“The Speechwriter” is an exuberantly penned Australian satire, fun to read yet possessing little heat in the end. The speechwriter in question is Toby, a talented wordsmith obsessed with oratory, who is catapulted up the ranks of political speechifying despite obtuseness and a seeming desire to self-destruct. Eventually, his quixotic wordsmithing results in prison incarceration with a boofhead cellmate, who encourages him to write down his story. This is no-holds-barred, outrageous skewering of Australian politicos and makes for swift, chuckling reading. The author, a journo/speechwriter, loves words as much as Toby does, and the overall impact of The Speechwriter is like listening to a manic stand-up unfurling a shaggy dog story.
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