Banquet Before Dawn

Infobox Book |
name = Banquet Before Dawn


image_caption =
author = Warren Adler
country = United States
language = English
genre = Novel
publisher = Stonehouse
release_date = 1976
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback) & E-Text
pages = 250 pp
isbn = ISBN 1-931304-49-1 (Paperback)

"Banquet Before Dawn" is a novel by Warren Adler.

Plot introduction

A primary bout will see the next Democratic candidate for congressman. The question remains, will the contenders stop looking at each other and actually consider the people they claim to represent?

Plot summary

Jonathan J. Sullivan is preparing himself for his thirteenth term as Congressman of the Eight District in Brooklyn, New York. His lengthy career has taken its toll on his personal life; his marriage is a sham, he has all buy disowned his gay son and he is in love with a woman on his staff whom he’ll never be able to marry. He loves his job though and it set for one more term, perhaps his last. But this time around, he has some competition.

Aram Yomarian is an upcoming candidate for congress, backed by a wealthy mother-in-law and a politically savvy close friend. Those around him are prepared to make him into the politician they all know he can be. First though, he must beat Sullivan in the primaries.

The Eight District is a slum, it has been for some time. Sullivan remembers it once being a beacon of Irish culture. Now it is filled with poverty and minorities that Congressman Sullivan cannot relate to. For him, it has been about the job, not the people. Over the course of the novel, he realizes that he has not been serving the people, but serving himself over the previous twenty-four years as their representative.

Yomarian’s people make sure that Sullivan’s less than reputable private life gets out in the open. They do not want him to even make it to the primary.

Sullivan is ready for a battle, but does not have the money to back it up. His old supporters no longer have faith in the seasoned politician. They expect him to lose. And when that outcome seems imminent, Sullivan does the one thing he feels he should do - throw a party for the Eight District. It’s a last hurray as well as a surrender.

Sullivan offers an incendiary speech, assuming some of the blame for the neighborhood’s decline, but also placing the blame on the citizens for allowing their homes sink into poverty. A riot ensues and a fire breaks out. One of Sullivan’s top advisors does not make it out alive. The congressman does, but just barely. He is informed while in the hospital that Yomarian has won and offers some advice for the new representative of the Eighth District and its constituents.

Major themes

Out with the old. The concept of aging and being replaced is always on Sullivan’s mind. He knows he is past his prime, but he still wants one more go at being reelected.

Yomarian is stepping into a game, he knows that. He sees himself as different from Sullivan, but with the world of politics, everything is already mapped out. Yomarian does not have much to say, as he is being told exactly what he should be saying.

Ultimately, the novel tells the story of the Eighth District. They are losing out regardless who wins the Primary. Neither Sullivan nor Yomarian represents them. Until someone steps up for them, they will remain unspoken for in Washington, D.C. Without a voice, aid cannot be called upon.

External links

* [http://www.warrenadler.com/title-banquet.shtml Official Website]
* [http://www.warrenadler.com/title-banquet-sample.shtml Read the first chapter]