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A review by helen_t_reads
American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Alice is a smart, kind, quiet and bookish only child, born and raised in Wisconsin, and haunted by a teenage tragedy and its repercussions, which define the rest of her life.
She becomes a teacher, then a librarian, and is devoted to her job until, in her early 30s, she meets her husband to be, Charlie Blackwell, a privileged son of a large, wealthy republican family.
They marry quickly, despite her far more liberal beliefs and political leanings, which include being pro-choice and pro-gay marriage. But, when he becomes President, and she is first lady, she finds that there is an unavoidable and growing tension between her private beliefs and the very public expectations of the role she carries out.
If some of this sounds familiar to you, this could be because Alice's story is a fictional reimagining of the life of Laura Bush, former First Lady, wife of President George W Bush.
This is a novel that tackles major moral, social, religious and political issues, and does so with the lightest touch. However, despite its storyline, there is, remarkably, comparatively little political content. As the title suggests this is the story of a wife, first and foremost, not a public office.
It's a novel with a time frame that spans several decades and in truth is partly a coming of age story, and partly the story of a 30+ year marriage.
It's a book that deals in comparison and contrast: small town Midwest life and life in the capital city at the heart and centre of everything; personal tragedy and the country's loss of its young servicemen in a misjudged, misguided war in the middle east; a normal, ordinary, grounded life and the life of the wealthy, the privileged and the politically shielded; a private life as a citizen and a public life as the first family; a wife's forbearance, support, sublimation, strong moral code and agnosticism and a husband's ambition, desire to leave a legacy, battles with alcohol and born again Christianity; private beliefs and a public persona.
And most of all it's an in-depth character study of Alice herself. Sittenfeld captures the tone of a 60+ year old woman reflecting back on her life, and the experiences and events she has lived through, and it reads for all the world like a real memoir, with its detail and description, its tone and vocabulary reflecting and capturing a particular age, class, education and moral standpoint.
It is beautifully done, it's quietly compelling and compulsive, and it's truly thought-provoking. I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to reading more by this very talented author.
She becomes a teacher, then a librarian, and is devoted to her job until, in her early 30s, she meets her husband to be, Charlie Blackwell, a privileged son of a large, wealthy republican family.
They marry quickly, despite her far more liberal beliefs and political leanings, which include being pro-choice and pro-gay marriage. But, when he becomes President, and she is first lady, she finds that there is an unavoidable and growing tension between her private beliefs and the very public expectations of the role she carries out.
If some of this sounds familiar to you, this could be because Alice's story is a fictional reimagining of the life of Laura Bush, former First Lady, wife of President George W Bush.
This is a novel that tackles major moral, social, religious and political issues, and does so with the lightest touch. However, despite its storyline, there is, remarkably, comparatively little political content. As the title suggests this is the story of a wife, first and foremost, not a public office.
It's a novel with a time frame that spans several decades and in truth is partly a coming of age story, and partly the story of a 30+ year marriage.
It's a book that deals in comparison and contrast: small town Midwest life and life in the capital city at the heart and centre of everything; personal tragedy and the country's loss of its young servicemen in a misjudged, misguided war in the middle east; a normal, ordinary, grounded life and the life of the wealthy, the privileged and the politically shielded; a private life as a citizen and a public life as the first family; a wife's forbearance, support, sublimation, strong moral code and agnosticism and a husband's ambition, desire to leave a legacy, battles with alcohol and born again Christianity; private beliefs and a public persona.
And most of all it's an in-depth character study of Alice herself. Sittenfeld captures the tone of a 60+ year old woman reflecting back on her life, and the experiences and events she has lived through, and it reads for all the world like a real memoir, with its detail and description, its tone and vocabulary reflecting and capturing a particular age, class, education and moral standpoint.
It is beautifully done, it's quietly compelling and compulsive, and it's truly thought-provoking. I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to reading more by this very talented author.