The premise is captivating: The First Gentleman, as the husband of the US President is called, is accused of murdering a young cheerleader 17 years ago. Did he commit the crime or is he being framed in a deep conspiracy to unsettle the presidency? The narrative races on, streaming past a series of ruthless killings, astounding revelations and grand goings-on in the White House. The pace and events are certain to keep the reader glued to this best-selling page turner.
The outcome of a hugely successful collaboration between two celebrities, former US President Bill Clinton and blockbuster author James Patterson, The First Gentleman, is the third novel co-authored by this pair. The other best-selling thrillers by them are The President is Missing and The President’s Daughter, both massive hits.
President Clinton brings to the narrative his firsthand insights into the working of the White House, while James Patterson, often billed as the most popular story teller of our times, brings to bear his writing skills acquired from authoring over 400 books, including more than 200 full-length novels, many of them co-authored as this one.
Patterson is a giant in the publishing world, having won many awards and a huge popular following. According to one estimate, Patterson’s books have sold more than 425 million copies in all, raking in an unbelievable $700 million!
Not surprisingly, Patterson has often been criticised for being a book writing industry rather than a craftsman. And indeed, he hires an impressive team of researchers, writers and editors to put together his books. Who knows if he uses AI as well. So, how does all this rub off on this book?
For one, The First Gentleman is clearly not a literary work nor was meant to be. It is a thriller plain and simple, and one designed to captivate the average reader and keep her hooked till the last page. It is the kind of book that is fantastic for a flight or rail trip; no amount of elbowing or bad manners from a fellow passenger will distract the reader from the book.
On the other hand, the writing and the style (or rather the lack of it) will not satisfy even the minimally literary minded reader. Patterson’s world is watery, vapid and insipid. It is fast flowing but leaves little impression after the reader has gone on.
The only part of the book that left me thinking came right at the end and had nothing whatsoever to do with the plot. It was a longish and somewhat incongruous spiel from the First Lady about what needs to be done to avert the fiscal and economic crises the United States is in. It includes details of what is to be done with the nation’s spiralling debt, budget deficit and methods to resolve the burden of welfare measures and so on. Clearly, this is where the former President punched in his ideas in the hope that millions would read them. Hopefully they will not be as easily forgotten as the rest of the book.
The First Gentleman
By Bill Clinton and James Patterson
Penguin
pp. 466; Rs 899