Synopses & Reviews
Depicted as braggart, brute, and bore in The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan has gotten a bad rap and means to correct the record. That weak-kneed, simpering cousin of his wifes, with his prattling about some lost idealized American individualism and rectitude, was not only a fool and a liar, but worse: a failed bond salesman. Pathetic. But by 1924 Tom has bigger problems than the pathos of the summer of 22. First, theres Aunt Gertrude, who has assumed control of the Buchanan fortune. Second, what with Daisy getting jowly and the maids indiscreet, theres little tranquillity at home. Third, a revolution is brewing in Nicaragua thats threatening to ensnare the family investments. So when Tom is dispatched to maneuver among Nicaraguas international corporate intrigues, machine-gun-toting rival political parties, and competing American intelligence agencies, he spies his chance. A rollicking, outrageous, and altogether brilliant perversion of known facts, Banana Republican sends the sexist, racist, elitist Buchanan careening through Americas brilliantly mismanaged intervention in Nicaragua in the early twentieth century. Eric Rauchway bends history to Buchanans memoir as Tom blunders, shoots, and screws his way through the historical record and makes the case that greed and amorality have always been at the heart of the American dream. Eric Rauchway is a professor of history at the University of California, Davis, and is the author of Murdering McKinley: The Making of Theodore Roosevelt's America and Blessed Among Nations. He lives in northern California. In Banana Republican: From the Buchanan File, Eric Rauchway extends the story of the American classic, The Great Gatsby, and delves into the adventures of Tom Buchanan. Depicted as a braggart and a brute, Tom Buchanan has gotten a bad reputation and means to correct the record. That weak-kneed, simpering cousin of his wifes, with his prattling about some lost idealized American individualism and rectitude, was not only a fool and a liar, but worse: a failed bond salesman. But by 1924 Tom has bigger problems than the pathos of the summer of 22. First, theres Aunt Gertrude, who has assumed control of the Buchanan fortune. Second, what with Daisy getting jowly and the maids indiscreet, theres little tranquility at home. Third, a revolution is brewing in Nicaragua thats threatening to ensnare the family investments. So when Tom is dispatched to maneuver among Nicaraguas international corporate intrigues, machine-gun-toting rival political parties, and competing American intelligence agencies, he spies his chance. Banana Republican sends the sexist, racist, elitist Buchanan of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby careening through Americas brilliantly mismanaged intervention in Nicaragua in the early twentieth century. Eric Rauchway bends history to Buchanans memoir as Tom blunders, shoots, and screws his way through the historical record and makes the case that greed and amorality have always been at the heart of the American dream. "This first fictional work from Rauchway is a comic picaresque novel of the type made popular by George Fraser in his Flashman novels. But in place of mid-19th-century Europe, we have 1924 Nicaragua, and instead of Harry Flashman, we have English poseur Tom Buchanan, formerly of Yale varsity football and 100 percent bluster. If the name sounds familiar, it's because Buchanan was a character in The Great Gatsby, where he got a bad rap as a bully, a boor, and a braggart. He's all of these, but as Tom would say, 'What's wrong with that?' In this delightful novel, Buchanan is sent by his aunt, who controls the purse strings, to set things right for family interests in Nicaragua, where after the first "free" election in Nicaraguan history, all sides are battling to see who will loot the country's coffers first. Tom looks like a hero but avoids risk of any sort, while he pleasures women and lives through harrowing adventures. After a long ride, he survivesundamaged, unrepentant, and a yahoo still . . . An enjoyable novel that begs for a sequel." David Keymer, Library Journal
Review
“Read as a straightforward adventure yarn, ‘Banana Republican offers the pleasures of an exotic setting, inventive plotting and a metaphor that captures the waste and fatuity of our more recent global misadventures — not too bad for a slender and unpretentiously written little novel.” —Richard Schickel, Los Angeles Times "This first fictional work from Rauchway is a comic picaresque novel of the type made popular by George Fraser in his Flashman novels. But in place of mid-19th-century Europe, we have 1924 Nicaragua, and instead of Harry Flashman, we have English poseur Tom Buchanan, formerly of Yale varsity football and 100 percent bluster. If the name sounds familiar, it's because Buchanan was a character in The Great Gatsby, where he got a bad rap as a bully, a boor, and a braggart. He's all of these, but as Tom would say, 'What's wrong with that?' In this delightful novel, Buchanan is sent by his aunt, who controls the purse strings, to set things right for family interests in Nicaragua, where after the first 'free' election in Nicaraguan history, all sides are battling to see who will loot the country's coffers first. Tom looks like a hero but avoids risk of any sort, while he pleasures women and lives through harrowing adventures. After a long ride, he survives—undamaged, unrepentant, and a yahoo still... An enjoyable novel that begs for a sequel." —David Keymer, Library Journal
Review
"An exotic setting, inventive plotting, and a metaphor that captures the waste and fatuity of our more recent global misadventures--not too bad for a slender and unpretentiously written little novel." --Richard Schickel, Los Angeles Times
"A comic picaresque...and an enjoyable novel that begs for a sequel." --Library Journal
"Banana Republican is a novel made for our times." --Roger K. Miller, Milwaukee Express
Synopsis
Depicted as braggart, brute, and bore in The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan has gotten a bad rap and means to correct the record. That weak-kneed, simpering cousin of his wifes, with his prattling about some lost idealized American individualism and rectitude, was not only a fool and a liar, but worse: a failed bond salesman. Pathetic. But by 1924 Tom has bigger problems than the pathos of the summer of 22. First, theres Aunt Gertrude, who has assumed control of the Buchanan fortune. Second, what with Daisy getting jowly and the maids indiscreet, theres little tranquillity at home. Third, a revolution is brewing in Nicaragua thats threatening to ensnare the family investments. So when Tom is dispatched to maneuver among Nicaraguas international corporate intrigues, machine-gun-toting rival political parties, and competing American intelligence agencies, he spies his chance. A rollicking, outrageous, and altogether brilliant perversion of known facts, Banana Republican sends the sexist, racist, elitist Buchanan careening through Americas brilliantly mismanaged intervention in Nicaragua in the early twentieth century. Eric Rauchway bends history to Buchanans memoir as Tom blunders, shoots, and screws his way through the historical record and makes the case that greed and amorality have always been at the heart of the American dream.
Synopsis
A rollicking, outrageous, and altogether brilliant perversion of known facts—and a much beloved fiction—Banana Republican sends the crass and hilarious Tom Buchanan through Americas infamously mismanaged intervention in Nicaragua in the early twentieth century. Author and historian Eric Rauchway makes the 1920s feel frighteningly familiar: an age of unbounded capitalism, imperialism, nascent globalization, socially acceptable racism, and careless economic policy. This smart, satirical send-up of greed, Gatsby, and gusto parades the American dream in all its ragged glory.
About the Author
A professor of history at the University of California, Davis, Eric Rauchway is the author of Murdering McKinley: The Making of Theodore Roosevelt's America (H&W, 2003) and Blessed Among Nations (H&W, 2006). He lives in northern California.