I had great expectations of this book by Vinson Cunningham, but I was sorely disappointed.
I had a hard time getting into this book because nothing seemed to be driving it.
If you’re not already familiar with the concept of this book, it’s about a young Black man named David working for the presidential campaign of someone who is only ever referred to as “the Senator” during the primary campaign, then “the Candidate” during the general election for president.
It starts shortly before David starts working for the campaign and ends with the Candidate’s acceptance speech.
It’s based on Cunningham’s experience working for Obama’s campaign, and despite the fact that it’s supposed to be fictional, every description of the Candidate, his family, his background, all describe Obama.
Despite the amount of wide-eyed hope Obama’s campaign generated, I didn’t feel any of that hope in this book. David seems to stumble his way into working for this campaign by accident, rather than by being drawn to the promise of a new dawn in American politics.
When asked whether this book is plot driven or character driven, I have to say neither. It seems to me this book is just the author’s way of working through their feelings about the campaign, and that’s just not enough to be interesting for me.