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becca_boulton's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
sarahlreadseverything's review against another edition
5.0
So well written and thought out... I feel like I've truly just emerged from an alternate world. While I was in it, it was totally believable.
kpthelibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Stunning. I loved every moment of this novel.
The amount of research alone that went into this work must have been astronomical, and the dedication shown throughout the entirety of it is a clear reflection.
Prose was fantastic - so enigmatic and REAL.
In an alternate universe, I hope this is reality.
The amount of research alone that went into this work must have been astronomical, and the dedication shown throughout the entirety of it is a clear reflection.
Prose was fantastic - so enigmatic and REAL.
In an alternate universe, I hope this is reality.
julescooper's review against another edition
4.0
This was an incredibly interesting and insightful read. Rodham imagines the life of Hillary Clinton without Bill. It is a realistic telling and feels like an auto-biography (it’s clearly very well researched). This book makes you appreciate how accomplished Hillary is in her own right. I would recommend
candacesiegle_greedyreader's review against another edition
4.0
You know by now that "Rodham" is an alternative fictional biography of Hillary if she had not married Bill Clinton. The Hillary presented is much as I imagined her to be--brilliant, tireless, an excellent friend, dedicated, honest, and realistic. Once she's on the camaign trail for anything we see how much harder it is for women in just the details of showing up, with hair and make up done, clothes as unobtrusive as possible, looking chipper and fresh when her male opponents have not need to bother.
Hillary in Rodham receives information about Bill's actions before they marry and heeds it. He knows his weakness and so does she, but there is a final piece of knowledge that she cannot accept. This means Hillary is able to focus on her own career and what she wants to achieve.
"Rodham" gets bogged down in the details, the details of everything. Hillary has so many moving parts to manage it's easy for us to lose track. It would have been nice for her staff to have more background since they are like her family and most stay with her for years. Trump has a comic cameo, making the reality that he won the presidency even more absurd, yet the story has a warm ending.
What did we let go? Hillary's competence and leadership rediate from "Rodham."
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sccess to this title.
~~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader
Hillary in Rodham receives information about Bill's actions before they marry and heeds it. He knows his weakness and so does she, but there is a final piece of knowledge that she cannot accept. This means Hillary is able to focus on her own career and what she wants to achieve.
"Rodham" gets bogged down in the details, the details of everything. Hillary has so many moving parts to manage it's easy for us to lose track. It would have been nice for her staff to have more background since they are like her family and most stay with her for years. Trump has a comic cameo, making the reality that he won the presidency even more absurd, yet the story has a warm ending.
What did we let go? Hillary's competence and leadership rediate from "Rodham."
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sccess to this title.
~~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader
pbraue13's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting premise, overall I found it dull and pedantic and too odd for words. Also I never want to read another Bill and Hillary sex scene ... ever again.
loukonstantia's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
nickyfox13's review against another edition
3.0
Well written with a captivating idea but lackluster, underdeveloped execution that would've been improved had it not been written about a currently living, well documented politician.
shhchar's review against another edition
5.0
Wow! Wow. Wowowowowowoowowow! I think this is the better timeline and I'd like to be living in it!
But seriously, I don't know how Curtis Sittenfeld does it. She has an incredible handle on narrative. Not to mention the ability to write a completely genuine seemingly authentic world to the point where it seems like the seduction of it being the truth is consciously playing a trick on you.
Rodham follows the question: what if Hillary had said no to her engagement with Bill? What if she, post Yale Law, had gone to struck out on her own and found herself in the Senate and maybe then the White House?
Sittenfeld crafts an immersive, sympathetic protagonist in these 400-something pages. I felt like I was drowning in the first part of the novel which took place during their early romance. I was swept up in these overwhelming emotions and constant hard decisions that when the book kept steadily evolving with age and changing years it was like the reader had the ability to witness a legend being born. The portion of the book set in 2016 felt just like 2020 and I chuckled at veiled references to "I'm just chillin' in Cedar Rapids!"
When I ended the book I realized the things that bugged me weren't anything to do with the construction of the novel itself but Hillary's more annoying Boomer tendencies. That's the trickery Sittenfeld has mastered. This isn't the Hillary Clinton we know in the real world - but how much of her borrows from the truth or represents what she could have been? These are inevitably rhetorical questions but it is a wonderful tangent to take.
But seriously, I don't know how Curtis Sittenfeld does it. She has an incredible handle on narrative. Not to mention the ability to write a completely genuine seemingly authentic world to the point where it seems like the seduction of it being the truth is consciously playing a trick on you.
Rodham follows the question: what if Hillary had said no to her engagement with Bill? What if she, post Yale Law, had gone to struck out on her own and found herself in the Senate and maybe then the White House?
Sittenfeld crafts an immersive, sympathetic protagonist in these 400-something pages. I felt like I was drowning in the first part of the novel which took place during their early romance. I was swept up in these overwhelming emotions and constant hard decisions that when the book kept steadily evolving with age and changing years it was like the reader had the ability to witness a legend being born. The portion of the book set in 2016 felt just like 2020 and I chuckled at veiled references to "I'm just chillin' in Cedar Rapids!"
When I ended the book I realized the things that bugged me weren't anything to do with the construction of the novel itself but Hillary's more annoying Boomer tendencies. That's the trickery Sittenfeld has mastered. This isn't the Hillary Clinton we know in the real world - but how much of her borrows from the truth or represents what she could have been? These are inevitably rhetorical questions but it is a wonderful tangent to take.
courtneycox693's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0