My Auto-Biography by Joe Biden
Based on a True Story, Mostly
My Auto-Biography by Joe Biden is a satirical novel that chronicles the unconventional life of an American president.
In J. Galt’s satirical novel My Auto-Biography by Joe Biden, a stenographer recounts the life and times of Joe Biden using witticisms and parodies.
The Delphic Oracles Publishing House purports to have possession of an autobiography of President Joe Biden as dictated to a trusted stenographer. This autobiography is broken up into three distinct eras of Biden’s life: “early years, tweener years, and campaign years.” The bulk of the chapters are told from Biden’s perspective; their attempts to capture his childhood voice make for difficult, if consistent, reading in the early portions of the book.
However, as Biden’s years progress, the book’s parodic elements become more pronounced; they are often presented as “truth injections” from important people in Biden’s life who are interviewed and given space to ramble about whatever they please. The book’s later chapters shift in perspective to include key figures in his political career; a snarky epilogue in the language of the stenographer tops this work off. The through line here is humor—most of it at Biden’s expense, and all of it absurd. At key moments, the book includes graphs, pictures, political cartoons, and interview transcripts—heavy-handed images that simultaneously bolster its autobiography conceit.
But the book’s characterizations are too loose; everyone is a dimensionless caricature. And as the narrative progresses, its conversations become too obscure as well; they ramble and include the incorrect uses of names. Witty turns of phrase and scathing political commentaries result in some diversions, as do the book’s “truth injection” segments, including one from Biden’s childhood teacher, who shares lengthy anecdotes lampooning his difficulties with grammar and logic, as well as his fantastical ways of thinking.
The book’s treatment of the modern American political climate is intriguing. It seeks to capture evidence of a political evolution during Biden’s presidency. At the same time, it plays on established political figures’ mannerisms and speech patterns quite heavily, showing Biden mispronouncing words and confusing concepts and having Putin display constant bravado. Those who are familiar with contemporary politics and political figures will be amused in such moments. But in the end, the book’s devotion to skewering the antics of a president whom it positions as cocksure and unaware of his flaws and missteps impedes it; only those of a like mind will find its indictments to be effectively scathing.
My Auto-Biography by Joe Biden is a satirical novel that chronicles the unconventional life of an American president in a political landscape that’s ripe for parodying.
Reviewed by
John M. Murray
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
