★★☆☆☆ A book to be thrown with great force

Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government

PJ O'Rourke

I read this book twelve years ago, so it gets only a brief review of distant impressions. I remember my reaction to the book better than I remember the book itself.

It was described to me as the only book of conservative political humor that was actually funny. Well, I'm here to tell you that it IS, slightly, in places, funny. But mostly not.

It is perhaps unfair to evaluate Parliament of Whores as political philosophy, which would be a convenient excuse for O'Rourke, since the political philosophy is puerile. He hates government and is turned on by the idea of big weapons. The verb is chosen intentionally, O'Rourke's lust for big guns has a distinctly sexual feel. If that makes your last meal want to come back out the way it went in, may I respectfully suggest that PoW may not be the book for you.

In case anyone is unfamiliar with the quote:

This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.
--Sid Ziff

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Goodreads review

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AnonymousJanuary 29, 2023 at 1:12 PM
Tempting!
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