When Tom Wolfe noted that “the problem with fiction” is that “it has to be plausible,” he may have had efforts like this one in…

By Bill Clinton and James Patterson

When Tom Wolfe noted that “the problem with fiction” is that “it has to be plausible,” he may have had efforts like this one in mind. Bill Clinton and James Patterson’s ambitious and wildly readable new novel, “The President Is Missing,” arches more closely toward plausibility in its geopolitical subplots — threats against the Saudi king, malicious Russian meddling in world affairs — than its main story line of a president who ditches his handlers and goes rogue from the White House, convinced he is the only one who can foil a huge cyberterror plot.

The book opens with a charged scene in which President Jonathan Duncan is participating in a mock hearing to prepare for a congressional inquiry investigating the botched attempt to capture a terrorist. When the president loses his temper, he vindicates the advisers who have cautioned him not to appear before the actual committee. It’s a satisfying outcome for the former senior staffer in me — but unrealistic, considering the picture of the president that unfolds on the subsequent pages.

Disponível em<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/05/books/review/president-is-missing-clinton-patterson.html> . Acesso em 20 de jul. 2018.