The Nationalist was intended to be a strongly metaphorical morality tale. Whether fortunate or not--I leave the reader to decide--it was thereby accursed with the same drawbacks (as I feel many first novels are) of narcissism, and overt sentimentality. Camden Greenburg is his own man, with uniquely his own eccentricities. He is also me, in some fundamental and primary ways.
Still the novel focuses and expounds upon some basically human concerns such as governance, populism, and the absolute effect that culture can exert on society. Setting the novel in a decidedly contemporary 'near future' acts both as commentary on our specific predicament as agents in culture, but also metaphorically as near-parable. Essentially: the ideas in The Nationalist are good, and significantly well rooted in culture to fairly be chosen as the subject of a short novel, if delivered somewhat heavy-handidly
Reading The Nationalist now reminds me of a very specific time in my life. I'm thankful for that hint of nostalgia though, because in remembering better, more idealistic times in my life, the novel reflexively hints at their return.
