Having enjoyed Thomas Mallon’s WATERGATE, a piece of historical fiction centering on the 37th President of the United States, I eagerly picked up his FINALE: A HISTORY OF THE REAGAN YEARS to see how he treated the 40th occupant of that office. Again, Mallon mixes fictional characters with real life participants in history, some obscure and some surprising, and centers most of his action around the second half of 1986, a patch of time that included the Reykjavik Summit with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, a hard fought mid-term election with the control of Senate on the line, and the revelation that the Reagan Administration was trading arms for hostages with the Ayatollah in Iran, while secretly funding the Contras, who were waging a guerilla war against the leftist Castro backed government in Nicaragua. Mallon’s book weaves a story that involves many different individuals, some of whom work in the White House, while others vigorously oppose it, and some who just enjoy drifting along in close proximity to power and glamour. Then there are those who observe and see through the facades the mighty and wealthy work so hard to put up.

I thought FINALE didn’t have as strong of narrative as WATERGATE, and maybe that is because the historical events of the latter were so dramatic, and the cast of characters involved so fascinating. But the strong point in FINALE is the way Mallon builds his characters here, both real and fictional, giving them distinctive voices and personalities that may not exactly jibe with the record, but who nevertheless leap off the page for me. Mallon has a great talent for portraying these historical personages not only as they would have liked for us to see them, but then showing us their faults, and allowing the more real person to be seen. The standout in this book for me is his portrayal of Nancy Reagan, the First Lady utterly and obsessively devoted to her “Ronnie,” an insecure woman who uses astrology to try and control a world filled with dangers, seen and unseen, who always believes that the men surrounding her husband in the White House are falling short of doing their best for him, and never forgetting those who hindered her husband’s ambitions, or failed in their efforts on his behalf. Her dependence on astrologer Joan Quigley was kept from the public during the Reagan’s years in the White House, not in the least for how fanatically she believed in it, but also because astrology was anathema to Ronald Reagan’s devoted supporters in the Christian evangelical community, many million strong. Mallon does bring back Richard Nixon in this book, now a disgraced ex-President determined to still wield influence in the waning days of the Cold War, going so far as to have a mole planted in the American delegation to Reykjavik. Pamela Harriman comes off as a sort of anti-Nancy, a woman who knew how to marry well and advance herself, now the widow of Averell Harriman and determined to step out and make herself a power in her own right as a Democratic Party fundraiser. I must admit that I liked the fictional Christopher Hitchens (a friend of Mallon’s) in this book much better than the real life one who went off the deep end after 9/11 and supported the invasion of Iraq, while becoming a militant atheist. Among the other real life personages making appearances in the book are Mikhail Gorbachev, Margaret Thatcher, Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter, Jeanne Kirkpatrick (a darling of neo-cons back in the day), Merv Griffin, Bette Davis, Donald Regan (the tough as nails White House chief of staff who clashed with Nancy); a napping Lillian Gish, George Schultz, Michael Deaver, John Hinckley (who attempted to assassinate Reagan); Bob Dole, Walter and Lee Annenberg, along with a lot of politicians and names from the ‘80s that many readers will have to wiki. I’m surprised there wasn’t an appearance by Sam Donaldson, the abrasive ABC News White House correspondent during the Reagan years, and a frequent foil for the amiable President. Among the fictional characters Mallon invents for his novel is Anne MacMurray, the former wife of a Republican Party power broker (and a money funneler to the Contras) who has become an anti-nuclear activist, an issue that was red hot back in those days, and Anders Little, a lower level member of the National Security Counsel who manages to hitch a ride to Reykivik, and nearly witnesses what might have been the end of the Cold War on one October afternoon but for Reagan’s refusal to abandon his Strategic Defense Initiative. Little is a closeted homosexual in the middle of the AIDS epidemic, working for an administration doing nothing to stem the disease while being supported by a Republican Party not shy about its hostility to anything and anyone suspected of sexual deviancy. Mallon doesn’t hammer the point, but I think he lets his portrayal of the sad fate of Terry Dolan in the book speak for itself. Ronald Reagan is the one character Mallon does not try to get inside, letting the man remain the enigma so many found him to be, a genial front masking a detachment that mystified even those who worked closely with him. The author strongly hints that the Alzheimer’s, which wouldn’t be diagnosed for some years to come, was already lurking in the shadows and peaking out in the last years in the White House.

Mallon is an exceptionally good writer of prose, and gives his story a flow that is easy for the reader to get into, even if one is not too familiar with the politics and personalities of the 1980s. He deftly opens the book on the last day of the 1976 Republican National Convention in Kansas City, setting the stage for what would come later, and then doing a time jump to the middle of Reagan’s second term. One thing Mallon does well that is almost impossible for other authors is to switch the character POV multiple times during a scene. This is called “head hopping,” something all beginning authors are warned against doing, but Mallon pulls it off, though I suspect some readers might be thrown by it.

FINALE was published in 2015 just before the Trump era of American politics commenced, and one thing that struck while reading it was just how stark raving sane everyone sounds in this novel compared to the conversations being had in the White House in real life some three decades and change later. So, if you find the political scene of the present day too depressing and you yearn to party like it’s 1986 again, then pick up this book by all means. ( )

As a general preference, I prefer reading non-fiction (history, biographies etc.) Actual events, motivations and personalities tend to be more fascinating and illuminating than what might be imagined or created. Finale certainly had an interesting cast of characters: Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Don Regan, Pamela Harriman, Margaret Thatcher in my own personal favorite, the witty and cynical Christopher Hitchens. I found Hitchens characterization to be the most interesting and fun of all.

The book is certainly gossipy – – some, maybe most of it has some merit or truth. I don't think that the book shows Reagan in a favorable light, after all, most of the events described happen in the latter part of his second term. There is some question as to the mental and intellectual capabilities of Reagan given his age. The book is not flattering to Nancy Reagan either – – though I do give her credit for her loyalty and love for her husband.

There are stories within stories, some interesting, some not. I started off the book with great enthusiasm and interest but that waned as I got farther within the book. I may check out the author's book on Watergate. This is the type of book that you might get on loan from a library to read. ( )

E.L. Doctorow once clarified the difference between historians and novelists with the following: “The historian will tell you what happened. The novelist will tell what it felt like.” Thomas Mallon is indeed a gifted novelist. In FINALE, he recreates the final days of the Reagan administration using a large cast of characters based on actual people with a few fictitious ones thrown in mainly to develop plot elements. Much like his real persona, Reagan is barely there in this novel. Alternatively, he is discussed and dissected by a host of characters, most of whom are completely baffled by him—is Reagan the supreme politician or a confused intellectual lightweight playing a role? To his credit, Mallon does not take sides. Instead, he uses the enigma to recreate feelings of foreboding and panic that may have existed at that time while deftly making the case that Reagan’s opacity may have been one of his most important strengths.

History seems least clear to those who are living it because some distance is often necessary to correctly perceive the importance of events. Mallon’s character-driven approach is particularly effective at evoking this sense of confusion. In place of telling the reader, as an historian might, he puts you in the middle of events as they could have happened with all of the confusion and mixed perceptions in evidence. He effectively evokes the 1986 Reykjavik arms summit between Reagan and Gorbachev along with all the tension and lost opportunity tainted by Reagan’s obsession with the doomed SDI (Star Wars) idea. Likewise, the Iran-Contra scandal looms large but comes to the reader only as insights and innuendoes slowly accumulating like dark clouds over the waning days of the Reagan presidency. Mallon also explores the AIDS crisis, mostly with fictitious characters, to portray how gay men, forced to remain in the closet to protect their careers, undoubtedly experienced that period.

Not unlike Mallon’s other books, the most enjoyable element of this novel is his handling of multiple historical figures. These range from extensive and insightful characterizations to mere walk-ons (e.g., Ollie North’s sexy secretary, Fawn Hall). His portrayal of Nancy Reagan is particularly noteworthy as she is seen as totally vested in “Ronnie’s” career and willing to manipulate people and events to assure it. Whether those events actually turned on the predictions of her astrologer seems a little farfetched, but nonetheless is enjoyable to consider. Instead of the more traditional view of Nixon as vindictive and self-pitying, Mallon shows him as a masterful and insightful observer with an ironic sense of humor and a persistent yearning to continue as a player. Pamela Harriman appears as a scheming woman who chose her mates for the advantages they could bring to her and, and now, as a wealthy heiress, as intent on supporting Democratic politicians and causes. The most enigmatic figure in the book is Christopher Hitchens, an investigative reporter who will pursue anyone to get a story and has an uncanny knack for asking the right questions and special access to important people. Whether Hitchens was this key to events in life seems questionable.

FINALE is a totally engaging read primarily because of the interplay between the characters and Mallon’s ability to evoke one view of what it may have been like in the waning years of the Reagan presidency. He questions the idea that Reagan was one of our greatest presidents making the counterpoint that instead, he may have been one of our luckiest. ( )

Mallon has a very sensitive and clever way of blending fiction with history. ( )

Finale, A Novel of the Reagan Years, is a fact/fiction combination of historical sketches and imagined experience. The story begins in 1976 and ends in 1996 covering events that preceded Ronald Reagan’s election as president until his increasing decline related to dementia. The span of 20 years seems short in the historical scope of American politics, but the detailed description of daily maneuvering and decision making illustrates the stress on the man who would be president and the players and “mice” who inhabit the District of Columbia arena.

The list of people in the novel is so extensive that a cast of characters is presented before the first chapter. People are listed and identified as historical figures and fictional characters. There are only nine fictional men and women listed, but they play a vital role connecting the people and advancing the story.

It is the connection of the characters that is the force that drives the reader through the detailed interactions, direct and remote, with Ronald Reagan that affect the moods of his consistently dissociative personality and his public thoughts and statements. The constant daily attempts to influence the course of American history by people of various talents and motivations impinge on Reagan’s movements and decisions. This is a confirmation of George W. Bush’s statement during an interview while he was in office that the President has very limited personal power to determine the course of government domestically or on the international stage. Whether Reagan and his acolytes are campaigning to retain control of congress, trying to make advances in the war on drugs, attempting to legislate control of the AIDS epidemic, engaging in the battle of translated words in the Cold War, seeking nuclear arms control offensively (developing “Star Wars”) or defensively (bargaining with Gorbachev in Reykjavik), pushing for international human rights, competing with China for trade, there is not very much that can be accomplished by the titular head of our country within the limits of our Constitution.

This fascinating novel is a great story of minions and movers attempting to make sense and profit from political events. They try to meet their individual needs and desires, as they influence world history at various levels related to their direct and remote connections with Ronald Reagan and by implication other heads of state. The historical record shows that the rest of us really do not have a good or accurate understanding of the art of the possible, and we form opinions and take actions (vote) based on very limited and always skewed information. The novel reveals the one common denominator of the people who seek to engage in politics at the national level is their full living engagement and passion in the process of politics. ( )