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In an attempt to gain Congressional approval for a top secret weapons system, Washington lobbyist “Bird” McIntyre and sexy Neo-Con wonkette Angel Templeton start a rumour that the Chinese secret service is trying to assassinate the Dalai Lama. Their outrageous scheme provokes a series of crises involving the White House, the CIA, and a strangely sympathetic and vulnerable Chinese president, with both countries veering perilously towards war.
Buckley has drawn his most convincing and outrageous characters to date: Bird, failed novelist of amusingly awful Clancy-esque thrillers; Angel, combination Anne Coulter and Ayn Rand; Bird’s demanding, equestrian wife, Myndi; Bewks, his feckless but endearing Civil War re-enactor brother; the mild-mannered Chinese President Fa and his devoted aide Gang, manoeuvring desperately against sinister Politburo hard-liners Minister Lo and General Han.
Blending the skewering genius of Thank You For Smoking with Dr. Strangelove’s dark comedy, They Eat Puppies Don’t They? has something to offend — and amuse — everyone.
Praise for Christopher Buckely:
“One of the funniest writers in the English language.” Tom Wolfe.
“A Benchley with WordPerfect.” John Updike.
“An effervescent joy.” Joseph Heller.
Buckley has drawn his most convincing and outrageous characters to date: Bird, failed novelist of amusingly awful Clancy-esque thrillers; Angel, combination Anne Coulter and Ayn Rand; Bird’s demanding, equestrian wife, Myndi; Bewks, his feckless but endearing Civil War re-enactor brother; the mild-mannered Chinese President Fa and his devoted aide Gang, manoeuvring desperately against sinister Politburo hard-liners Minister Lo and General Han.
Blending the skewering genius of Thank You For Smoking with Dr. Strangelove’s dark comedy, They Eat Puppies Don’t They? has something to offend — and amuse — everyone.
Praise for Christopher Buckely:
“One of the funniest writers in the English language.” Tom Wolfe.
“A Benchley with WordPerfect.” John Updike.
“An effervescent joy.” Joseph Heller.
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Reviews
As Jon Stewart proves, Washington is an easy target to satirize with its hypocrisy, ego-powered politicians and endless hot-air emissions. What sets Buckley apart is his ability to mock Washington yet convey a genuine admiration for many of its residents . . . Buckley remains hilarious.
Sun Tzu's Chinese classic, 'The Art of War,' gets quite a workout in Christopher Buckley's latest uproarious political farce, fervently quoted by strivers and schemers in both Beijing and Washington.
The quintessential political novelist of our time.
You can't make this stuff up . . . Unless of course you are Christopher Buckley, son of the late William, whose fictional satires are must-reads for those looking to understand our cultural moment, or at least have a few laughs at it. Buckley is a master at cooking up scenarios that are wild without being entirely absurd and populating them with attractive characters.
They Eat Puppies, Don't They? cuts deftly between politburo meetings in China and backroom deals in Washington while skewering D.C. pretensions.... Unlike so many other satirists of Beltway culture, Buckley is both deeply informed and deeply funny.
Each of his novels may be light as air, but bit by bit they're building up into a significant social portrait, the beginnings of a vast Comédie-Washingtonienne . . . At a time of high political absurdity, Buckley remains our sharpest guide to the capital, and amore serious one than we may suppose.
an up-to-the-minute satire.
a brilliant satire.
Waggishly amusing... It requires a certain measure of audacity to reward that most whacked of political piñatas, the Washington lobbyist, with his day in the sun. But lobbyists and spin doctors have been good to Buckley (see Thank You for Smoking and Boomsday), who reciprocally accords them a mordant admiration akin to that which David Mamet has lavished upon real estate sharks and card sharps.
Hilarious . . . full of wry observations on the follies of Washington high life. What makes it laugh-out-loud funny is Buckley's sense of how little you have to exaggerate to make Washington seem absurd.
A hilarious and page-turning story of political absurdity worthy of Dr. Strangelove himself.
... a brilliant satire on neo-cons and the American foreing policy 'community'. Arms manufacturers, an Institute for Continuing Conflict, the Dalai Lama and the Chinese Politburu are among the targets.