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Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
Ken Wall’s Bathing With JFK centers on Austin Grant, a Houston lawyer who once found his model for greatness in a John F. Kennedy biography that he read in the bathtub before graduation. Ten years later, Austin is trapped in legal work that has given him money, tailored suits, and very little sense of purpose. A courtroom win that should feel satisfying instead leaves him aware of how far he has drifted from the life he imagined. When his father’s illness and his own restlessness push him toward public office, Austin leaves a six-figure firm job for a Texas state senate run that pays almost nothing. Friends build a campaign against an entrenched incumbent through redistricting math, while Austin’s dangerous talent for turning any room into a stage becomes the race’s best weapon despite the long odds.
Ken Wall’s Bathing With JFK is brilliant literary fiction, and the humor is sharpest when Austin’s self-image collides with ordinary public life. Wall puts readers in Harris County court, where Frankel’s slobber on a docket sheet lets Austin turn procedure into a ridiculous victory. He also gives the campaign trail real bite through Buzz Laughlin, the lawn-care businessman whose patriot act makes politics feel gaudy and familiar. The best part is when Austin leans into a massively funny penchant for vanity with a loneliness that is visible. There's a school visit where a boy calls him “Señor Senator.” It's a bit of a watershed moment in his campaign, and Austin’s public hunger feels painfully personal. This is smart and darkly humorous, and among one of the best literary political satires I have read this year. Very highly recommended.
