In Thomas Mallon’s latest novel set in DC, the political is personal
Novelist and critic Thomas Mallon stands out for his character-driven approach to writing historical fiction. In 2012’s Watergate and 2015’s Finale — his two most recent titles — he followed an often-used practice in historical fiction by examining the Nixon and Reagan administrations at moments of crisis, rather than high points. But even so, his narratives rest less on the moments that define a presidency than the people who do, and how individuals relate to and understand the men who hold the highest office in the land. In his latest, Landfall, he does the same for George W. Bush.
“The patterns of these books seem to be looking at these presidents when they’re at the lowest point in their fortunes,” Mallon tells The DC Line. For Bush, he chose 2005 to 2007, when the insurgency in Iraq was at its strongest and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina prompted many critics to question his leadership. Within that context, Mallon sets out to paint a complex picture of an administration and a man who remains highly divisive.
Mallon, a longtime DC resident and the author of 10 novels, describes historical fiction as “history without responsibility,” and he does take liberties with some peripheral facts — the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities have been combined in this novel, for example. The genre often requires a suspension of disbelief that doesn’t apply for nonfiction histories, and Mallon uses that as an opportunity to build his cast of characters in ways both familiar and unexpected. First lady Laura Bush here comes across as aloof, a la Betty Draper in Mad Men, while Bush himself appears uninterested in the machinations of politics.
But the heart of the story is two fictional people working in government during that period: Ross and Allie, who find themselves relating to the administration in ways that shift with time. Ross is a native Texan who has been devoted to Bush since he was a teenager and now works in the administration in the Homeland Heritage Division of a fictionalized National Endowment of the Arts and Humanities. His role takes him to New Orleans for much of the book, and his admiration starts to wane as he becomes disillusioned with Bush’s handling of Hurricane Katrina.
Allie works for the National Security Council. She’s an opponent of the Iraq War, but Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recruits her to the role as a “thought experiment.” As she gets to know Bush, she finds herself warming to him personally, despite disagreeing with his policies. The novel hinges on this personal sense of the president, rather than sweeping declarations about the integrity or lack thereof in the administration’s positions. It’s about people, and how they locate themselves in relation to power.
“I’m mostly trying to look at history in personal terms,” Mallon says to describe the intimate nature of his framing. His approach also rejects any sort of partisan mission. “I’m not really setting out to write a defense of the Bush administration or an attack on the Bush administration,” he adds.
“I was trying to suggest the political complexity and the moral complexity of things,” Mallon says. “This book is full of well-intentioned people who are struggling to do the right thing and are overwhelmed.”
Landfall arrives at an unintentionally timely moment. Some critics of President Donald Trump have begun to regard George W. Bush and his administration more favorably than before, though his actions and personality remain divisive. It’s an interesting shift that has been heavily debated, and one that seems to mirror the shift Allie experiences in the novel; those who were once skeptical might be beginning to see something redeemable in at least the man himself. Even Vice, a current Oscar-nominated film that’s critical of Dick Cheney, Bush’s strong-willed vice president, depicts Bush’s bumbling nature as vaguely pitiable.
“I do think inevitably that our views of presidents and history change as time goes on,” Mallon says of the convergence of cultural forces around the Bush legacy. But he also feels the current president has sped up that process of reconsideration, and possibly shed a more favorable light upon a once hyper-partisan figure. “I think he makes every president look good. He has probably accelerated a new look at Bush.”
While the apolitical nature of his novels is atypical for “political” historical fiction, Mallon also provides a unique perspective on the city where most of his action happens. The Long Island native moved from New York to DC in 2003, serving in several capacities with the National Endowment for the Humanities under President Bush and later leading the creative writing program at George Washington University.
Mallon, who lived in Foggy Bottom for more than a decade before moving to Kalorama, brings to each of his books a fundamental love and understanding of the city as it exists beyond its role as the seat of government. Political dramas and histories set in DC are not rare, and the city often assumes a place as a character in its own right. But in his novels, Mallon draws out a sense of locality that sets them apart; early on in Landfall, for example, Ross reflects on the sometimes grueling bike commute from Northern Virginia to downtown DC.
Mallon describes DC as a “great place to be a novelist.” Given that he prefers being in close proximity to the spaces he’s writing about, it’s a great place specifically for him to write novels.
“Certainly one effect of living here is that whenever you go for a walk your novel can’t help but be on your mind,” he says. “You’re always running into the places where you’re setting scenes.”
Mallon has had a close relationship with many of the specific settings in his books, whether it’s the Foggy Bottom row house in Fellow Travelers or the old Naval Observatory in Two Moons. Most recently, that includes Rumsfeld’s former home, down the street from Mallon’s current residence. “He doesn’t live there now, but I set a scene in that house,” he says.
The proximity to history described by Mallon extends to the present day: He says he now offers his house guests a neighborhood tour of where the Obamas live and where Jeff Bezos’ home is under construction. But as all residents know there is an impermanence to DC that lends itself to writing about history. And while Mallon plans on continuing to do so for his next couple projects, he doesn’t plan to stick to his current chronological trajectory. “I’ve run out of history!” he says.
He’s not planning to write a book on the current administration. Instead, he eventually wants to go back to the Civil War. In the meantime, his current project about a New York City murder doesn’t touch on DC, but this is a city that will likely make more appearances in his future work — be it fiction, memoir or essays.
“I’m a Washingtonian by choice, he said. “I love the city.”
Landfall by Thomas Mallon (496 pages, $29.95) was published Feb. 19 by Pantheon. He will speak at Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW, at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 24.
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