Clearance Granted

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Peter Benchley's Q Clearance is a shockingly entertaining book. In this volume he shows himself to be a much for versatile and funny writer than I ever would have suspected from reading his more famous novels, particularly Jaws. Evidently, Benchley worked for a time as a speechwriter to President Lyndon Johnson, and draws on that experience to fashion a plot regarding a mid-level bureaucrat in the White House who suddenly finds himself getting a lot more attention from the president than he ever bargained for.

I'm sure that part of the reason I enjoyed the book so much is because it takes place in the political world of Washington and is pretty insidery--there is some humor that maybe wouldn't be as funny to someone unfamiliar with the bizarre workings of the political process. Still, Benchley's main character, Tim Burnham is likable though vaguely incompetent and morally cloudy. Benchley's language is sharp and clever, and he is spot-on observant of the vanity and self-importance of Washington culture. Where did this side of Benchley come from? His prior novels were often filled with wooden dialog and unbelievable plots. This is the sort of novel he should have been writing throughout his career. It is certainly a diamond in what is often a rough bibliography. The ending is bit soft; the loose ends are not tied up with quite the satisfaction you might like, but the book is still a winner. Q Clearance is of course now out of print, but definitely worth a few bucks if you come across it in a used bookstore.