American Wife

"American Wife" by Curtis Sittenfeld has gotten a lot of pre-publication buzz in the professional journals, entertainment magazines, and blogs I read. They promised it would be controversial because it is based on the life of First Lady Laura Bush. I enjoyed the book and thought Sittenfeld's writing was great: the descriptions were clear and added to the story rather than bogging it down, and her characters were superbly drawn, lifelike, and very likeable. Charlie Blackwell (based on President Bush) came across as a really great guy, and even though Sittenfeld has made no secret of the fact that she hasn't agreed with him on his policies as president, she made him out to be a complex, three dimensional person. Through the eyes of his wife, Alice, we understand his motivations and see why he believes the way he does. The only part of the book that bothered me was when she projected her own feelings onto Alice (for instance, she has Alice vote for Blackwell's opponent in the 2000 election because she believes he is better qualified than her own husband; somehow I sincerely doubt Laura Bush would do that), so Alice comes across as wishy washy and too goody goody. I might read it again someday; it was worth the time.