The White House Mess (edition 1995)

The White House Mess, Buckley's first novel, is not quite as sharp and not quite as funny as Boomsday and Florence of Arabia. The ludicrous political situation is there (revolution in Bermuda), but I just didn't laugh out loud at this one. All the same, if you're in the mood for political satire and you've already gone through a bunch of other Buckleys, this one isn't a bad choice. ( )

A pastiche of "political insider" memoirs, set in a comically inept post-Reagan administration. It's nice as far as it goes - there's a couple of nicely Pooterish sections - but a lot of it just misses the mark and falls flat. Also, Buckley falls prey to the idea that in a comic novel, everyone needs an elaborately silly name. (I get quite irritated by this, sometimes.)

It's an early novel, and it shows. Skip it.

Evidently Buckley’s first novel, a pseudo-memoir written by a senior staffer of a disastrous, post-Reagan democratic presidency. It had some funny moments, but either it has not aged well, or it lacks the cohesion of Buckley’s more recent satires. ( )

Buckley seems to be more concerned with getting in digs at Democrats and Europe and other Washington insiders. The blurbs on the back are all from Washington insiders (George Will, John Kenneth Galbraith, David A. Stockman, and Bob Woodward). It might be funny to them and other politicos. It’s good that they can laugh at themselves. Uproariously funny at a Washington cocktail party of the time I’m sure. But not outside the beltway.

(Full review at my blog) ( )

The White House Mess is witty, but not nearly as witty as Little Green Men or Thank You For Smoking. It's slow moving, and it feels longer than it is. ( )