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A review by oxnard_montalvo
American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
Very compelling with an early act twist that I didn't see coming in the least (I went into this with very little knowledge about the first lady on whose life it is apparently based).
It's an easy read in that you just slip into it effortlessly. The dialogue is very natural and the pacing swoops you up. It really trots along, but knowing that eventually this couple becomes the First Couple... I found myself wondering... and waiting... and waiting some more... I assumed there would be more about the campaigns, the push and pull of the husband/wife's opposing ideaology. Instead, very suddenly, we're in the white house. It's abrupt. A little (deliberately?) vague. America is at war (with whom is never mentioned), various issues loom and then are side stepped; which isn't *wrong* per se, nor is it bad story telling, but I suppose I thought the story was going to tackle them a little more directly. Ultimately, the fact they aren't is consistent with the character of Lindy, but... it doesn't *quite* satisfy me as a reader.
It's an easy read in that you just slip into it effortlessly. The dialogue is very natural and the pacing swoops you up. It really trots along, but knowing that eventually this couple becomes the First Couple... I found myself wondering... and waiting... and waiting some more... I assumed there would be more about the campaigns, the push and pull of the husband/wife's opposing ideaology. Instead, very suddenly, we're in the white house. It's abrupt. A little (deliberately?) vague. America is at war (with whom is never mentioned), various issues loom and then are side stepped; which isn't *wrong* per se, nor is it bad story telling, but I suppose I thought the story was going to tackle them a little more directly. Ultimately, the fact they aren't is consistent with the character of Lindy, but... it doesn't *quite* satisfy me as a reader.