of Illinois—an experience Rooney had first explored in her collection of essays, For You, For You I Am Trilling These Songs. Her protagonist may be an idealist but O, Democracy! is not really about idealism—at least not of the naïve or overly simple kind. The more knowledgeable, self-aware and dedicated her protagonist is the more tragic the story—but also the sweeter. This is clearly a love song to American democracy as it really is and as it could be but never quite is. The strength of the book resides in its lack of too-easy cynicism and also its avoidance of dogmatic ideological posturing. Its charm, however, belongs solely to Colleen Dugan—a self-defined do-gooder who is always coming up against the limits of her own vanity and the rampant sexism that both bolsters and knocks that vanity down. This character—like Rooney’s protagonist from her novel-in-poems Robinson Alone—sees great value in the effort of self-construction. It’s clearly one of the aspects that draws her to a life in politics, but it is also a constant source of conflict. Colleen likes her pretty dresses but so does the Chief of Staff, her antagonist and foil. He says that she was “an uppity bitch—quite the mouth. But I thought I loved her . . . for that.” Over the course of the book, Colleen worries over the nature of responsibility on a tiny scale and on a grand one, which becomes painfully acute when a certain illicit video comes into her possession. Colleen wishes to wield power, to have a real seat at the proverbial table of political power, but when she could easily destroy her boss’s opponent, she hesitates—the flash drive containing the evidence burning a hole in her purse: “I went from totally marginalized to I-get-to-decide-the-election in like fifteen minutes.” In the background, slowly growing in importance, is the bid of the Junior Senator of Illinois for president—complicating and paralleling Colleen’s professional, ethical and personal dilemmas in surprising ways. Rooney’s book is a page-turner, a political thriller lacking nearly all of the clichés of the genre and instead giving the reader a complex look at the nature of active citizenship.
--Carlo Matos

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

You don’t have to love politics to love “O, Democracy” by Kathleen Rooney. Nor do you have to be a writer to appreciate her quirky literary style or her poet’s eye for detail.

Observed by an all-seeing chorus of dead American presidents, and set in Chicago in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election, “O, Democracy” is the story of Colleen Dugan, an earnest and complicated young aide and would-be photographer in the “Senior Senator's” office. Through Colleen, we are privy to the thrills and despairs of a political campaign, from the titillation of a sleazy candidate and his looming sex scandal, to the grunt work and heartache of door-knocking and mortgage foreclosures. Rooney has a gift for making politics hilarious without diminishing its gravity or resorting to cartoonish clichés.

Even more, she keeps the reader on her toes with her talent for cultural allusion. In Rooney-speak, the Senior Senator is at odds with “The Rapacious British Oil Company.” We view video on “the video sharing website whose motto is Broadcast Yourself,” and the womanizing Chief of Staff lives in “a hotel named after a Roman Stoic philosopher and statesman from the Silver Age of Latin literature, or…after the tribe of Indians from the Iroquois League in upstate New York that white settlers decided to name after…” You get the picture – the self-same Seneca Hotel where my own grandfather lived out his last, lonely years. Each time I nailed a local reference I took a secret (and overblown) pleasure in my own Chicago-ness. As for that oily and disarming chief of staff, you will get no spoilers here.

Colleen Dugan will win you over, wherever you live, just as she wins over the late, late presidents-on-high who follow her political education. You will root for Colleen. You will cringe at her blunders and betrayals, and cheer at her clever retorts. And while we all know how the story of the 2008 contest ends, you will keep on reading, anxious to see how it finishes for Colleen, whose fate will mean more to you than that of the Senior, or even the one-time Junior Senator himself.

[Ari · Rating 3 out of 5]

IQ "In politics, one keeps working hard and showing up, and it's difficult to say what skills one is using; one rarely sees the outcome of anything. And because of the sclerotic political situation in America, the job seems to be less about accomplishing good than about stopping other politicians from inflicting harm; endless stalemate" Colleen, 20

That quote really sums up my view of politics right now, spot-on. However I'm reluctant to recommend this novel to political junkies because I have such mixed feelings on it. I LOVE politics, it frustrates the hell out of me sometimes but sometimes I still think it can create change and I like knowing the players,etc etc. Thus that part of me really enjoyed reading about what it's like working for a Senator's state (home) office because I knew more about the D.C. operations. Since I'm a Chicagoan I found Rooney's insights into the Durbin office particularly fascinating since I really like him. Personally I've always been torn between going off to D.C. to do politics or staying home because I love Chicago so much more than D.C. but this book convinced me that I probably wouldn't enjoy working for my home senator in his state. So there's that. Anyway the day-to-day moves of a political office will appeal to those who are interested in that sort of thing and all the issues brought up and the bit players mentioned will delight them. BUT at the same time I got so fed up with this novel because of a stupid political decision Colleen makes. I understand this is mostly autobiographical and I wish the author had used her real story because that was infinitely more interesting than the route she ended up going which I thought was dumb and predictable (a political thriller this is not, which is fine).

Colleen has a wry sense of humor so she makes for a fun main character with observations such as;"if she were the main character in a movie-a political thriller in which people exchange lines This thing goes all the way to the top -and a friend had asked her to come over right away to see something important but she'd come over hours later instead, then she could reasonably be sure, upon arrival, of finding her friend murdered in some gruesome way and the important thing thing missing. That's silly, but she's still a little nervous as she rings Ethan's bell" (123). but I kept getting distracted. For one thing the author seemed to have developed a very interesting backstory but she didn't share it with the reader. She would hint at Colleen's family life but didn't really delve that deep except the father. Also her friendship with Ethan. They were friends in high school....ok I was friends with lots of people in high school that I don't talk to anymore SHOW me why this kid is different. She didn't, he was just a convenient friend to have for the sake of moving the plot along. Additionally the Founding Fathers shtick was driving me insane. I thought it was a good idea at first, having them offer some input, until I realized she was just using the voices of all the presidents we've ever had...JFK and Nixon are not Founding Fathers. So that was confusing, maybe they were just trying to use the royal 'we' but it ended up being poorly executed in my opinion. Plus they just made it more obvious that Colleen was going to do something idiotic. I felt personally let down, the race wasn't even close for God's sake (if you know Chicago/IL politics like Colleen should than she should have known Durbin was safe...). The final nail in the coffin for me was the non-names tactic she had going on, she would drop very obvious cues (if you know Chicago and/or politics) but wouldn't actually name anyone she was talking about. A few pages of this would have been fine but she did with Mayor Daley, Blago, then-Senator Obama, even restaurants. At least when it comes to famous Chicago institutions I think she should have used names to show all the pluses our city has. If you're trying to avoid libel or something then change more indicators so it actually comes off as a fictional character. It also leads to some awkward discussions such as when the staff explains Chicago's love for Italian beef (origin story, how it's made)...to each other. It's a random and awkward conversation that just comes off as expository and unnecessary.

In sum I'm really not sure who this novel would appeal to. I thought I would love it since I'm in love with politics but I think this might be better for those new to the game (and/or uninterested in politics). But I did find Colleen's way of describing politics to be captivating as she put into words things I've often wondered or felt; "Well, there's phony,' says Colleen, 'and then there's the need to divide your real self from your public self. You can't run for office as whoever you act like around your friends. You can't earn this job by Being Yourself" (251).

[Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewing this book will be a little odd because the author is a friend. Reading the book of a friend, especially one written as a roman-a-clef, is an unusual experience. You have an access to the source of the book that you don't usually have. Instead of thinking 'How much of this character is based on a real person?' one is tempted to pick up the phone and ask. We can't do this with Jane Austen or Anthony Trollope or probably even Danielle Steele. This is what makes the reading of a friends book so different. You feel that you can skip the work of reading the book - like having the answer key to a test or the solution to a crossword puzzle and get right to the 'trick' of the book. That said, I avoided doing any such thing while reading O! Democracy - because O! Democracy not a book about 'tricks'.

I kept thinking to myself 'What would you feel about this book if you didn't know Kathleen?' and the answer to that question is, of course, non-existent, because I do know Kathleen and I can't un-know her for the duration of reading her books. This kind of interference disappeared early on, which is a testament to how good the book is at involving the reader. I stopped wondering 'Who is this based on?' and started saying 'Hmmm....I wonder where the author is going with is character'.

The book is a very vivid reconstruction of Chicago in the recent past - the run-up to the election of 'The Junior Senator from Illinois' to the Presidency of the United States. The protagonist works in the Chicago office of the 'Senior Senator from Illinois' much like a friend of mine did.

It is also an emblematic book about the 'Millenials' mindset, albeit the Millenial in question here is more educated, less cynical and better-rounded than most people of any generation.

In many ways it is a 'sentimental education' (which the main character alludes to in the course of the story. Instead of being a Flaubertian 'sentimental education', it is, somewhat surprisingly, a journey from the jaded, cynicism of the protagonist's work environment to a refreshing and very real, recaptured idealism once she is 'liberated' from that environment - no spoilers here - we find this plot point out in the first few pages.

The fact that we do know this is one of the devices that keep us on track and involved with the story. O! Democracy!, for all of its fascinating dissections of current politics and constant self-assessment of most of the main characters, is a wonderful read that hurtles towards an exhilarating finale.

[Jeremy Brett · Rating 5 out of 5]

"O Democracy!" is a truly wise, truly felt novel. Kathleen Rooney's unique voice guides the reader through both the lofty, shining ideals and the cheaper, sadder, more self-involved realities inherent in our modern politics. Ms. Rooney plays brilliantly with situations from her own past in chronicling the twists and turns taken by sadly idealistic Senate aide Colleen Dugan, who wrestles with both the harsh truths of her job and the dictates of her conscience.

There is a definite melancholy in the novel, as Ms. Rooney rolls out the everyday disappointments and injustices that come with political activity, but at the same time there runs through the book a true conviction that we, that America, can be more if we truly wish to be. That Americans - despite evidence to the contrary - can reach up and strive together to achieve our greatest ideals. Ms. Rooney shows true wisdom in recognizing both the optimism and the pessimism in American politics (rather than taking the simple way out and claiming one side as the be-all and end-all of the system), and her own clear love for the city of Chicago and its rich pageantry adds a wonderful layer to the narrative.

If the mess that so often makes up American politics today is something that interests you, by all means, read Ms. Rooney's novel. And when you're finished with that, read her poetry, and her essays. Her words and her voice are both deeply beautiful, and her readers are the better for having heard them.

[Tovah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reliving the 2008 elections through the Colleen, the main character's, eyes. She brought wit and drama to the story, while the chorus of Founding Fathers (greek theater style) brought wisdom and reflection. Between the plot and beautiful language, I also felt like I was learning something about Illinois politics as well.

While the story had just the right amount of humor and smut, what I really loved were the ideas. Colleen served as one small cog in the political machine, crunching away, and the choices she faced made me think of my own political beliefs and actions. I work in the non-profit sector and this book made me think a lot about work and the system I serve there. I already mull over the way women are treated in the work place, the relationship between donors and doers, and the interdependency of development and delivery of programs. Rooney's book gave me a new perspective to think about those very complicated topics. I loved the roller coaster of the 2008 political climate, I loved the factoids included throughout the book, but most of all I loved the ideas. As Colleen says in the final scene of the book "I love my stupid Country," and I do!

[Brittany RH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now, I may know Kathleen as a professor and a wonderful creator of words, but I have to say that I did not know what to expect when stepping into a political fiction novel. I'm not a knowledgable source when it comes to political ideals, but I was open-minded when I saw that it was written by one of the most creative people I know. From the moment I picked it up, I couldn't put it back down. I read it from a Thursday afternoon until a Friday evening, and I was immersed fully in the world of Colleen Dugan's creative mind and torn decision making. The insider's look at a political campaign, as well as the oh-so-relatable twenty-something year old who doesn't know exactly what they want in life is not only quite compelling, but also lighthearted. I purposely did not look up any information as far as reviews go, because I believe in giving every book an opportunity to stand alone without evil Amazon breathing down my neck. I won't give away plot points because I, as I mentioned before, think every book needs someone to just pick it up and love it. I shouldn't have to tell you the play-by-play to get you to do so. So, do it. And enjoy it.

[R. L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advance copy of the book in a goodreads giveaway. This is an epically well written book, easily one of the best I've ever read. I applaud Kathleen Rooney for, not only her unique and fascinating narration and character development, but for the immense amount of painstaking research and knowledge that went into it.
The story revolves around the final year-ish of the 2008 elections and the world of Colleen, and, really, the nation. Colleen works in the Illinois senators office for the other senator. We, as the reader have an interesting view of the happenings that at first kind of confused me for a couple of pages until I realized who was narrating. The whole book builds up to this amazing crescendo and only left me wanting more.
It's humorous and enlightening. It points out some massive contradictions between real human morals and our nation's political system. It's a must read for everyone, especially those not politically savvy like myself. It literally made my heart race!

[Michael Brockley · Rating 5 out of 5]

"O, Democracy" is Kathleen Rooney's first novel and, one hopes, not her last. It is the story of a young woman, Colleen Dugan, who works for a long-time Senator from Illinois during the run up to the 2008 election. The Senator is sleepwalking through the campaign due to his wife's illness, a malady which will claim her life. The challenger is a right-wing hypocrite whose views represent, to Dugan and her colleagues, a nightmare for America. But as her role in the campaign is marginalized and as she comes to recognize that the political power structure exists to prevent change and to, at all cost, preserve the status quo, Dugan makes a decision to do her part to reveal the challenger's duplicity and pays the consequence for her action. The story concludes with the nation poised on the precipice of what it might be at its best, with the hope generated by the election of the Forty-fourth President of the United States. Rooney is a superstar who writes with intelligence, wit and humanity. She won't be flying under the radar for long.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to having won a "First Reads" contest, I had the privilege of reading an advance copy of Kathleen Rooney's new novel. Having previously read her book of essays--essays about the same period of her life that serve as the backdrop for the novel--I already had an idea of some of the novel's contexts. It was perhaps a bit like reading Tim O'Brien's If I Die in a Combat Zone before reading The Things They Carried. I was able to recognize certain "factual" situations and certain embellishments. But just as O'Brien transcends "happening truth" in favor of using "story truth" to illuminate issues of storytelling and humanity in a time of war, so too does Rooney's "story truth" in O, Democracy! transcend the mere biographical. As a result, the book offers keen insights into the mind of a young professional in an interstitial time in life (what the book jacket calls a "quarter-life crisis"). And, of course, it does so with a poet's eye--truly some fantastic lines in this book.

[Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow I missed that this was fiction, so I was hesitant to start it. But I actually liked it. The story telling is great, very vivid and I was drawn into Colleen's world. The narrators are former Presidents/political figures, who also speak to us in italicizes statements throughout the story. The author does have this odd way of describing things instead of naming them (example: the baseball team in Chicago names after a baby bear - instead of just saying the Chicago Cubs) and I think that will limit the longevity of its readability, I'm not good with popular reference and even tho this is recent I didn't always know who or what she was talking about. If you're not interested in politics and familiar with the 2008 election, you might not find the story engaging.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be perfectly honest I would give this 4 1/2 stars if I could have but since Goodreads doesn't allow splitting hairs I will make that my first comment. Without giving away anything I ask the esteemed author the following questions.

What motivated you to write this novel?
What do you think of Colleen as a person and do you relate to her in any way?
What are your reasons for not referring to the Chief of Staff by his name? I don't think you ever use his given name or am I mistaken?

[Marcy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was interested enough to finish it but after the first 100-150 pages, the author's manner of convoluted references to anything real (historical figures, known places, pop culture references, even products) got really, really obnoxious and somewhat pretentious. If you are a history geek who loves politics (which I most certainly am not), you will probably find this more enjoyable than I did. So who was the senior senator of Illinois in 2008?

[A Battleground · Rating 3 out of 5]

Closer to 3.5, actually. Full review here: http://www.avclub.com/article/what-ar...

[Shane Zimmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it once and enjoyed it on multiple levels, and I plan to read it in the future to enjoy all over again.

[Michele Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read!

[Mel Bosworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great movement and balance. Funny, smart, surprising. Highly recommend.

[Roger Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light, quirky book gives a novelized inside look at day life working in a long term Senator's office.

[Leila Benson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dull, dull, and more dull.

[Carla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Irritating! Why the author refers to well-known things obliquely, I cannot fathom. The movie "Wayne's World" is "a movie … that had featured two actors from a late-night comedy program as the hosts of an improbably successful cable access show broadcast from the basement of a suburban home." Grant Park is "the park named after the Eighteenth President." What is the point of making your book read like clues to a crossword puzzle? Seriously. Does anyone know?

[Steven Abrams · Rating 1 out of 5]

An embarrassment!

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing roman a clef about a lost twenty-something woman working as a Senate aide for Illinois Senator Dick Durbin (though the Senator is never named.)