Under the Eye of God by Jerome Charyn

By this time, the day before the election, I think the majority of us have decided politics was invented to drive us all nuts.  The ads, the commercials, the robocalls, enough already.  I do hope everyone who can possibly get to the polls will vote tomorrow, so we can all get back to normal annoyances.

Meanwhile, if you're one of those people who suspects that politicians are all crooks with an axe to grind and that everything is a conspiracy, I have just the book for you.  I especially want to recommend Jerome Charyn's latest Isaac Sidel novel, Under the Eye of God, if "madcap" and "zany" are words that your favorite reads bring to mind.

Isaac Sidel is the former police commissioner of NYC who still carries a Glock in his pants, and he's currently mayor of the city of New York.  He also happens to be the current Vice President-elect of the U.S.  His running mate, J. Michael Storm, is a notorious womanizer with a photo of him, um, relieving himself in the Rose Garden making the rounds.  Needless to say, everyone wishes Sidel would be president, or at least remain mayor of NYC.  Those who know him well call him "the Don Quixote of Manhattan."  

Sidel was born in NYC, the son of a glove manufacturer who had a silent partner, David Pearl.  Pearl is a recluse who lives in a grand old building called the Ansonia, and Sidel is mesmerized by Pearl, the building, and the history of the building.  Unbeknownst to Sidel, Pearl has been maneuvering his career all his life, with the side advantage of allowing Pearl to take over the Bronx.  He wants to install some military complex there.  Confused yet?  I certainly am, and I've finished the book.

There is a bit of a plot here and there is definitely a love interest.  Sidel, also referred to lovingly as "the Big Guy," is wacko but he has a good heart.  Otherwise, I find it difficult to explain his story to you without spraining my brain severely.  Let's just say that it's a good book to read if politics has made you delirious, or if you just plain like confusing fun.

Source:  Tribute Book Tour