Finale: A Novel of the Reagan Years

Mallon, a longtime master at fictionally realizing history (Watergate), here takes on the "Reagan years," specifically 1986. A few fictional subplots backdrop the main action, wherein a number of historical figures are given voice: Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Christopher Hitchens, even Bette Davis and John Hinckley. Except for Hinckley, the characters are nuanced, not simple pasteups. Take one of the principals, Nancy Reagan: astrology obsessed for sure but also self-aware ("The Gaze" is a ruse), reflective, and genuinely human. Those who absolutely adore or detest her will probably both be disappointed. So it is with the others. The book's centerpiece is the Iceland disarmament summit with Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev, and the tension is manifest. Readers who didn't experience this time in history—or who aren't familiar with the myriad luminaries who appear here, from Lindy Boggs through Jeanne Kirkpatrick and from Pat Moynihan to Mort Zuckerman—may feel at sea at times. But it's worth it for this well-developed snapshot of an important year. Oh, Reagan himself? He comes across as vaguely charming but unreadable to friend and foe alike. As Kirkpatrick "says" to Nixon: "You're complex, yes, but palpable. Reagan is smoke."