The Story of O
O.: 
A Presidential Novel by Anonymous is getting some buzz – and not all of it is necessarily good. This roman à clef, obviously based on the current Obama administration, has been compared to Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics by Anonymous (later revealed to be journalist, Joe Klein) which based its events on the 1992 Clinton campaign. Whereas Klein's novel was generally well-reviewed, reviewers seem skeptical about the built-in publicity machine generated by its anonymity. Nonetheless, others are impressed by the so-called "accuracy" of this insider look. Read reviews in the Toronto Star, The Guardian UK, and The Washington Post. The Huffington Post speculates somewhat tongue-in-cheek as to the indentity of the author, suggesting Christopher Buckley, Jon Stewart and even Obama himself. According to Quill & Quire, the publisher has asked political commentators to "refrain from commenting" on this Obama novel (a sure-fire publicity gimmick that's not really fooling anyone).
Read an excerpt published in the New York Times.
I wonder if Canadians will be as interested in this novel as they were in Primary Colors or in Curtis Sittenfeld's American Wife, a novel obviously based on Laura Bush. This book is released in bookstores next week – and you can reserve your copy from the library.
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