The following is an abbreviated review of American Wife: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld. I’m including a fiction pick as 1) it was the best non-business book I read this summer; 2) it’s controversial; and 3) it’s a behind-the-scenes look at the role of a first spouse–something that has been much in the forefront of the media and relevant to the topic of leadership. The full review can be found at www.womensdish.com.
Let’s start off this review by laying all the cards on the table.
First, the opinions expressed in this review are solely that of blogger Diane K. Danielson, individually and personally, and do not reflect those of Entrepreneur magazine, WomenEntrepreneur.com, or their management. Thus, if you are an avowed Bush fan, you might not want to continue reading this particular post. However, if you can put politics aside and find this book review of interest, note that on Sept. 3, we’ll be announcing in our Downtown Women’s Club Dish Newsletter how you could win one of 10 free copies that Random House is giving away. Visit DowntownWomensClub.com to register for the DWC Dish. Thanks, Random House!
[Note to readers: If the forces behind Obama Nation or any unauthorized bio of Hillary Clinton had sent us an advanced review copy PLUS books to give away, we’d likely be doing that, too! I've always believed in reading different perspectives.]
Second, American Wife: A Novel is a fictional portrayal of the life of Laura Bush by Curtis Sittenfeld, the author of Prep: A Novel (after reading that I vowed never to send my child to boarding school) and The Man of My Dreams: A Novel (haven’t read, but will now). Sittenfeld is an avowed liberal despite having a professed fascination (and appreciation) for Laura Bush.
Third, there’s been a bit of controversy over the book, due to be released on September 2, during the Republican National Convention. Some people believe that the book is an attack on the Republican Party. In addition, there’s a faction out there that believes that Laura Bush is sacrosanct and no one should write about her. I noted that most of the critics, as usual, had not read the book and focused on the fact that the book includes some “steamy sex scenes.” Now, clearly those folks have never read a Jayne Ann Krentz novel, because the sex scenes in American Wife were not all that steamy or significant. And I don’t buy the argument that any public figure is too sacred to be the subject of a novel.
Fourth, the novel does incorporate some events that parallel those in Laura Bush’s life. The main character, Alice Lindgren (later Alice Blackwell), like Laura Bush, ran a stop sign at age 17 and killed a classmate. She later becomes a librarian and, when she is in her early 30s, marries Charlie Blackwell of the rich and powerful Blackwell clan. Charlie is an overgrown child, with a bit of a drinking problem, who later in life finds religion and goes on to become the president of the United States. Other than that rest is purely imagined.
Fifth, I am a liberal democrat who has always been rather annoyed by Laura Bush and assumed that she was majorly medicated, because I couldn’t fathom how anyone could possibly raise daughters around her husband’s beliefs.
With all that being said, I was a bit apprehensive and unsureabout why I wanted to read about anything related to the Bush administration. However, I’ll cut to the chase. I loved the book. It was the best read of the summer. And I would like to believe some of it is true because then I would understand and–yes–appreciate Laura Bush.
*** Click here to read the complete review, or see below for the Top Shelf Bottom Line***
The Top Shelf Bottom Line: American Wife: A Novel was the best fiction I’ve read in a long time. And I wonder if this is even close to what the real Laura Bush is like? I’d like to think so. But we’ll never know (in fact, I’m starting to see that as some of her charm). As for George W. Bush, if even 10 percent of this is based on reality, and this is truly what the leader of our country is like behind the scenes, we need to rethink how we elect leaders in the future.
Because the book touches on leadership, and because I’d like to make it relevant to this blog, I’m wondering whether it could serve as sort of an anti-leadership guide. Despite my new leniency toward Laura, she may still not be the right First Lady for a country as troubled as the U.S. To be an effective leader, you cannot surround yourself with only “yes men or women.” It leads to unhealthy narcissism, and often ideas getting too far along to pull back. American Wife gives us a glimpse into how much power a first spouse has, as they act almost as an informal member of the cabinet. (Note the contrast of Eleanor Roosevelt and FDR where she openly disagreed with him while he was in office. FDR handled it by assuming the public understood that she could have her own opinions that were not his. He also used her as a testing ground for some of his more liberal ideas.)
Could a stronger first spouse have reigned in the excess? Or even prevented an ill-fated presidency from happening in the first place? We won’t ever know, but I hope we’ll have an opportunity to find out.
*** Sign up for the Downtown Women’s Club e-newsletter ASAP at www.downtownwomensclub.com and find out in the Sept 3 issue how you can win a free copy of American Wife. We’re giving 10 copies away courtesy of Random House.
This entry was posted on Monday, September 1st, 2008 at 9:42 am and is filed under Fiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.2 Responses to “Fiction Pick: American Wife”
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September 2nd, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Boy, howdy, am I thrilled to get a mention here. Okay, maybe this isn’t quite how I imagined my fifteen minutes of fame, but I’ll take it. Thanks, Diane.
September 2nd, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Hi Jayne -
Love the comment and I hope you took my mention as a compliment. Who says we have to be stiffs here in business book land?