Word: buchananism
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...most, Buchanan is not a charismatic figure. (I grew up less than 10 blocks from his mansion in Lancaster, Penn., and I have only gone inside once--and that was to receive money.) But Alf loves him, and this is one relationship he'll remain faithful...
...main problem as a demoralized history professor is coming to terms with a new age of criticism that obliterates history. He has been working for years on a definitve history of James Buchanan, the 15th and only bachelor president. Alf and Norma are fine, so it seems, until this lonely and much-maligned historical figure fails to form into a book. "My attempt at extending our family to include a bouncing book had proved painfully slow and thus far futile. Perhaps Buchanan was the cause of our break-up," Alf reasons...
...with this intellectual "freedom," Alf takes his liberty in spinning James Buchanan's story with Updike's fictional sense of character, scene, detail and above all, sexual frustration. Historical fiction is all the rage these days--from Umberto Eco to Susan Sontag and now to Updike. The "facts" may not be true, but maybe it's more interesting that way. There isn't much of a market for books on Buchanan--even in his home town--but Updike's book will deservedly land on best seller lists...
Updike has the ability to evoke a precise and charming picture of whatever era he presents--whether he is talking about the hit songs during the Ford administration or the elements of Buchanan's dinner on the eve he loses his only love...
...problem was in the packaging. Having Buchanan spit fire on the first night of the Houston convention set up a negative image that wasn't shaken until AIDS victim Mary Fisher took the stage--and by then it was too little, too late...