An election saved his life.
Will a campaign now destroy it?
* * *
John Quincy Barnes doesn’t like politics.
He doesn’t like what candidates have to do to get elected.
Once they get elected, he doesn’t much care for what they have to do to get anything done.
A relentless idealist, he tolerates the sexting scandals, falsified resumes and corruption trials each election cycle because knows the most important thing in the world is the outcome of an election. He’s living proof of it. The result of a single election altered his destiny—and saved his life.
While he routinely takes time away from his law practice at Connecticut’s most prestigious firm to participate in the political process as a strategist and fundraiser, he’s never even considered putting his name on a ballot until asked to do so by his mentor and father figure, Aidan Coyle. Aidan, Connecticut’s most influential party boss, wants Quinn to primary four-term Senator Saul Berg to address the state’s growing crisis over income inequality.
The timing of Aidan’s plea could not be worse. At work, Quinn has just undertaken the controversial pro-bono representation of the mother of a Latino teen shot in nearby East Haven. At home, he’s struggling mightily in his marriage to his wife, Brooke, while his daughter, Eliza, and two sons, Pierce and Ben, grapple with the unique challenges of growing up multi-racial.
Quinn is forced to decide whether answering the call to meet his destiny demands that he risk everything to take on the challenge of a lifetime. And put his idealism up against the monstrous beast that is modern American politics.
Gary Collins writes a contemporary novel that is not only worth reading but also should be required reading in every high school and college class dealing with history or political science.
The characters in this book are real. The passions and motivations of the various players in this modern day morality playring true. In addition to all that, the book is fun. It seems that many people in our skeptical country distrust and dislike all politicians without taking the time to examine their value systems in order to discern which ones are sincerely invested in trying to provide for a fair society. Collins' story focuses on the trials that honest politicians and their invisible staff face in the novel as well as in real life.
This fictional novel is as close to reality as you will ever read if you enjoy contemporary stories in settings you can recognize and people you can love. Please read it ---- it is really good.
". . . The book draws the reader in from the first line and immediately starts introducing the characters intimately. Quinn is a likeable underdog, making it against the odds through family support, work ethics and determination."
". . . Timely and gripping." The Last Election is ". . . a lively tale about balancing one’s moral commitments with the realities of political life."
Can a single election save someone’s life?
That’s the question at the heart of The Last Election: A Novel of Politics by local writer, Gary H. Collins. Set against the backdrop of Connecticut politics, John Quincy Barnes is a man who doesn’t like politics. He doesn’t like what candidates have to do to get elected. Once they get elected, he doesn’t much care for what they have to do to get anything done.
A relentless idealist, he tolerates the sexting scandals, falsified resumes and corruption trials each election cycle because he believes that the most important thing in the world is the outcome of an election. And that the result of an election saved his life.
“I supposed there’s a touch of life imitating art on this point,” Collins says. “In June of ’63, my father--while working as a cab driver in Washington--had an encounter with a member of the Kennedy Administration that altered the course of my destiny. It made college, law school and a more than 20 year career possible. I always believed that election saved my life.”
In The Last Election, Barnes routinely takes time away from his law practice at Connecticut’s most prestigious firm to participate in the political process as a strategist and fundraiser but has never even considered putting his name on a ballot until asked to do so by his mentor and father figure, Aidan Coyle. Aidan, Connecticut’s most influential party boss, wants Quinn to primary four-term Senator Saul Berg to address the state’s growing crisis over income inequality.
“The theme of destiny—and what it means to ‘meet your destiny’—runs throughout the story,” Collins said. “I think it’s a question that we all ask of ourselves: “Am I doing what I’m supposed to be doing? Am I battling self-doubt to ensure I’m leading a life with purpose?”
In The Last Election, Barnes is forced to decide whether the call to meet his destiny demands that he risk everything to take on the challenge of a lifetime. And put his idealism up against the monstrous beast that is modern American politics.
Gary H. Collins is president of the Council for a Livable World. A former congressional candidate, his professional experience includes a partnership in one of Connecticut’s oldest and largest law firms, where his practice focused on government investigations. Prior to that, he served as an assistant US attorney in Washington, DC during the Clinton administration. He’s previously taught Government Investigations at UConn Law School and is the coauthor of the ABA best-seller Warning the Witness.
The Last Election: A Novel of Politics by Gary H. Collins (garyhcollins.com) is available at Amazon.com.
