Shakespeare Survey Shakespeare and History An Annual Survey of Shakespearian Study and Prod... Book

Recently, I decided to reread some of the novels that have been on my bookshelves for decades. Among these were several by Christopher Bram.

The term 'epic' is often overused, but with a personal perspective from the life of Foreign Service agent Jim Goodall, with chapter variations from the POV of his niece Meg, the entire arc of the Marcos regime in Manila, and parts of Vietnam, are seen through the perspective of an American whose idealism for democracy erodes.

With numerous up-close encounters with the Manila dictator and his infamous wife Imelda, this story charts the shifting corruption of U.S. influence in southeast Asian politics from the 1950s to the early '80s.

Goodall's closeted life is gradually cracked open through a unique array of encounters and affairs, but love remains a foreign entity for him. His once earnest values are questioned, particularly through the eyes of his niece and Goodall's affair with her duplicitous boyfriend. The strange and secretive world of Washington D.C. politics and global events become uniquely personal and effecting.