Back to the bookshelf: Plus ça change,…

It seems only fitting to take a look at these two books together.  They are:

• • Night of Camp David, by Fletcher Knebel, originally published 1965 and re-published by Vintage in 2018
  • Submisssion by Michel Houellebecq, published by Vintage 2015

Both novels involve political intrigue.  If we ignore the specific details, the novels deal with similar issues, and, we are drawn to examine just how much politics has changed over 40 years.  The answer:  not much.

Night of Camp David

The re-publication of Night of Camp David followed on the heels of the election of Donald Trump as President of the USA.  The book was given a new, exterior cover that read, “What would happen if the President of the U.S.A. went stark-raving mad?”  Inside was the real cover.  I have to admit it was the new cover that drew me to purchasing the book.

The novel focuses on Senator Jim McVeagh.  President Mark Hollenbach wishes to elevate him to be his Vice-Presidential running mate in the forthcoming election.  Senator McVeagh quickly begins to suspect the president is not necessarily sane.  The signs are subtle but McVeagh goes about trying to gather evidence of his suspicions, and, garner allies.  In the process, McVeagh’s problem is others begin to think that he is one who is falling into madness.  During his mission,  Jim McVeagh is haunted by one thought:  Who appointed him guardian of the government, the constitution and the country?

Fletcher Knebel was a political journalist and his handling of the political world is complex, interesting, filled with tension and exposing the loyalties of politicians.  It is an enjoyable book with a twist at the end that resolved (almost) all of the issues facing McVeagh to his satisfaction and those of his allies.  Trump aside, Night of Camp David seems prescient in what eventually happened one decade later to the Nixon White House.

Submission

I was recently introduced to the writing of Michel Houellebecq by a friend.  I am now reading his works voraciously.

Submission is a dystopian novel set in 2022 during the French elections.  In this future, Marine Le Pen of the National Front once again takes the right-wing nomination.  The left is split between the usual suspects and Muhammed Ben Abbes, a charismatic leader from the Muslim Fraternity who is seen as a moderate  To prevent a Le Pen presidency, the left unite behind Ben Abbes.

The protagonist, François, is a professor at the Sorbonne.  He is in a relationship with Myriam, a Jewish woman.  In advance of the election and the possible threat of a Muslim government in France, Myriam emigrates to Israel with her family.  The emigration of Jews from France is seen as a benefit to the Muslim Fraternity and the Muslim Brotherhood who do not believe Jews will convert to Islam.

Post-election, we learn of the changes within France as seen through the eyes of François.  The new president is not as moderate as he seemed.  Islamic law become French law.  Women are required to wear veils.  Polygamy becomes not only legal but encouraged.  More importantly, François is told if he wishes to keep his professorship at the newly renamed Islamic University of Paris IV – Sorbonne, he would be required to convert to Islam.  What will he do?  If Islam means “submission”, then one is also left with the question of who is submitting to whom.

Conclusion

Both novels examine what happens when good people do nothing.  Or perhaps there is a corollary of what happens if good people do not believe anything can be done.  From another perspective, the more things change the more they stay the same.  But taken together, they are an interesting look into the politics that govern Western societies.

Both books are engrossing and highly recommended.