The Most Insane Political Book Ever?

The Guardian: “The opening scene in Blood Feud, the new book by Ed Klein about the Clintons and the Obamas, is a classic of the 77-year-old author’s scurrilous brand of political non-fiction… On a sunny afternoon in May last year, we are told, Hillary Clinton gathered six girlfriends from Wellesley’s class of 1969 for a boozy lunch at Le Jardin du Roi, a bistro near her home in Chappaqua, New York… Klein discloses breathlessly that ‘the wines had been carefully chosen by Roi, the owner of the restaurant,’ and that ‘Roi waited on Hillary personally and prepared a special vegan dish for her after the former first lady told him that she was trying to lose weight.'”

“There is, however, a problem with this centrepiece of Blood Feud‘s prologue. Le Jardin du Roi was not named after the backyard of a man called Roi. It means ‘The Garden of the King’, or ‘The King’s Garden’ in French. ‘It’s just the name of the restaurant,’ a puzzled staff member told the Guardian when reached by telephone. The name of the man who owns the restaurant is Joe.”

Marc Ambinder: “Like bad writing in movies, Klein’s scenes seem designed to paper over enormous plot holes. Unlike good writing in movies, Klein does not do much to make the reader forget how utterly…improbable…his dialogue seems. Like clever high school students, many of Klein’s claims are almost deliberately uncheckable.”

Katherine Miller: “Almost every chapter has something truly insane in it… Look, let’s cut right to the chase here: Blood Feud is the funniest book of 2014. Maybe ever.”