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jennifersbrown 's review for:
American Wife
by Curtis Sittenfeld
I often find it hard to read fictionalized accounts of people and events because I want to separate what's real from what's made up, and of course, not knowing enough about the events, I can't. That said, this story of a first lady (Alice Blackwell) and her bumbling presidential husband (Charlie Blackwell) was an interesting, but uneven, book. Alice's early years--her younger romances, an early tragedy, her coming of age--is well done. I even bought why someone as smart and sophisticated as her would marry such a buffoon. But once Charlie takes office as president, the novel seems to just speed up, and the ending chapter felt very rushed.
My one other problem with the book is that because, as I'm reading it, I can't help but imagine President Bush and his wife, I felt kind of grossed out by the sex scenes and, um, some of the more personal aspects (do I really want to know about the bowel movement that clogged the only toilet in the Blackwell's summer home?). I'm not normally a prude about these things, but they bothered me here.
I will give credit that Charlie, as moronic as he is in the story, he is endearing, and in a warped sort of way, you can see how he was elected. He also comes off as an absolute jerk, and there were plenty of times I was rooting for Alice to leave him.
Overall, I wouldn't call this a presidential read, but it was a fun book, the perfect way to start the new year and the end of the Republican administration.
My one other problem with the book is that because, as I'm reading it, I can't help but imagine President Bush and his wife, I felt kind of grossed out by the sex scenes and, um, some of the more personal aspects (do I really want to know about the bowel movement that clogged the only toilet in the Blackwell's summer home?). I'm not normally a prude about these things, but they bothered me here.
I will give credit that Charlie, as moronic as he is in the story, he is endearing, and in a warped sort of way, you can see how he was elected. He also comes off as an absolute jerk, and there were plenty of times I was rooting for Alice to leave him.
Overall, I wouldn't call this a presidential read, but it was a fun book, the perfect way to start the new year and the end of the Republican administration.