State & Wacker

In this remarkable second novel by Burt
Zollo, we meet Lyle Kopp, a public
relations man in Chicago during the
Sixties. P.R., at this time, is still a relatively
new, undefined profession, and Kopp
is one of the pioneers in shaping the
public perception of P.R., which is, after
all, all about shaping public perceptions.
Kopp's world is one of publicity stunts,
politics, romance, family, ambition, and
friendships real and forced. It's a story
of a profession never before explored
so intimately and insightfully in fiction,
and the story of a family man, who
balances a home life in suburbia with a
work life in the city.

State & Wacker is also very much the
story of Chicago, which happens to be
Zollo's hometown. His Kopp is a savvy
guy, balancing the art and science of his
growing field, while struggling with the
awareness of the power of persuading
public opinion on behalf of his clients.
Even the name "Public relations" is not
free from his scrutiny, and this level of
consideration gives this novel its depth:
"While he thought `public relations'
was descriptive," Zollo writes, "he
feared it might be considered deceptive,
not as humble as he preferred. He
didn't resent the variety of names his
practice had achieved; he simply didn't
want to appear, as he explained, `too
grand.'" Public relations, Kopp felt, was
"the most maligned, least understood
creative practice. At its best, he thought,
P.R. changed people's minds; at its
worst, P.R. bred suspicion." Walking
that line between being influential and
manipulative is where this novel lives.