American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

why: I wanted some fun summer reading, and this was recommended to me by a friend who often recommends books to me.

when: start 7/14, end 7/22

how: I read this as a ebook on my ipad (as usual, purchased through the website of my local independent book seller!). This is what I was reading for fun in the evenings when I was reviewing all those books about teaching on our road trip this summer).

thoughts: I had read another book by Sittenfeld (Prep) a few years ago (great book, by the way--I highly recommend), so I was expecting this to be equally engaging. Just right for a summer read. For some reason the other book I'm trying to get through for fun right now isn't going very quickly. I like it, but it just doesn't hit my summer reading needs right now. I'll get it done eventually. ANYHOW, American Wife is a fictional take on the relationship of George and Laura Bush (in the book, Alice Lindgren and Charlie Blackwell). The author researched Laura Bush's life extensively, so much of this is accurate (including the tragic car accident in her teens where Laura ran a stop sign and ended up killing one of her friends). But of course, much of this is absolutely fiction (like the moment in the book where Alice speaks out against the war in Iraq and her husband is furious and considers it a personal betrayal). I enjoyed the book on the whole, though I wondered how political I should consider this book. Is it ultimately a criticism of Bush's presidency? (Charlie Blackwell comes off as somewhat ridiculous lots of the time in this book). If you read it, let me know if you think this book is political.

Click on the book image to read more about the book from the author's website.

review haiku:
a President's wife
her life is complex, manic
she yearns for simplicity