Scan barcode
hazelgirl21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content
Minor: Terminal illness and Death of parent
sophiemiles's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
sidhe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Minor: Sexual assault
drawmeabookreview's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Cancer and Sexual assault
amyvl93's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As a reader, you spend all of the novel in Hillary's head. As a person to spend time with, she is funny, sharp and deeply ambitious. If you want a novel that doesn't show someone's flaws this is not for you - Hillary takes action in this book that are not the 'nice' or maybe even 'right' thing to do, but are actions that progress her goals and it was pretty refreshing to read about unashamedly ambitious women. Sittenfeld doesn't make her a perfect person - she is still a Hillary we recognise and her blind spots (e.g. race) are still here and unchanged. She also invests time in building Hillary's relationships - you totally understand her and Bill's relationship, and Hillary also has a range of female relationships that Sittenfeld builds complex and real-feeling bonds.
Part of the fun of the novel is how Sittenfeld plays with the narratives we know and tweaks them slightly - so I wouldn't want to give too much away but there are some great wink wink moments. However, one of the things that Rodham gets right is that whilst some things are different, a lot of the responses to a woman running for a position of power feel very real.
There were aspects of the novel that lagged a little, and the 2015 section felt a little too neat for me - but overall, I really enjoyed this.
Moderate: Sexism and Sexual assault
Minor: Infidelity and Racism
penelopereads's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
It was actually inspiring and made me mourn for what the world could have had the past four years. (Funnily enough I’m writing this in the early hours of January 20, 2021.)
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, and Terminal illness
daralexandria's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
whitedahlias's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Infidelity and Misogyny
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Cancer
shelby's review against another edition
According to this version of events, the couple break up after a woman approaches Hillary in a parking lot and accuses Bill of infidelity and sexual assault. Part 2 sees Bill contacting Hillary regarding his impending presidential bid, asking her to provide essentially a character testimony to the media. As she contemplates doing so, given how their relationship ended, we're unironically hit with this line, "If I believed the woman and Bill had had some kind of physical encounter, did I believe that it had been against her will? ...I understood suddenly that I was freed from deciding what I believed. If I was no longer his girlfriend, and never his wife, I was not responsible for his behavior, not even by extension. This absolution was my reward for losing him."
So, yeah, DNF.
Moderate: Sexual assault