American Wife in Around the World in 80 Books

Jul 19, 2012 Astrid Lim rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: second-hand, literature, america, politics

I do love how Curtis Sittenfeld wrote the narrative of this book- the sentences are flowing nicely into the story. But I don't like the way she based her story on Laura Bush - and actually wrote it in a semi-biography kind of way - only changed the names of the Bushes (into the Blackwells) - and some other small details (like Texas becomes Wisconsin, etc)..but she kept the rest of the facts inside the book. These included the Iraq war policy, the previous president who had an affair with another ...more

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Dec 08, 2008 Sarah rated it liked it

Shelves: book-club-dm, hot-lit

I really enjoyed parts 1 and 2, which take place before Alice (the future first lady) marries her husband (the future president). Part three (Alice and Charlie's pre-presidency marriage) was good but a little too long, and I didn't care for part four (in the White House) much at all.

I don't think it's spoiling anything to say that this book is loosely based on Laura Bush. It's blatantly clear from the first page, heck, even from the back cover, that that's who she's fictionalizing. I appreciated I really enjoyed parts 1 and 2, which take place before Alice (the future first lady) marries her husband (the future president). Part three (Alice and Charlie's pre-presidency marriage) was good but a little too long, and I didn't care for part four (in the White House) much at all.

I don't think it's spoiling anything to say that this book is loosely based on Laura Bush. It's blatantly clear from the first page, heck, even from the back cover, that that's who she's fictionalizing. I appreciated it somewhat, but I think it would have been better if it had been less obvious, but I guess that would have defeated the author's purpose.

My biggest complaint about the book is that Sittenfeld never really tells you how Charlie got to the White House. She briefly tells anecdotes about the campain trail or election night, but it didn't satisfy what I thought was a huge hole in the story. Alice is a liberal, and her husband is a Good Ole Boy Republican. Alice also enjoys leading a quiet life. When she met her husband, he was making his first (unsuccessful) run for public office and when he lost, they agreed he wouldn't try to run again. Charlie then goes through a period of restlessness, becomes part-owner of a baseball team, and then part 3 ends with a few sentences about how five years later Charlie became governor. Then you turn the page and he's six years into his presidency. What? I guess Sittenfeld figures her audience knows how Bush became president, so we could fill in the blanks, but what really interested me was the conversation that had to have happened between Charlie and Alice. "Honey, I know I have a Democrat wife who doesn't want to be in the public eye, but I think I'm going to run for President." How would THAT have happened?

One thing I liked about it was how the author at least attempted to show both sides of the coin, but it was pretty clear that Alice was the more sympathetic character. She also made religion seem pretty ridiculous, but I guess considering the narrator was agnostic, religion would seem pretty ridiculous to her. (Hmm, that's a good question: are first-person narrators EVER reliable? Aren't they always biased?) ...more

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Sep 15, 2008 Sera rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, literary-fiction, library

I really enjoyed this book. It's been a long time since I read something of this nature, and although it was long, it was definitely worth the read. The book is supposed to be based on Laura Bush and later, her life with George, but frankly, I didn't find much accuracy in this regard in the storyline. Be that as it may, I simply read the book as a book and didn't try to make any connections between fact and fiction. The story stands great on its own.

Sittenfeld offers some very interesting observ ...more

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Sep 11, 2012 Windy rated it liked it

Quite a long book but compelling and, in parts, unputdownable. I zoomed through the first 300 pages, found a bit of a lull around page 400 but I think the author/editor must have noticed this problem because all of a sudden the story jumps forward and then I was reading at break-neck speed again. Even if you’re not interested in American politics, this is still a good read because at the heart of the book is the story of a 20th century marriage and all the ups and downs of family relationships.

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Aug 13, 2009 Erin (NY) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, read-in-2010

I went into reading this book with very low expectations. I did not expect to like it at all because it is supposed to be based on the Bush Jr. family. So unsurprisingly, I hated the Charlie (W.) character and loved the Alice (Laura) character. She was just so likable and so well-written. All of her trials with Charlie are depicted so clearly! I did think though that the chaange from all-loving Charlie, to spoiled-brat Charlie was a bit abrupt and not well-explained, but overall a good book!

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