'THE GOLDEN AGE' Famed author misses the mark

Unlike previous works by Gore Vidal, 'The Golden Age' provides cardboard characterizations that tell nothing about a significant period in American history.
By ROB STOUT
SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR
"The Golden Age," by Gore Vidal (Doubleday, $27.50).
Beginning 33 years ago with the publication of "Washington DC" and continued with six powerfully drawn political dramas such as "Lincoln," "1876" and "Burr," Gore Vidal has finally completed his series of novels tracing the American experience as viewed from the corridors of wealth and power.
The series, which he refers to as his "narratives of empire," concludes with "The Golden Age," a chronicle of America's transformation from republic to unmatched world superpower. The novel also completes the saga of the Sanford family, fictional descendants of Aaron Burr. Escorting the reader through this final chapter are Caroline and Blaise Sanford, two former newspaper publishers-turned-Washington-socialites, and their idealistic nephew, Peter.
Intense period: Spanning the indisputably dramatic years of 1939 through 1954, the book contains a noticeable absence of the world at large. World War, Cold War and Atomic Age aside, one would expect more historical substance from an author who not only personally experienced this bumpy period, but knew many of its key figures through his own political family.
In a cameo-studded book, many of these historical personages make brief appearances, including Eleanor Roosevelt, FDR's purported mistress Missy Lehand, Harry Hopkins, Dean Acheson, William Randolph Hearst, Wendall Willkie, the author's own grandfather Senator Thomas Gore and, toward the end of the novel, even Vidal himself.
But instead of transposing history into drama and dialogue, the novel never gets past the chatty, cocktail-fueled world of after-hours Washington, the swirl of conspiracy theories and often needless blather of its characters. Caroline Sanford is, quite naturally, a confidant of FDR, giving Vidal license to probe the inner sanctum of the presidency. This subject certainly holds great potential for any novelist, but much of this opportunity is wasted on needless encounters, such as the election-night conversations between Caroline and Roosevelt.
Example: "Caroline!" The President took her hand in both of his. "Democracy at its messiest. Dutchess Country style."
"You seem to thrive, Mr. President, on mess."
"But sometimes I wonder if I may not be overdoing it. Three terms could be a bit much."
From such dialogue one has to wonder, is this just a blunt, simplistic way of explaining FDR's unprecedented third term and the weariness he expressed toward such responsibilities as the Depression and a world at war?
Unfortunately not. With similar patter filling most of its 400- plus pages, the book never fulfills any sense of the monumental events swirling around Vidal's characters. To debase such an epochal period in the nation's history even further, the author has created a soap-opera subplot centering on Peter Sanford, who has fallen for the beautiful daughter of a prominent senator. She, in turn, is in love with her father's congressional aide, who is secretly pursuing Peter's sister, Enid Sanford.
Ambition, power: Largely a political novelist, Gore Vidal has the distinction of believing that ambition and power are the only human motives worth taking seriously. Ironically, such a reductive opinion of the world has led him to produce a body of richly detailed political literature.
However, unlike his previous work, "The Golden Age," with its gossipy attempts at historical realism and cardboard characterizations, does not lead to a deeper understanding of what lies behind the doors of political and social influence. It is only a self-centered form of entertainment that misses the significance of an era completely.