I was really looking forward to this book. I loved the cover and hoped that the writing would meet my expectations. Unfortunately, it did not. The author seems to be a wonderful person, but the book just didn't hold my attention.

This book was so compelling, that I repeatedly had to check that it was not nonfiction. The intricate depiction of politics, behind the scenes, was a fascinating and thought-provoking tale.

Good solid literary fiction but I will say something about it seemed a little bit scattered (maybe tried to address too many topics?).

This was such an interesting novel. I came of age into adulthood during the Obama administration, and to see this time reflected in such an interesting way is truly fascinating. As someone who also loves Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, I appreciate the ways in which this feels like a novel that defines a time, a generation, and the narrative arc of a human. It felt a little slow to start, but it was captivating.

Great writing! But the story did not grip me and I did wonder how autobiographical the story was under the guise of fiction. Ended up pausing it about a third of the way through and was never driven to pick it back up. Maybe this is about the pacing or just the fact that I’m not sure what the stakes were. But I do hope to return to the book one day to learn where the author was headed!

I actively wanted to read some timely political fiction, and when if not during a particularly thrilling and tumultuous election season? I can vividly recall the budding optimism of the era depicted here (late 2000s), and I can't help but make parallels to the present moment. If anything, this is a novel that's heavy on ideas, and slight on plot. A young, aimless, black man finds himself a fundraising staffer for a historic and idealistic presidential campaign. All sorts of ruminations in various subjects persist in lengthy stretches (religion, philosophy, childhood, music, basketball, etc.), but I'm unsure if those many explications did the book any favors. As far as debuts goes, there's deft and illuminating passages found throughout, and the high caliber of Vinson Cunningham's craft isn't in question. I personally wanted more to latch onto in terms of character development (there's next to none), agency, and pacing. This reads almost diaristic, and that's not how the book was marketed. I hoped for more excitement in stretches to model this barrier-busting campaign, even if it was from something tawdry like having naive David find an anonymous dossier or flash drive that exposes "the Senator's" secret love child or something. (But this is a Barack Obama story, not John Edwards's.) I'm very curious what exactly is modeled from real events versus pure imagination. Another thing that bothered me was the inexplicable way the author had no problems name-dropping certain famous figures to set the era (like Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Cornel West, etc.), but then gave other characters thinly veiled substitutions (the Senator's controversial religious leader in Chicago was clearly modeled on Jeremiah Wright, for example, but not named that, and "the war hero" being the late John McCain). Other characters weren't even given names, like David's infant daughter that he barely bothers seeing, and the baby's mother who's only referred to as "the dancer" (because she danced in a college hip-hop group). I give debut works additional leeway when I can see future potential, but I doubt if another editorial pass would have helped all that much. This is the novel the author clearly wanted to write, for better or worse.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hogarth for ARC access.

Nope! No! Absolutely did not work for me. I’m sorry to feel this, but it’s simply a fictional version of Obama’s presidential campaign. No intrigue, no mystery, you know the story because we all saw it. So what then is the point of this book?

This was very interesting Look about dave who's working as a campaign for a senator who wanted to become president. Dave go through Book based on historical facts and it's all tied together. It's interesting Had different emotions is the book Close on. Dave changes as the Fuck goes on.

Thank you @netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of Great Expectations by Vinson Cunningham. The author worked on the Obama campaign, and the novel is loosely based on his experience there, I assume. This is pretty introspective, not racy at all like some other campaign novels I have read. Or at least not the part that I got through. I tried this twice but just could not get into it. So did not finish.

i really love metafiction, but this got bogged down in autobiography: consumed in conveying an alarmingly accurate rendition of the obama '08 campaign, it didn't do much else to make it a narrative.

This novel felt a bit sleight of handy to me in the very best way. On my first read I thought it modest almost to a fault (though always enjoyable), but the closeness of the observations and the narrator's ingenue-nesss are incredibly skillful and clever.

The flexible timeline of memory and in the moment was satisfying to read, and the cadence of the narration was pleasant, but I had a hard time observing change (or lack thereof) in the main character. David almost felt as if he were only there to give the reader an opportunity to sit in these rooms and observe these people—basically just a body for us to inhabit as we moved around this world.

After having read several political nonfiction titles, though, I will say that the frenetic energy of a campaign, especially a grassroots one, is always a little bit addicting. I enjoyed this peek behind the curtains, especially because the election that this book seems to center around took place before I was old enough to be paying close attention.

Thank you to Hogarth & Random House for the opportunity to read and review!

Rating this a generous three stars. The author has talent for writing, but I didn’t find what he was writing about interesting or engaging. I don’t know why he had to refer to Obama as ‘the senator’ and I don’t know why it irritated me so much, but a plot device employed for no apparent reason has no place in a well written novel. If he writes a memoir about his experiences working on ‘the senator’s’ campaign I might read it but this novel didn’t do anything for me.

I had great hopes or dare I say "expectations" for this one.

The story follows an early 20's man working in political fundraising for a prominent senator, (aka Barack Obama - although he is never named).

The gorgeous cover initially caught my eye, and after learning it's loosely based on the author's experience working on the first Obama campaign, I was excited to dive in.

And while I loved the small number of bits that did talk about the campaign, David's co-workers, the political events/happenings, etc, I found that much of the book focused on David's rambling introspective musings on religion, and a variety of uninteresting-to-me things and not so much about the political aspects that I wanted.

I just struggled to stay engaged in the ramblings but perked up when things wandered back into the political realm.

So, unfortunately, the story wasn't quite what I was hoping for, but I do think that there are others that will enjoy David's journey.

A big thank you to @randomhouse and @netgalley for the #gifted copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I was able to read this novel thru NetGalley and though it’s not one of my favorites it is an interesting read. The main character is a young volunteer on a Presidential campaign , obviously Obama’s, and each chapter mixes his campaign experience along with events from his past. The author is a great writer.

Great Expectations" by Vinson Cunningham offers readers a peek behind the scenes of fundraising a presidential campaign. What kept me reading was the novels relatable characters and the detailed portrayal of their lives on the campaign trail. From the campaign managers to the interns, each character feels like someone you might meet in real life. Humans who have made mistakes, that are full of hope and sadness, and with aspirations of their own.

However it's worth noting that some readers might find themselves scratching their heads at certain references or nuances in the narrative. Cunningham’s writing is rich with detail, and while this adds depth to the story, it may also leave some readers feeling like they've missed out on something.

The novel's descriptions were framed as reflections from David's older self, contemplating his past self and his perspective at a pivotal moment in American political history. While weaving in themes of faith and spirituality, showing how personal beliefs can shape political decisions. Unfortunately while we are exposed to David’s perspective, I couldn’t help but feel secluded or removed from the real voice of David. Which is self evident in the last portion of the book were we are given a glimpse, albeit though pursed lips, of David’s childhood between Chicago and New York.

Ultimately, "Great Expectations" offers a compelling glimpse into David’s perspective of the political machine, leaving readers (if your willing to work for it) both contemplative and engaged.

I had high hopes for this one, but it never came together as a novel for me. It felt as though I was reading pages out of a journal, but nothing exciting happened.

This is David’s story. He’s a 22 year old black man from New York who organizes fundraising events during 2008 for the Obama (who is only referred to as “the Senator”) campaign. He had a child when he younger, but he doesn’t take care of her and rarely speaks of her. This was a downer. He seems quite religious and talks about a lot.

In my personal opinion, David was boring, which made this story boring. I just didn’t see the point of this book.

I couldn't determine the message/point of this book. Clearly a memoir hiding as fiction. Main character works for Obama campaign, sleeps with an older woman very involved in the fundraising aspect of the campaign. Didn't find the plot or protagonist compelling or interesting.

As a young man Vinson Cunningham worked for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, after which he became a White House staffer. He now teaches in the MFA Writing program at Sarah Lawrence College and lives in New York City.

Cunningham’s debut novel provides a first-person narrative from David Hammond. Cunningham is working on the 2008 campaign of “The Candidate”, a young black Senator from Illinois. The name of “The Candidate” (sometimes also referred to as “The Senator”) is never given in the book. Which, I think, is because this is a fictional account, and Barack Obama and his campaign are only the background for this novel. The focus is all on young David.

Author Vinson Cunningham (photo courtesy of the author’s website). Photo Credit: Jane Bruce

Great Expectations follows David in his campaign role. He raises funds in New York, he assists the campaign in New Hampshire. He works a campaign event in Los Angeles, then returns to the East Coast. Finally, he is in Chicago for the events of Election Night.

David is a somewhat rudderless twenty-something. He had his first relationship in college which resulted in a baby girl. His baby’s mother was more of a sexual adventure than a girlfriend, and after she became pregnant the two of them agreed they didn’t really like each other. While he strives to remain a presence in his daughter’s life, he has no ongoing relationship with her mother.

The fact of the pregnancy put an end to David’s college career, and he returned to his hometown of New York where he tries to figure out what to do next. As the book opens we find David already at work on the 2008 presidential campaign. His role there came as a result of his friendship with Beverly. She is an older woman working her way up in the finance world whose connections got David the job.

There are office romances, drinking, money begs, and glimpses of the candidate himself that form the bones of the book. But much of the meat lies in the many asides and stories that David shares.

The paperback cover of Epstein’s book “Lincoln’s Men”

It’s through these stories that we learn about David’s daughter. We hear about his divorced parents. We're learn of his religious upbringing and how important religion remains to him. And much more. It’s clear that David is a thoughtful and introspective young man.

But while the stories are at first interesting and provide background on David’s character, they don’t build on each other. They provide context but not plot. They build character but don’t transcend to provide meaning. At least they didn’t for me. And that’s a problem, as a large part of the book is spent in these stories. As a result, the book had a hard time holding my attention.

I do have to say that I found Cunningham to be a gifted writer whose writing style I enjoyed reading. Each of the individual asides was well constructed, and Cunningham’s attention to detail and to creating a mood were excellent. And that same attention to detail and ability to elicit a mood carries into the scenes of the campaign in the book as well.

Ultimately though, I felt let down by the book. As a reader, a “coming of age” book set during the Obama campaign and called Great Expectations set me up to expect MEANING. Even the late-in-the-book revelation that gives a reason for where the title came from didn’t bring things together for me. Nor did it make up for the meandering path through this novel.

I know that others will have a different impression of this book than I did. I suspect I’m not the reader this book is trying to engage. I expected something like Jay McInerney’s Bright Lights, Big City, the punchy 1980s book about a young man moving through his own twenty-something changes, and a book that really spoke to me.

But McInerney was a young man himself when he wrote that book, and I was a young man in my twenties when I read it. In Great Expectations Cunningham is looking back at his twenties from a 15 year remove, while I am forty years removed from my own twenties. For that, or whatever reason, I felt myself at an emotional remove from David’s story.

RATING: Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐

RATING COMMENTS: A coming of age novel of a young black man working on an historic presidential campaign in 2008. Filled with well-constructed vignettes told against the backdrop of the campaign, the book ultimately let me down as the stories did not build on each other nor yield any deeper meaning.

Great Expectations was a really interesting read, basically a veiled account of working for the Obama 2008 campaign. The writing was easy to read but still quite insightful to such a changing time in American history.