Ascent - by Jed Mercurio (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

From "a master of precision" (The Observer, London) comes an explosive, provocative novel about John F. Kennedy's years in the White house: his political daring, his brave dedication to human rights, his devotion to his family--and his uncontrollable and unrelenting appetite for sexual adventure.

- Taut, magnificent prose: Mercurio's premise--to chronicle Kennedy's exploits, political and sexual, through the President's own anguished but self-centered perspective--is bold to the point of hubris, but he succeeds in spades. The writing is elegant, spare, and wry; the narrative is exquisitely paced. The book's ending is emotionally shattering-- empathetic, redemptive, and shocking.

- Startlingly revisionist portrait of JFK: We see Kennedy at his best, as a visionary statesman, a former soldier turned moral pacifist, a loving parent and devoted husband. And we see him at his worst, as a compulsive philanderer whose countless conquests--of movie stars, socialites, secretaries, and interns--ruined hundreds of lives.

- Amazing cast of characters: They are all here: Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Angie Dickinson, Judith Campbell, LBJ, Fiddle and Faddle, Eisenhower, and perhaps most memorably, Jacqueline Kennedy.

Review Quotes

"Ascent is storytelling of high caliber, fully imagined, finely crafted.... Mercurio's understated empathy, his starkly elegant prose and his Werner Herzog-like instinct for juxtaposition lift Ascent far above a Boy's Own adventure." -- Michael Faber, The Guardian (U.K.)

"Gripping...Speaks volumes about heroism and the human condition in a taut, page-turning narrative." -- Simon Hills, The Times (U.K.)

"Haunting, powerful, and mysterious...a stunning debut from a writer who bears close attention ." -- Booklist

"Mercurio is a master of precision, armed, like Yeremin, with a razor-sharp eye. This is fighting-fit, muscular prose, which carries no dead weight. In short, it's that rarest of things -- a highbrow book that's vertiginously thrilling." -- Tancred Newbury, The Observer (U.K.)

About the Author

Jed Mercurio joined the royal Air Force while he was still in medical school. While a resident in internal medicine, he wrote Cardiac Arrest, a groundbreaking medical drama that ran on the BBC. His two previous novels are Bodies and Ascent.