Book Review: Dumpty

John Lithgow, Dumpty: the Age of Trump in Verse. New York: Chronicle Books, 2019. ISBN: 9781452182759.

 

Genre: poetry

Subgenre: humor, satire, politics, United States politics

Format: hardcover

Source: Berea branch, Madison County (KY) Public Library  

 

Usually I would avoid a book about Trump, but two things caught my eye. One, it is a poetry book, so I figured it could be an easy read. Two, John Lithgow is the author. I know Lithgow as an actor, but I did not know he also wrote books, including books for children. I may need to check his other books out, and no, Dumpty is NOT for children.

The book is satire in verse about Trump and his administration. It looks at his time in office, various events up to the Mueller Report. Figures making appearances include Betsy DeVos, William Barr, Rudy Giuliani, and many more. Given Trump's tendency to fire people, some characters you might not recall readily, so the book includes footnotes after the poems to identify people. 

The book's strength is the poetry and its craft. Lithgow is very good at putting verses together, rhyming well, and writing a good poem overall. For some poems, he writes in the style and form of famous authors such as A.A. Milne, Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, and Mother Goose. The poems are mostly light and amusing. 

The topic may be a weakness, but that is not Lithgow's fault. I mean that by now as of this post, many people would rather forget the Trump years. The book came out in 2019, so it may be losing impact in 2022. Yet I say the book can be a good picture of what that time was like. If some of the poetry feels ridiculous you need to recall those were ridiculous times. Humor can be a way to cope and remember. I had mixed feelings reading the book as I would rather put those years behind, but some of these poems are funny. Some more funny than others, but that is just how the collection works. 

 

The book also features some cartoon art by Lithgow that goes well with the poems. 

Overall, I liked the book, but it is a book to read once and move on. Your mileage may vary depending on your sense of humor (or lack of humor) and on your feel for the former president. On a side note, I heard that Lithgow reads the audio version, and in this case that may be the better reading option. 

 

3 out of 5 stars.