A Novel (Random House Reader's Circle) - American Wife

It would be a great disservice to categorize Ms. Sittenfeld's novel as some kind of bloated, mindless Harlequin Romance. Political pundits and celebrity watchers have a field day making broad-brush characterizations about individuals who are in the public limelight. It's their bread and butter to lambast and dehumanize people (Walter Winchell, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Hedda Hopper, Al Sharpton, Glenn Beck, Perez Hilton, the list of these morally-questionable opportunists is endless.) The more outrageous the disparaging remarks, the better for their ratings. On the flip side, admirers of a certain celebrity are inclined to quasi-deify the person in question. Ms. Sittenfeld does a commendable job of trying to highlight this tendency to dehumanizing people by using weak-minded stereotypes. From Alice Lindgren's childhood through to the twilight of her husband's presidency, the author conveys the full measure of her protagonist. However, please be warned that some of the sex scenes are quite graphic, but totally appropriate and important to the story. There is a great deal of insight and compassion in Ms. Sittenfeld's work. Well worth reading if you enjoy learning more about the human condition than what is upchucked on television, gossip rags or talk radio.

Loved this novel. Although the main character's (presumably Laura Bush) childhood was dull, the turning point at age 17 makes up for it. Suddenly we are propelled into an unpredictable life with stunning events, choices and outcomes. The writing is clear and thoughtful which makes the storyteller easy to understand even when she makes decisions some of us might disapprove of. Truly a great modern type of historical fiction.

This novel lacked originality and I'm not really sure why she bothered to write it. Of course the story was more or less based on the experience and personality of a previous First Lady and much of it was old news. Changing the state and names of the people involved was a poor effort at trying to use actual events, with badly developed "enhancements", to develop a story. I skipped over much of the parts she took from real life and a lot of the long, boring descriptions of moments that really didn't add to the story line at all. I would not recommend this book to anyone.

This book was fascinating! It left me wondering what Laura Bush's life has REALLY been like. Is she a closet liberal? I guess I should read one of her true biographies to find out. In the meantime, this novel is a real page-turner.

I just finished the book and am wondering why the author wrote it? She obviously spent considerable time on it, but why? The end is such an anti-climax. Throughout the book it feels like you are building to something, especially given the prelude, and then nothing. We meet a moral, ethical protagonist who struggles throughout her life to good hoping that she will ultimately find her voice and be true to herself, only to be left severely disappointed.

I chose this because I had read other Curtis Sittenfeld books and liked them very much. But I disliked this one; in fact, I can't fathom why she even wrote it. It is a not very thinly disguised story about George and Laura Bush. The names are changed, and she places them in the upper Midwest instead of Texas, but the circumstances are the same, including his buying a baseball team, being elected president, and starting the war in Iraq. I disapprove of the practice writing fictional accounts of well-known people when they are still living, inventing their private thoughts and conversations, their dreams, their sexual activities. it is patently unfair to them.
Don't take this as a political reaction. I am a Democrat who did not support Bush and was against the war in Iraq--although I always liked Laura Bush. But I think American Wife is cheap, and I am disappointed in Curtis Sittenfeld.

This novel is very well-written and easy to read...the author is able to put you (the reader) into a situation almost effortlessly and you actually feel a part of the moment in the narrative. My only question is why did she choose this subject? (I read this because it was on the list for our book club, not because I chose it.) I suppose we all feel some interest in reading behind-the-scenes for celebrities, particularly quiet celebrities like Laura Bush, but I'm not really sure why the author chose to take Laura's life and just recreate it in a different state (Wisconsin instead of Texas). My own questions aside, however, I will certainly read more of Ms. Sittenfeld's works.

While some of the writing is quite accomplished and the final third of the work is quite gripping, I found this novel to be over-long and tedious, particularly the first half. The amount of description of people's appearance, clothes, shoes, houses and interiors leaves Zola looking like a minimalist. It is sincerely one of the most irritating books I have ever read. After the quarter way mark, I found myself skimming page after page of mind-numbingly detailed description and persevered with it only because it came so highly recommended to me by a close family member. I am looking forward to having an energetic discussion about American Wife with the person who persuaded me to read what felt less like a novel and more like the script for a TV drama series written in narrative. I really don't recommend it.

This book started off really well. Alice is a quiet bookish sort of girl and we learn about her family and early live in a small town, was really engrossed at this stage. Then she meets her future husband, still enjoyable but after she gets married it all went a bit downhill for me. I did not realise until I was halfway through this book that it is loosely based on the life of Laura Bush. I think a book that is half fact and half fiction does an injustice to the subject and is misleading for the reader. Laura Bush is not painted in a very flattering light and I think this should just have been sold as a work of fiction. Though Alice is quiet she appears to be a strong enough character. However once she marries Charlie she becomes a very submissive character. Her inner thoughts on right and wrong etc. are totally at odds with the way she allows Charlie to treat her. He is totally selfish and does not appreciate her and she just carries on quietly with life doing nothing to change her situation. There is a huge gap in the book where Charlie, who is painted as a rather dim individual, goes from being the manager of a team to the President. That needed a bit of explaining! As the President's wife she is even more disappointing. Again we hear all her unspoken thoughts on everything, she really does paint herself as Mother Teresa but she communicates none of this to her husband, who incidentally she didn't vote for. She's embarrassed by all the fuss of being the President's wife and would much rather be driven in an SUV than a Presidential car blah. blah, blah. If Alice acted on one tenth of her oh-so-righteous thoughts the world would be a great place but she's all thoughts and no action. Her role as President's wife is to support him whether she agrees or not but she spends most of her time (in her thoughts at least) distancing herself from his ideals. We start with a dull teenager that we hope is going to blossom into a wonderful President's wife. Alice develops into an even duller adult. I don't think she once laughed throughout the book. I'm surprised Charlie didn't start drinking again just to alleviate the boredom. I may not be a Bush fan but the treatment of them in this book is outrageous.

The first third was a little slow, the second third was better, the last third dragged. She whined a lot, she was a doormat, and knowing it was based on Laura Bush made me wonder if that's how she really is (I really hope not). Overall, not a bad read, just the last third is a chore.

I thought after reading reviews of this book that it would have been better. I think what bothered me the most and what ruined it for me was all the publicity that it was based on Laura Bush. All I kept thinking about was George W. as I was reading the book and that made it really strange, uncomfortable, and really made me dislike the book since I am not a fan.

I am not sure what I was expecting, but just not really my type of story.

I began this novel having no idea of its relationship to Laura Bush. I really enjoyed it up to the Princeton reunion, at which point I figured out why the story sounded familiar. The story became less compelling, more annoying, and somehow preachy. It was hard to finish, but I kept hoping it would improve. The ending was just frustrating.

Wonderful novel. Sucked in the moment I opened it. Really illustrates the difficult balance between being in love with someone and agreeing with that person 100%. Felt like I had become friends with the first lady and was aloud to having special insiders view of life in a fish bowl.

The parallels of Laura Bush and Alice are too close to make the reading enjoyable or even interesting.
I wondered if Curtis was trying to sympathize or vilify Laura. Couldn't decide.
Too long with lots of duplicates on Charlie/George drinking and other stuff. And other than meat vs oil, and Wisconsin vs Texas.... Everything else lined up. Writing is ok, only a couple of typos but really what was the point?

this was a wonderfully written book. However, I thought the story was a bit unrealistic at times. Obviously this is fiction, but it was such a stretch that it made it difficult to get into the character.

While the book was interesting, the fact that the writer described real events of Laura and George Bush as part of her fictional story made me very upset. If this book is fictional don't use real events and describe characters that are so close to reality. If this is a non-authorized biography, call it for what it is. My overall feelings is that by mixing reality with fiction, the writer deceived us all. And that, is hard to applaud.

Sittenfeld's best! Curtis Sittenfeld's is a great storyteller. Her insigths are really profound and smart. Whether or not you are a Bush fan you can't help but find this character endearing and "Mrs. Bush" is the picture of class. I fun a different read.

The beginning of the book was slow. Then I became extremely interested in what happened next. I found the book easy to read and entertaining. The last section of the book just flew by and I was sad it was done. I definitely enjoyed it.

It was hard to read this book without picturing the real first lady and
her husband and that was a problem. I liked the beginning of the novel
better than the rest, but some of the writing (especially the dialogue)
was forced and silly. It wasn't a great read at all.

A finely crafted, intelligent and insightful character study . Sittenfeld's masterful ability to maintain the narrator's often clinical view of her circumstances renders this a fascinating blend of history and dramatic neo-fiction.

This book could have been great, but it appears the author was trying to tell the story of Laura Bush while making it fictional. The story dragged in several places causing me to want to skip ahead. And yet the ending seemed to be rushed and abrupt. Can't say that I would recommend this book.

Had I realized what the "premise" of this book was prior to purchasing, I never would have bought it. The author did have one thing right in her depiction: the former first lady WAS highly regarded which makes this fictionalization of her life so disrespectful. I don't know if I'm more disappointed in the author for having penned it or in myself for having read it. The rating should be no stars but the system would not accept that.

"American Wife" is a huge, juicy, wonderful novel. Obviously based on the life of Laura Welch Bush, Sittenfeld extrapolates from Bush's biography a "back story". It's probably wishful thinking that makes Sittenfeld have her Laura Bush/Alice Blackwell character do in the last chapter the one thing that the real Laura Bush has never done in "real life".

But if Sittenfeld makes free with the ending, she does bring life to Charlie Blackwell and his wife Alice. We see what may have been the attraction between the real George Bush and his wife.

I enjoyed this book and, while long, never bored me in the least.