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laila4343's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked this book until about halfway through. Alice Lindgren is a very appealing character. I wish the book hadn't fallen apart as it headed into the alcoholism and political career of Charlie Blackwell. Oh well. I just had a hard time buying that such a smart, thoughtful woman would align herself with such a boorish boob. So either she's not as smart as we want her to be, or she's seriously misleading herself.
anniebh's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.0
andrear0788's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
anniewill's review against another edition
2.0
I found this book to be about 100 pages too long. The amount of detail in the last section was tiresome, to say the least. I also found the main character, Alice, to be a bit too pleased with herself for my taste. And the portrayal of her husband, "Charlie" was cartoon-ish at best. Please. I get that the author does not care for George Bush, but some of the attributes that she assigned to Charlie were ridiculous and totally undermined, to me, what could have been an intriguing and original story.
catymart83's review against another edition
5.0
I loved it; this book really gave me an insight into Laura Bush's and George W. Bush's lives. "American Wife" describes the life of Alice Blackwell and is a thinly fictionalized version of the life of Laura Bush. While a lot of people have complained that the character Alice doesn't really explain Laura Bush and her choices, I found the novel a remarkable piece of storytelling. "American Wife" is divided into four parts. The first deals with Alice's early life, the second with her life before meeting Charlie (George) and their courtship,and the third with their marriage. The last section discusses their life in the White House. One of the most important themes that runs through the novel is the joy of reading and important books that Alice reads and loves are shown throughout. I highly recommend this book.
booksand_otherdrugs's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
sarahanne8382's review against another edition
4.0
I finished this book a few days ago, and I still don't know my reaction to it other than the fact that I liked it. It was one of those really personal stories, where you start thinking about the narrator as a real person and forget to evaluate it as a piece of fiction. Throw in the fact the story is loosely based on the life of Laura Bush, wife of our 43rd president, and it's even harder to remember that this is a novel.
I do want to stress that this story only loosely follows the events of Laura Bush's life. That's why our main character is named Alice Blackwell and was born in Wisconsin instead of Texas. She does marry a man who's considered the black sheep of his politically & economically successful family, who later goes on to own a baseball team, become governor of his home state, and then President of the United States, though.
In this book Sittenfeld tries to explain why one of the most liked First Ladies was married to one of the least liked Presidents by letting her proxy for the normally reticent Mrs. Bush tell her life story. It's a very thoughtful story & I found myself identifying with Alice more times than I could count in the first 20 pages (not to mention her stint as a librarian). Alice is one of those people that everyone likes, but a lot of people don't remember. She doesn't say a lot, but what she does say is always proper and polite. She's always doing the right thing, even if that means keeping her political views to herself when she doesn't agree with her husband.
Having just watched the movie W, they both fall into the George W. Bush apologist, sort-of camp. Both try to make an argument for not hating a President liberals find repugnant, but since both were created by liberals, they can't completey hide their distate for the man, so he's still seen as seriously flawed in both pieces, but American Wife is significantly more coherent and engaging.
I do want to stress that this story only loosely follows the events of Laura Bush's life. That's why our main character is named Alice Blackwell and was born in Wisconsin instead of Texas. She does marry a man who's considered the black sheep of his politically & economically successful family, who later goes on to own a baseball team, become governor of his home state, and then President of the United States, though.
In this book Sittenfeld tries to explain why one of the most liked First Ladies was married to one of the least liked Presidents by letting her proxy for the normally reticent Mrs. Bush tell her life story. It's a very thoughtful story & I found myself identifying with Alice more times than I could count in the first 20 pages (not to mention her stint as a librarian). Alice is one of those people that everyone likes, but a lot of people don't remember. She doesn't say a lot, but what she does say is always proper and polite. She's always doing the right thing, even if that means keeping her political views to herself when she doesn't agree with her husband.
Having just watched the movie W, they both fall into the George W. Bush apologist, sort-of camp. Both try to make an argument for not hating a President liberals find repugnant, but since both were created by liberals, they can't completey hide their distate for the man, so he's still seen as seriously flawed in both pieces, but American Wife is significantly more coherent and engaging.
sarahgri's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
flickyspene's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5