Roscoe

Excellent book. Highly recommended xxxxx

Essentially a "character" study of politics in Albany, New York, this fascinating novel focuses on postwar politics in 1945, flashes back to 1921, when the Democrats seized control of Albany from the Republicans, and harks back still earlier to the circumstances that led them to lose control to the Republicans at the turn of the century. Many of the same families are still running the party machine, serving as city officials and hobnobbing with national leaders, and readers familiar with Kennedy's previous novels will recognize the names.Roscoe Owen Conway, Secretary of the Albany Democratic Party, his friend and party financier Elisha Fitzgibbon, and consummate pol Patsy McCall have all grown up together, and together they manage the Albany political scene, planning the upcoming 1945 mayoral election while trying to help the party recapture the Governor's office. Roscoe, the son of three-time mayor Felix Conway, is the brother of Oswald Brian Conway (O. B.), the chief of police, while Bindy McCall, brother of Patsy McCall, runs the brothels, gambling, and liquor supplies. Elisha Fitzgibbon is the father of Alex Fitzgibbon, the youthful mayor of Albany who left office to serve his country in World War II. Among them the three politicos and their families control just about every aspect of life in their city.When Elisha dies suddenly and a private autopsy suggests his suicide, the political machine suppresses the results, and Roscoe and Patsy investigate their friend Elisha's private life. As the investigation progresses, all the relationships and interrelationships of these men unfold, along with the effects their private lives exert on their public behavior. Broadening the political scope to include the peripheral roles of Albany natives Jimmy Walker, Legs Diamond, and former resident and Presidential candidate Al Smith, Kennedy shows Albany's political machine practicing the abuses, trickery, image-making, and sometimes illegal "damage control" through which it maintains power. The city gradually comes to life on all levels and becomes a paradigm for unscrupulous, big city politics.The author's ability to recreate the postwar setting, his vibrantly colorful scenes (including a play-by-play of a cockfight), his darkly hilarious descriptions of political "fund-raising," and his unforgettable dialogue and repartee bring life to this fascinating story. Short, one-page fables, tall stories, or dreams, inserted between sections, reveal Roscoe's character, while Kennedy's use of flashbacks fills in historical background and broadens the scope. Surprising plot twists accompany the investigation of Elisha's death, and the conclusion is filled with the darkest of ironies. Including well-developed characters who often utter memorable one-liners, this is political novel with special appeal to political "junkies." Mary Whipple

The story of Roscoe Conway ,lawyer and Albany fixer, as he wakes up in the post war enviroment, Roscoe is the first clear classic of the new century.As the vultures gather, and a new world is born Roscoe must use his pre war skils to create a post war future for those around him. Heroic, romantic, chivalrous, a liar, cheat and arch manipulator it Roscoe is a fantastic depiction of heroism where you would least expect to see it, and tendersness disguised in a cynical shell.If there is a better book written this year or decade I can't wait to read it.