Review: Citizen Vince

Citizen Vince by Jess Walter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Once again, Jess Walter has managed to break my heart. Citizen Vince was a great, though not particularly enjoyable, read. Walter manages to infuse his uniquely dark humor into a tragedy that at times veers to an existential condemnation of the lives we lead, then turns to a blinding realization that maybe the simplest dreams are the ones that make life worth living.

Vince Camden is a petty thief, though not of the garden variety. He is smart, charming, and introspective. He is also living in Spokane, in the witness protection program, making donuts by day and fencing stolen credit cards, gambling and indulging hookers by night. The story is that of Camden’s attempts to seek salvation from his past and redemption from those he has wronged. In the process, he embarks upon a journey of self-discovery that forces him to question his life and all he has ever hoped to become.

Vince Camden’s exploration of self is brilliantly juxtaposed with the 1980 presidential election. Camden is given, for the first time, the right to vote, and sees it as a responsibility that leads him on a quest for more information. Who are these men on the ballot? What do they stand for? How will his vote have an effect on the climate of the country? Walter then crawls inside the minds of Carter and Reagan, painting one as a man who has seen himself through the eyes of those he represents and the other as a hawkish and aged maverick. Whilst Carter may be in a position worlds away from Camden’s own, the similarities are unmistakable. Both men feel the sting of realizing how others view them, and both make decisions to stay true to the men they profess to be in spite of the profound losses they incur.

Walter’s writing is impeccable and flows seamlessly from page to page in complicated sentence structures which support a mood that is depressingly dismal. Acts of overt violence pepper the pages, and the promise of the American Dream is hammered bloody. Vince Camden is drawn as a man for whom we are compelled to cheer and also feel great sympathy. The world has failed him in the same way it has failed those around him, and the point is drilled home that life just isn’t fair. Choices aside, no one ever really had a chance when faced with destiny and human nature.

In terms of plot, structure, character development and tone, Jess Walter delivers a piece of literary fiction that is pure genius and worthy of all the stars. Reading it, however, is an exercise that is drenched in angst and hopelessness. Keep a glass of bourbon close, and keep telling yourself that it’s only a book; but damn it, life is indeed just so unfair—for Vince Camden and, often, the rest of us.

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