‘Rules of the Game’ thick with subplots
Leonard Downie Jr. is one of those names most journalists in the United States immediately recognize.
He was executive editor of The Washington Post for 17 years after succeeding the venerable Ben Bradlee, who coached Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein during the Watergate scandal. The news staff under Downie’s leadership won numerous Pulitzer Prizes, increasing its stature as one of America’s most prolific newspapers.
Downie has written several books in the past 35 years, all nonfiction and with an investigative reporting theme. He co-wrote an award-winning book a few years ago lamenting the state of U.S. journalism, “The News about the News: American Journalism in Peril.”
Now Downie is dabbling into fiction, and he has put his vast knowledge and newspaper experience to use in creating a modern story of political and journalistic intrigue that is reminiscent of Watergate.
“The Rules of the Game” follows the journey of Sarah Page, a young, beautiful, single (of course) investigative reporter at the Washington Capital. Her stock is rising, but she’s competing against some veteran reporters for some juicy assignments, including Mark Daniels. He isn’t the most supportive co-worker and has some personal issues of his own.
Page investigates an influential lobbyist and his clients in what starts out as an ordinary assignment. But it quickly mushrooms into
something much larger and darker. She is assisted by several sources, but a few of them are murdered. She is the target of a car bomb, and she is later attacked while going on a morning jog through the streets of D.C.
One of her top sources is a young congressman, Chris Collins, and she gets romantically involved with him. It’s definitely a journalistic no-no, but Page is determined to help reveal the corruption within the highest levels of power.
Adding a fresh twist to the story is when inexperienced Vice President Susan Cameron suddenly becomes president after her elderly running mate dies only a few months after taking office. It’s an eerie reminder of what could have happened if the McCain-Palin ticket had been elected. And it’s amazing that the apparently clairvoyant Downie wrote this fictional scenario at
least several months before McCain and Palin were even mentioned in the same breath. (Interesting note: Downie is another writer who seemingly anticipated a Hillary Clinton presidency with his Cameron character. The writers of Fox’s “24” have included America’s first female president into the story line this season).
Page discovers that the corruption, which involves national security and the military-industrial complex, may be affecting the nascent
Cameron presidency. From there, the plot only thickens and gets dirtier as everyone is looking out for themselves. Duty to country and high moral standards seems to be an afterthought.
For his first novel, Downie does a respectable job. His riveting plot is painted on a fascinating backdrop of Washington journalism and government. As expected, it’s heavy on journalistic activities, which may turn off gentler readers.
“The Rules of the Game,” however, is weighed down by its many, many characters, details and the speed of its story line, which moves faster than Beltway traffic on a weekday morning. Also, Downie introduces too many subplots and doesn’t develop them, especially involving Daniels and Cameron.
“The Rules of the Game” has a rather abrupt ending, which may lead to a sequel or a series involving Page, hence the undeveloped subplots. If Downie is going to write a series, he needs to be more concise, like a good newspaper story.
