R.F.K., Jr.: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the Dark Side of the Dream

In this latest unauthorized biography from Oppenheimer (The Other Mrs. Kennedy), empathy for his subject is in short supply. The indisputably tragic aspects of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s life—losing his father and uncle to assassins’ bullets (he was 14 when his father was murdered), the deaths of two siblings in adulthood, and his ex-wife Mary’s suicide—are likely to engender some sympathy from readers, especially when coupled with evidence that his mother was absent from his life when he was growing up. But Oppenheimer spends the bulk of his time on the first half of Kennedy’s life and chooses to focus on his long track record of bad behavior, including infidelity and substance abuse, without really attempting to put it in context. Toward the very end, Oppenheimer cites an unnamed confidant of Kennedy who describes him as “a very complex guy who has had very difficult things thrown at him through his life.” But nuance and complexity are not the book’s strengths; the writing is sloppy and Oppenheimer relies heavily on unnamed and un-enumerated sources. Oppenheimer’s story of a flawed son of a flawed family is more salacious than thought-provoking. Agent: Jonathan I. Lyons. (Sept.)