House of Cards

"Por su propia naturaleza, la ambición necesita víctimas"

Este libro fue concebido con una premisa simple: como deshacerse de un primer ministro. Si bien esto puede realizarse de muchas maneras,y muchas veces ni siquiera que alguien alevosamente mueva los hilos, aquí esto es tejido en pro de satisfacer la ambición y vengar el resentimiento de un miembro del partido, A.K.A. nuestro protagonista, Frank Underwood Urquhart.

"La política requiere sacrificios. El sacrificio de los demás, por supuesto. No importa qué pueda conseguir un hombre sacrificándose por su país, siempre se saca mayor provecho dejando que otros lo hagan primero. Elegir el momento adecuado, como dice siempre mi esposa, lo es todo.

Si bien en el inicio Frank se me show more figuró un personaje en cierto modo débil, de hecho supongo que la idea del autor era esa demostrar que en la política hasta los individuos más reprimidos son capaces de acciones terribles, pasadas unas páginas notamos como el personaje despliega toda su inventiva con el fin de hundir al primer ministro electo, no obstante no se puede decir que el personaje sea fuerte, más bien su furia lo lleva a iniciar un plan que después, tal como el ha dicho, no puede controlar y que continúa entramando hasta el final más por la necesidad de evitar que él mismo se hunda conforme la historia avanza.

"La política dejaba una estela de dolor y familias atormentadas a su paso"

El resto de los personajes estan tremendamente desdibujados pudiendo destacar únicamente Mattie, quien tiene cierto protagonismo dado que es aliada y enemiga de Frank. Si bien es descrita como una mujer lista, intuitiva y joven estos atributos pocas veces salen a la luz, dado que la mayoría del tiempo pelea por sobresalir gracias a historias arriesgadas, y verdaderas, pero su forma de manejarse es más impulsiva que reflexiva, jugándole esto en contra la mayor parte del tiempo. Para cuando al fin deduce todo lo que paso con Frank ya ha firmado su sentencia de muerte

"Los políticos se parecen mucho a los escritores avejentados y las mujeres ancianas. La fase más peligrosa en sus vidastienen lugar cuando ya no se contentan con el respeto de los amigos y exigen la adulación de un público"

No puedo decir que la trama sea una joya, pero la manera en que se maneja es bastante funcional y logra que, conforme los planes de Urquhart van cumpliendo los objetivos, la historia entretenga y honestamente entres en el deseo de que descubran a Frank y al mismo tiempo de que no lo hagan. Toda la putrefacción que puede haber en el mundo de la política esta depositada en Frank pero, esta versión del personaje que de hecho es la original no siento que logre sostener por si mismo la historia. show less

I never saw the new series but recalled that my father watched the original, so I figured I should get around to this series. Wow! I must say that I very much enjoyed this novel & Francis Urquhart is captivating and seriously petrifying. I was all over the place with Mattie but ended up simply pitying her because she wanted to believe up to the very end. Roger was hapless and pathetic but I still hoped he’d make it but I knew he couldn’t. Mrs Urquhart gets total points for being just about as chilling a person as her husband. They’re perfect for one another. I very much enjoyed this one & have to admit that it’s not often one runs across so memorable a character. I wholly see what all the chatter was about & why an American show more version of the UK series was done.

This was a fascinating & absorbing read. I wish it were available on Kindle but I’m glad that a raid of the bookshelves at my parent’s had a copy. There was also a copy of To Play the King, so I’ll have to read that soon. I’d recommend this one, definitely. show less

I have been binge watching a number of political satires and dramas on Netflix recently: Yes, Minister; Yes, Prime Minister; The Thick of It; and latterly House of Cards, featuring infighting within a post-Thatcher Conservative government and the rise to power of the manipulative Chief Whip Francis Urquhart. This famous series was broadcast on TV at the same time in November 1990 as in the real world Margaret Thatcher's 11 year premiership was coming to an end as many of her colleagues turned against her and she resigned after a heavy loss of support in a leadership election challenge from Michael Heseltine. The series was based on this novel, presciently written by the author, a Conservative party official, in 1989, after he had been show more "handbagged" by the Prime Minister during the 1987 general election campaign. I previously read and enjoyed this novel in the early 1990s, but Dobbs has now rewritten it, most notably changing the ending so that Urquhart survives to be Prime Minister in the TV series sequels made in the mid 1990s, which Dobbs also novelised. In fact comparing this version with the original paperback which I still have, there are many other changes, which mostly make the rewrite a tighter narrative. In any case, this remains an excellent novel and a searing study of political and media manipulation. show less

And so begins an epic effort to get underneath the pile of reviews that I have to get off my desk before I read any more - thus adding to the pile I am already drowning under. I have 5 or 6 of these to unload before I give myself permission to read any more. *big breath in*

In becoming a mother, I've lost all ability to watch television. I, literally, never see a whole 30 minute sitcom uninterrupted - and when I do see it, I can't hear it because the TV is turned down too low so as to not wake the teething baby. It's a game we play called "Don't Wake The Baby...Or I'll CUT YOU," and we play it every evening starting at 7 or 8. In the rare instance that I could comfortably watch TV, I choose to instead SLEEP. That preference for sleep show more over all other activities extends to review writing too - says the girl with 5 reviews to write. ANYWAYS, I guess I'm getting around to saying that I haven't seen the Netflix series, and I didn't even KNOW that there was a British miniseries or what-have-you. But I knew the name "House of Cards" from previous exposure and I thought I'd give it a try.

I can honestly say that I enjoyed it. I can also honestly say that I'm not sure if I could really appreciate the novel's finesse in dealing with the realm of British Parliament - something I know admittedly nothing about. I do know a smidgen about US politics - but more that that, I know about politicians - how scummy, two-faced and scheming these "rule makers" can be in their attempts to influence voters and maintain what little power is allotted to them (while, of course, always trying to grab a hold of just a little bit more. Apparently, US and British politicians have that scheming, power-hungry personality in common.

Francis Urquhart is one such man, aspiring to a single moment of greatness before his retirement from politics. He is the Prime Minister's Whip, a behinds the scene man who knows all the secrets - and knows how to use them to get what he wants. He wants power, obviously, as do most narcissistic men of his ilk, and he uses unsavory information to blackmail his colleagues to get what he wants. When the Prime Minister is elected for another term and does not follow through on promises that he has made to Urquhart, Urquhart gets mad. Urquhart gets even. Only, he does so without being noticed. He is a master puppeteer, unseen and unrecognized, behind the scenes, causing well-planned chaos around him. He pokes and prods weaker men to do his bidding, all the while rising in the esteem of others in the parliament. He's the typical wolf in sheep's clothing - a seemingly quiet, respectful older man who lends his assistance and ear to those in need. He delights in each calculated ploy to topple the fragile house of cards. The book follows his rise to power while exploring the lengths to which he will go to assure this ascendancy.

I was impressed upon learning that the author sat on Margret Thatcher's Parliament - though I don't know why, as he clearly sets himself up as an author with authority and experience behind him. In other words, dude knows what he's talking about. I enjoyed the book very much. I wasn't such a fan of the ending - though I can't say more without giving away something of a shock or surprise. It didn't ring as true as the rest of the book. It was kind of cheesy and melodramatic, not so real as the rest.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I just may follow up with #2 in the series - though not right away and not super enthusiastically. I just didn't know enough about British Parliament to fully lose myself in the plot. show less

I had read Michael Dobbs series on Winston Churchill and enjoyed them very much. Coincidentally, I had recently watched the US remake of 'House of Cards'. Perhaps it was time to read the original story now that my memory of the much earlier BBC version constituted only Urquhart's face and the climactic scene on the rooftop.
About half way through the book I realised how much the art of novel writing has matured, along with TV screenwriting, in the last few decades. The idea of the book remains clever, even brilliant, but the contrast between the original plot and the re-interpreting of it in the American series reveals the plot weaknesses of the original. Some measure of suspended belief is required. Rather too much in the case of the show more original. Could he really get away with it? Surely not.
But, for a while, it us fun to believe he did. show less

Se lo show televisivo funziona, è anche per merito di un immenso Kevin Spacey, ma sopratutto perché alla base c'è uno stupendo romanzo originale. Con uno dei migliori personaggi di sempre. Bello.

I am a huge fan of the current Netflix series House of Cards starring Kevin Spacey. This book is part of a series written by Dobbs witch sparked the Netflix show. The big difference between the book version and the film version is that the book version takes place in England. Francis Urquhart is the Chief Whip of the majority party. Like Frank Underwood (his US variation), who was the House Whip for the Democratic Party, his ambitions and plans were thwarted at the highest levels. Urquhart matches Underwood for evil deeds and manipulation of people for his own ambitious ends. The reader keeps expecting Urquhart to get tripped up. Urquhart screws over his Prime Minister and other candidates who run against him for party leadership. The show more reader of this book who is also a viewer of the Netflix series will notice a number of similarities in terms of plot and characters. This book was a great joy to read – – highly recommended. I look forward to reading the other books in this series. show less