POLITICAL ANIMAL

A young speechwriter meets the unlikely woman of his dreams during campaign season in Mizner's sharp, very funny novel. "I'm eating Kung Pao chicken and listening to people tell lies," begins Ben Bergin, the sloppy but likable protagonist. "This is where we have staff meetings, where we make decisions that get overturned by decisions made in smaller rooms." Rep. Arnie Schechter (D.-N.Y.) is running for senator, and about the only thing that makes the campaign tolerable for Ben is the presence of Calliope Berkowitz, the beautiful, zaftig and sharp-tongued volunteer coordinator who becomes his coconspirator in office politics and outrageous wisecracks. Most of the novel deals with the slow, ambiguous simmer leading up to their boiling romance, set against the backdrop of the Schechter campaign and a politically and racially charged murder case. Mizner's take on politics ("Liberalism, I grant, could use a shave and a haircut, if not an enema..."; "the bigger the office, the bigger the robot") are wry and trenchant (he's a former speechwriter), and Ben's odes to Calli's sex appeal are alternately raunchy and romantic. Some Clinton-related controversies seem a bit quaint in the post-9/11 political landscape, but Mizner's cutting commentary on New York politics, its attendant disillusionments and its diverse supporting cast more than compensate. A deftly handled blend of romance and politics, this is a smart and fun debut. Agent, Jane Dystel. (Sept.)