#1 - American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

Sorry it's taken so long for my first review to be posted. I've been under the weather and frankly the author didn't make it too easy for me to finish the book in the first place.

Let me start off by saying I was totally excited to read this book. I'm a political biography junky and also really liked Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld. So when I heard about this book initially I knew I wanted to read it. And I liked it. I could almost say I really liked it if it were not for the last third of the book (snore).

Sittenfeld writes very rich characters, particularly women. A couple of years ago I picked up Prep while visiting a friend and could hardly put it down. Yet, despite devouring the book and truly getting into the character I was left feeling like despite the fact that I totally felt strongly about the main character - a misfit turned boarding school student - that I couldn't really identify with her at all. And I was a bit of a misfit myself in high school! Later on, my sister told me that her entire book club made the same observation; namely: how could you identify with a girl who finds herself at odds with her preppy peers yet falls over backwards to please them at every step - cutting boys' hair and bedding the popular boy who doesn't acknowledge her in public?

And I know you're not supposed to identify with every character you read about but frankly, who wants to read about a heroine who doesn't make any sort of personal progress throughout the course of 448 pages? Also, don't take this the wrong way Ms. Sittenfeld, but I took one look at the book jacket and thought this tale must have been autobiographical. That being said, Prep is an excellent book. Sure, we've all read about boarding school life ad nausea (see Catcher in the Rye and A Separate Peace). But this book modernizes the tale without the moral dilemma your English teacher wanted to discuss and puts it in a women's perspective. So read Prep if you want a good indulgence but read I Am Charlotte Simmons if you want something a little edgier where the characters actually mature.

Sorry to get off track here - this review is supposed to be about American Wife. Yet it is an important introduction to my analysis of the book as it's another fish-out-of-water tale by Curtis Sittenfeld. And I can safely say that I was hooked for the book's first 300+ pages where the author tells the story of a young Midwestern girl, Alice Lindgren, who faces tragedy at an early age and grows into a bookish independent young woman. It is a fictionalized account of Laura Bush's life allegedly and it was fascinating to read about how she comes to meet Charlie Blackwell, the future president, when he's still in his drinking over-privileged brat stage. And against all odds, they fall in love.

If the book ended there, hurray, it was totally moving and made me really understand how someone like Laura (err Alice) would fall for someone like George Bush (err Charlie Blackwell). I especially liked the part where she is introduced to the entire extended family at a Kennebunkport-like compound. And the part about him finding God and giving up drinking was pretty interesting too. At the end when he becomes president and she finds herself at odds with his administration, however, it was just plain bad.

First of all, and I get that you may be a total Pinky Commo Ms. Sittenfeld, but did you stop for a minute and think that maybe Laura Bush (err Alice Lindgren) may believe in her husband and not just tolerating his administration because she loves him? Give her a little more credit, jeez! And really, having her face off with him about abortion (abortion!) of all things is just insulting to women all around. Does the world think this is the only issue that matters to women? If it's a fictional tale then why not throw something exciting conflict in there towards the end? A hostage situation? A charming French ambassador? Instead the end was a total yawnfest.

But, and I feel bad having trashed the end for a book that I genuinely enjoyed for several days of my life, I really like Sittenfeld's characters (in this book especially the crazy grandmother) and will probably read more of her work. So I give it three out of four stars.

Read: 576 pages

Saved: $15.60 new on Amazon.