Fiction · Novel · Literary Fiction · Political Fiction

Advise and Consent

Allen Drury

Highly regardedPulitzer Prize for Fiction, 1960

First published 1959 · Advise and Consent · Book 1

Reading facts

✓ Checked

Reading effort: 57 / 100High
Length: 760 pagesPocket Books · 1961
Reading time: 15 h 15 minat 50 pages an hour ·
Pace: Measured
Emotional intensity: 4 / 5

Estimated from the page count of this edition. Dense books can take longer than the estimate.

About the book

In Cold War Washington, the president’s nomination of Robert Leffingwell as secretary of state sets off a Senate confirmation fight. Majority leader Bob Munson gathers votes while veteran senator Seab Cooley challenges the nominee’s record and approach to the Soviet Union. When testimony raises questions about Leffingwell’s past, Brigham Anderson, the young Utah senator heading the investigating subcommittee, must weigh the evidence against pressure from his own side.

Reader notes

Long and densely procedural, the political novel revisits the struggle from several senators’ perspectives, lingering over hearings, private conversations and parliamentary tactics. The pace requires patience for the daily machinery of government, and suicide is a serious subject.

How it reads

Writing style: Descriptive
Tone: Cerebral · Tense
Structure: Linear
Driven by: Character · Mystery
Point of view: Multiple viewpoints
Setting: Washington, D.C.

Reading complexity

Writing: 3 / 5
Ideas: 3 / 5
Structure: 3 / 5
Background knowledge: 2 / 5

About this profile

Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).

Writing: How much attention the sentences and language require.
Ideas: How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
Structure: How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
Background knowledge: Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
Emotional intensity: Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.

Themes

Ambition
Morality
Politics and ideology
Power

Content notes

Violence: None
Sexual content: Mild
Swearing: Mild
Substance use: Mild
Abuse: Mild
Self-harm or suicide: Strong

Standing and awards

Highly regarded

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 1960

Series and reading order