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A review by danapr
If a Poem Could Live and Breathe: A Novel of Teddy Roosevelt's First Love by Mary Calvi
2.0
This book reveals some insight into Theodore Roosevelt’s first marriage including his courtship and dialogue with his wife, Alice Lee, their marriage and the birth of their daughter. History tells us that Alice died shortly after the birth of their child.
There’s not much else to include in a description of this novel. There is very little plot and most chapters are dedicated to various interactions between Theodore and Alice during their courtship. Alice’s conflict with her mother and her wedding to Theodore is a very brief part of the book and their short marriage is mostly described by letters between the two. I’m afraid that I did not enjoy this book as much as most of the other reviewers. I found the dialogue to be very flowery, silly and mindless and the descriptions of their “dates” very boring. I know this could change with the final printing of the book but chapters entitled things like A Filling Lunch demonstrate how boring the story can be. I guess the dialogue probably demonstrates Alice’s youth - she was independent and strong at times then very immature at others. And the couple’s actual letters are indicative of how they spoke to each other but the “mush” was just too much for me. I really wanted to like this book and learn more about this time in Roosevelt’s life but the lack of plot and boring dialogue just made this book not enjoyable for me at all.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the Advanced Reader Copy.
There’s not much else to include in a description of this novel. There is very little plot and most chapters are dedicated to various interactions between Theodore and Alice during their courtship. Alice’s conflict with her mother and her wedding to Theodore is a very brief part of the book and their short marriage is mostly described by letters between the two. I’m afraid that I did not enjoy this book as much as most of the other reviewers. I found the dialogue to be very flowery, silly and mindless and the descriptions of their “dates” very boring. I know this could change with the final printing of the book but chapters entitled things like A Filling Lunch demonstrate how boring the story can be. I guess the dialogue probably demonstrates Alice’s youth - she was independent and strong at times then very immature at others. And the couple’s actual letters are indicative of how they spoke to each other but the “mush” was just too much for me. I really wanted to like this book and learn more about this time in Roosevelt’s life but the lack of plot and boring dialogue just made this book not enjoyable for me at all.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the Advanced Reader Copy.