... a political comedy of manners that reads like the love child of Page Six and a long episode of Veep. I mean this in the best possible way. If you like your humor dark and take guilty pleasure in imagining the messy lives of others, you will enjoy Grant Ginder’s fifth novel ... That the storyline is familiar, and the characters straight out of central casting, does not detract from the novel’s appeal. Note to creative writing students everywhere, particularly the ones shooting for the stylistic moon: What Ginder does so effectively is take a familiar template and claim it as his own ... Ginder is a sharp writer, and even his workaday observations turn up countless small gems ... The resolution of the novel is hilariously implausible, but second-guessing authorial choices is what we do in book groups, and it’s part of the fun. Ginder might have ended by sending all of his characters into outer space, and I’d still be recommending this novel.
Let’s Not Do That Again beckons readers right in once more with that warm, conspiratorial first person plural. Nominally about politics — the author is a former political speechwriter — it’s really a skittering satire about a fissured nuclear family that could be transposed to almost any other power industry ... This is a caper populated by urban elites. I can’t think of anyone in recent years who has lampooned that cohort between covers so freshly and efficiently as Ginder ... In a world increasingly starved for good dialogue, Ginder’s is bountiful and crackling, like the screwball comedies of yore ... Let’s Not Do That Again won’t please everyone — for one thing, though it’s set after the Trump administration, it’s a pandemic-free zone ... I’m not sure this novel is art with a capital A anymore than a Joan Didion musical could be, but it’s a charmingly subversive treat.
... highly entertaining ... propulsive plotting, flawed but likable characters and clever prose ... Ginder is at his best when tossing all his plates in the air, introducing new characters and subplots, weaving everything together ... Sure it’s slick and plot-driven like a Hollywood movie, with short scenes and snappy dialogue, but Ginder deftly blends politics and family, humor and drama, and brings the three Harrisons vividly to life ... but the book has design flaws. Xavier is cartoonishly sketched and even Nancy’s campaign manager, Cate, feels underwritten. At first, she seems to have potential as a major character with an outsider’s perspective, but ultimately Ginder uses her presence and reactions more as plot points. And some of those plot points, mostly dazzling when all the plates are in the air, crash near the end ... Still, even if Ginder doesn’t fully stick the landing, once you are burrowed inside the lives, and minds of Nancy, Nick, and Greta, you’ll feel like you know them and want to keep spending time with them. So buckle up and enjoy the ride.
... packed with numerous well-developed and convincingly entertaining supporting characters, especially Nancy’s beleaguered campaign staff. It’s also a mystery of sorts; readers discover what drove Greta to make such a seemingly irrational life choice ... observant, full of funny occurrences and dialogue, especially as Nancy’s desperation to get elected pushes her, and everyone around her, into truly extreme situations. As bizarre and (hopefully) unrealistic as these circumstances become, Grant Ginder’s novel also raises genuine questions about the lengths to which politicians might go in order to win their campaign, as well as the toll taken on a politician’s family.
Let’s Not Do That Again is a fast-paced saga chock-full of scandal, political savvy, and romance, sure to be enjoyed by fans of Casey McQuiston’s Red, White, & Royal Blue (2020) and other contemporary political fiction.
An effervescent family drama about a man’s attempts to salvage his mother’s Senate run after a PR disaster ... In Ginder’s hands, it yields devilish hilarity ... Politics and blood loyalty can become a slippery slope, but here they’re a perfect combination. This smart and seamless comedy is nonstop fun.
[A] timely comic novel ... A new book from Ginder beckons the reader like a hot bath and glass of something, a reliable and relaxing pleasure ... Ginder aces the small stuff: sparkling dialogue, hilarious supporting characters...whimsically named establishments ... He also aces the big stuff, characteristically insightful on sibling and parent-child relationships and politically on message ... Ooh la la. The Senate race may be tight, but this book is a shoo-in.
