What do you think?
Rate this book
A Choice of Enemies
Bernie Morgan, longtime Speaker of the Massachusetts House, is determined to thwart his political enemies and plan a memorable end to his career
- GenresFiction
377 pages, Hardcover
First published December 12, 1983
1 person is currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
George V. Higgins
75 books262 followersGeorge Vincent Higgins was a United States author, lawyer, newspaper columnist, and college professor. He is best known for his bestselling crime novels.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 21, 2020
Giving this 4 stars but might be compelled to round up to 5 eventually.
My journey through the novels of Boston author George V. Higgins (this was his eleventh) continues with this, his longest and reportedly favorite of all his books. It's 377 pages and reads longer than that because of his trademark digressive gutter-poetry brand of dialogue, which makes the story hard to tease out, to the extent that there is one. That this deliriously profane, quasi-theatrical conversating comes from a seemingly higher class of people (lawyers, politicans, newspapermen) than the two-bit conmen and thieves he usually writes about is, I would assume, part of the point.
The general knocks on Higgins apply here as well: All the characters are fairly indistinguishable from each other. Scenes go on for several pages longer than they need to because even ordering a beer requires a page or two of rumination. The ostensible protagonist, Massachusetts House Speaker Bernie Morgan, is off screen for roughly 75 percent of the book.
And yet! I was moved by this book, taken in by Higgins' obvious affection for his characters -- particularly the bellicose Speaker himself -- and his elliptical way of telling the story, which moves from character to character like a satellite, advancing the story incrementally while filling in a universe that feels as richly authentic as any other, and I am feeling bereft now that I've left it.
I think this is maybe his best book since Eddie Coyle, with an added resonance and maturity to boot.
My journey through the novels of Boston author George V. Higgins (this was his eleventh) continues with this, his longest and reportedly favorite of all his books. It's 377 pages and reads longer than that because of his trademark digressive gutter-poetry brand of dialogue, which makes the story hard to tease out, to the extent that there is one. That this deliriously profane, quasi-theatrical conversating comes from a seemingly higher class of people (lawyers, politicans, newspapermen) than the two-bit conmen and thieves he usually writes about is, I would assume, part of the point.
The general knocks on Higgins apply here as well: All the characters are fairly indistinguishable from each other. Scenes go on for several pages longer than they need to because even ordering a beer requires a page or two of rumination. The ostensible protagonist, Massachusetts House Speaker Bernie Morgan, is off screen for roughly 75 percent of the book.
And yet! I was moved by this book, taken in by Higgins' obvious affection for his characters -- particularly the bellicose Speaker himself -- and his elliptical way of telling the story, which moves from character to character like a satellite, advancing the story incrementally while filling in a universe that feels as richly authentic as any other, and I am feeling bereft now that I've left it.
I think this is maybe his best book since Eddie Coyle, with an added resonance and maturity to boot.
August 9, 2018
I can't speak as to the accuracy or authenticity of this novel, being not of its time, place or culture, but man did I enjoy the hell out of it. Morgan and Costello are two of Higgins' greatest creations, dynamic and layered characters that some of his other works tend to lack. Higgins' traditionally caustic and street-wise language seemingly would be out of place in the world of higher up Massachusetts state politics, and yet the juxtaposition works perfectly to reveal this world as virtually no different than that occupied by the likes of Eddie Coyle and Jackie Cogan.
A master at work, this is one of my favorites of Higgins.
A master at work, this is one of my favorites of Higgins.
September 17, 2013
A remarkably witty, dialogue heavy, novel about political corruption. Higgins is a wonderful writer of lengthy scenes of groups of people talking, his naturalistic and occasionally hilarious dialogue is what the whole novel is built upon and where it succeeds. It is an astute novel about the vagaries of politics, with a cynical eye for detail. A really enjoyable read.
November 4, 2013
This was a hard book to get into, because of the vast array of characters, I think, but once you broke though and picked up the rhythm, it was a great book--if Tolstoy have been covering Staties, Millis, Dorchester and the South Shore Mall.
January 5, 2012
I admit it, I am now an Higgins addict. Terrific behind the scenes view into how Mass politics works (corruptly). Most out of staters just don't get it, or can't believe hat it's this bad. IT IS!!
August 7, 2023
George V. Higgins is one of my favorite authors. Back in the 1990s, I read A Choice of Enemies and thought that it might have been Higgins’ best book. No one tells a story like Higgins. He uses razor-sharp, cynical dialogue to reveal his characters.
In April, I came across a first edition of A Choice of Enemies (including dust jacket) at a thrift store. I bought the book and got around to rereading it @ the end of July.
The book loosely centers around Bernie Morgan, the speaker of the house in the Massachusetts legislature. Higgins has various characters describe Morgan (and each other). This is one of the hallmarks of Higgins’ writing. Each character has a different impression – and, more importantly, a different interest in the success or failure of Morgan’s political career.
The characters interact in complex ways. There are interconnections between many of them and the reader admires Higgins’ skill @ weaving an intricate plot. At the same time, sometimes it feels as though a scorecard is necessary to keep up with “who’s who.”
I heard Higgins say once that authors shouldn’t “take sides” with their characters. Few writers do a better job creating an ambiguous world than does Higgins. There are no “good guys” or “bad guys” in his novels – just varying shades of gray. And that’s one of the things that I like best about Higgins’ novels.
Morgan is a likable rogue. Higgins makes it clear that Morgan’s time at that top is almost at an end. There are many who want to take him down – generally so that they can advance their own interests.
Morgan’s “counselor,” Francis X. Costello is also central to the story. If Morgan is the front man, Costello is power behind the scenes. Higgins spends a lot of time on Costello. Another character describes Costello:
“A Frank Costello is a sort of a latter-day privateer, preying on the sea-lanes of commerce for his own plunder. Generally he’s pretty careful to avoid attracting too much attention to himself. Doesn’t like it, as a matter of fact. Has a tendency to lie low, like Bre’r Fox. He don’t say nuffin’. When he wants something done overseas, he has somebody overseas who will do it. When he wants something done in New York, somebody in Manhattan will respond immediately. He has somebody in Washington, somebody in L.S., and he of course reciprocates and is their somebody in Boston” (p. 138).
Toward the end of the book, you can see the pieces start to come together. Given that no person in A Choice of Enemies is “pure,” it comes as no surprise that a certain amount of betrayal is involved in the conclusion. Despite – or because of – the characters’ flaws, the reader cannot wait to see what’s going to happen. I stayed up late a couple of nights because I didn't want to stop reading.
A Choice of Enemies is long at 377 pages. But I think that the investment is worth it.
In April, I came across a first edition of A Choice of Enemies (including dust jacket) at a thrift store. I bought the book and got around to rereading it @ the end of July.
The book loosely centers around Bernie Morgan, the speaker of the house in the Massachusetts legislature. Higgins has various characters describe Morgan (and each other). This is one of the hallmarks of Higgins’ writing. Each character has a different impression – and, more importantly, a different interest in the success or failure of Morgan’s political career.
The characters interact in complex ways. There are interconnections between many of them and the reader admires Higgins’ skill @ weaving an intricate plot. At the same time, sometimes it feels as though a scorecard is necessary to keep up with “who’s who.”
I heard Higgins say once that authors shouldn’t “take sides” with their characters. Few writers do a better job creating an ambiguous world than does Higgins. There are no “good guys” or “bad guys” in his novels – just varying shades of gray. And that’s one of the things that I like best about Higgins’ novels.
Morgan is a likable rogue. Higgins makes it clear that Morgan’s time at that top is almost at an end. There are many who want to take him down – generally so that they can advance their own interests.
Morgan’s “counselor,” Francis X. Costello is also central to the story. If Morgan is the front man, Costello is power behind the scenes. Higgins spends a lot of time on Costello. Another character describes Costello:
“A Frank Costello is a sort of a latter-day privateer, preying on the sea-lanes of commerce for his own plunder. Generally he’s pretty careful to avoid attracting too much attention to himself. Doesn’t like it, as a matter of fact. Has a tendency to lie low, like Bre’r Fox. He don’t say nuffin’. When he wants something done overseas, he has somebody overseas who will do it. When he wants something done in New York, somebody in Manhattan will respond immediately. He has somebody in Washington, somebody in L.S., and he of course reciprocates and is their somebody in Boston” (p. 138).
Toward the end of the book, you can see the pieces start to come together. Given that no person in A Choice of Enemies is “pure,” it comes as no surprise that a certain amount of betrayal is involved in the conclusion. Despite – or because of – the characters’ flaws, the reader cannot wait to see what’s going to happen. I stayed up late a couple of nights because I didn't want to stop reading.
A Choice of Enemies is long at 377 pages. But I think that the investment is worth it.
March 31, 2025
Boston political corruption but it's all talk and the plot is approached obliquely because it's Higgins.
An uneven book overall, but it has some of the best stuff he ever wrote in there, and if it's aged at all it's only because newspapers are important in this one.
An uneven book overall, but it has some of the best stuff he ever wrote in there, and if it's aged at all it's only because newspapers are important in this one.
August 30, 2021
A little boring compared to his others, with just people talking about conspiracies and crime rather than anything really happening.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews