Boxed In

[Oh, yeah; an addendum to my email to Max should read:]

[No, I didn't spend the entire weekend in debauchery, though the rundown may have suggested that I did. I also consumed in one unsatisfying gulp Barbara Boxer's political thriller, A Time To Run. You may be asking why I bothered - I'm kind of asking myself the same question. I bought a signed copy for my mother's birthday, knowing she kinda likes Boxer. I'm really bad at gifts. She took her time reading it (no one reads fast enough for me), and handed it back to me, saying she thought it was pretty predictable, but not a total waste of time.]

[Well, it was predictable, and I'm glad I read fast. There are some fun details about Washington and the guts of a political campaign, but the devil's in the details, too: she needed an editor (or a better "co-writer" than Mary-Rose Hayes) who knows something about the Bay Area, because many passages read like they were written by someone who hasn't lived here since the early '90s. Hmmm. The one that hit map-loving li'l me was when she had two characters meet at the corner of Van Ness and Franklin. The two streets are parallel, one block apart, and are heavily used by anyone who drives in San Francisco.]

[Worse, of course, is as Mom called it: predictable, hackneyed plot and characters, and writing that sounds as authentic as either Clinton's memoir. I'm glad my junior senator has time for projects like these while she declares she's against marriage equality. I'd've thought that Feingold's coming out in favor would've broken the seal on librul Democrats' tacit agreement not to come out, for political reasons, in favor for something they obviously do favor. Go, Barbara!]

Previously Next