Review: All the King’s Men

Robert Penn Warren (1946)

Having thoroughly enjoyed All the King’s Men, I cannot recommend it highly enough. To say this book is about the political corruption of a Southern governor (a la Huey Long) merely scratches the surface. There’s so much more going on and a surprising number of layers to the work. Themes of shifting time, history, father-son relationships, loyalty, responsibility, and the kernal of evil that does (or doesn’t) reside in every good deed.

I recommend giving yourself uninterrupted chunks of time to completely immerse yourself in the flow and elegant style of Penn Warren’s writing. He was a poet, and his command of the language is striking and a pleasure to read.

I’d also recommend it for book clubs. We had a great discussion that varied between the timeless themes in the book and current events. [***** out of 5]