Candy has its purpose in life. It makes us feel good. It helps pass the time between meals. And it sometimes makes us regret the moment we tore open the package.
That’s kind of how I feel about “Supreme Courtship,” Christopher Buckley’s Supreme Court satire which I recently read. The book takes delight in mocking pretty much everything in Washington, but does it at such a level that I wondered if I might get a cavity from this literary gumball.
The premise caught my eye – an unpopular president nominates a popular TV judge to the Supreme Court because the Senate has railroaded his previous nominees. However, when this becomes the most believable part of the story, Buckley starts to lose me.
He previously worked as a speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush so he has plenty of ammunition to throw the way of modern politics. Unfortunately, he throws it indiscriminately with such absurdity that I spent more time rolling my eyes than I did laughing.
The book is not completely without merit. You should just get ready for a bunch of groaners and “you had to be there” moments if you decide to pick this one up. I grabbed another satire off my stack after this, but had to give that one up after 75 pages because I just yearned for a plot with details that I could actually believe might happen.