Our discussion of Crooked by Austin Grossman

We created our new list of books to read for the year beginning in September 2016! So many great titles to look forward to!

However, we were not that impressed with Crooked. A few of us liked it, but mostly we were frustrated that interesting ideas were often not developed beyond a mention. For instance, “ancient magic” and “old gods” were barely explored, and the statement that Nixon’s mom was a sorceress was not delved into at all.

• The author was being Lovecraftian by choosing not to reveal things that we couldn’t comprehend.
• Nixon just takes the attack by the underworld in stride like it wasn’t important. Again, there was no depth. Nixon goes into the subbasement, but what he finds there is just glossed over. What was the point?
• The book was a rehash of Nixon Factoids.This was not as good as the author’s other books, but the subject may have been more the problem than the writer. The author stayed too true to Nixon in order to create a believable Nixon.
• Seemed like this could be plausible if Nixon was interviewed in a psych ward.
• The author was born in 1969 and was too young to really experience Watergate. The book was too tied to actual events.
• The audiobook was very good – the narrator did a great Nixon.
• Kissinger was like Merlin and was a good character.
• The famous tapes were a fabrication?

Please add any additional thoughts or comments you may have about Crooked. We gave this title the codes ETH, ALT, MONS, POL & MAG with an average rating of 2.8.