When Miss Anybody becomes Mrs First Lady (American Wife - Curtis Sittenfeld)

Member Name: azana

Product:	American Wife - Curtis Sittenfeld
Date:	24/07/09 (46 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Really enjoyable read

Disadvantages: American political setting may not appeal to all

Once in a while I read a book that I know will stay with me for a little while; American Wife is one of those books. Curtis Sittenfield succeeded in having me gripped by the journey of the main character, Alice Blackwell from ordinary citizen to First Lady.

At the start of the book it is made clear that Alice is the President's wife - a fictional one clearly as she looks back at her life thus far at the age of 61 in 2007. I chose this book as I was intriuged by the cover and the title "American Wife" and on starting the book I was worried it would fail to please as I think it would be fair to say that I don't have any great interest in American politics. I think I thought from the title that this book would be about the ups and downs of married life of an average person, and to some degree it was, as we followed Alice from being a school girl to being a librarian and normal citizen to becoming the First Lady with all the responsibility that comes with that role. That journey was an enjoyable one for me as a reader. I found that Alice was a believable and likeable heroine and I wanted to know what would happen next as I read all 640 pages quite quickly - always a sign an author has me hooked.

Alice is not the perfect woman, neither is she supposed to be. She makes some mistakes along the way, including one tragic error in the first quarter of the book that is to have echoes and repurcussions in all that follows. The book is in four parts as defined by the four addresses she lives in, the last one being the White House. When she meets Charles Blackwell, a thirty something rather immature member of America's elite, it is not clear that he is made for great things. The portrayl of the Country Club set she becomes part of as his wife was for me, an English reader, fascinating but also repellant - I felt that I discovered that money does not mean perfection along with Alice.

The book worked on many levels for me, as a portayl of marriage and the complexities of motherhood, but also as a reminder about how much attitudes to women and race have changed over the last century. Alice was ahead of her time as she quietly resisted the inequalities of American society by unassuming philanthropy and assisting Jessica, the daughter of one of her extended family's "help" who would have been held back academically by dint of her colour.

Charlie, her husband, shows charisma but is also thoroughly dislikeable and rather short-sighted in parts of the book. He seemed the kind of guy who is handsome, fun at parties but not always easy to be married to - Alice is in love with him flaws and all.

In the notes at the end of the book the author does say that she read the life of Laura Bush to research the story, but that this character is not based on her and neither is the author trying to make any political point.
That said it is incredibly difficult in my mind not to see the author as taking a stance on the decision to go to War in Iraq - though this is a fictional work it is firmly set in post 9/11 world.

With my limited knowledge of American history, it is hard also not to draw parallels between the family in this book, headed by a daunting and domineering "Maj", to other families of note such as the Kennedy's.

I found the female friendships in the book and the mother-daughter relationship between Alice and Ella convincing and well drawn, and the fact that the author who was born in 1975 didn't have any first hand experience of some of the periods in the book did not matter.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found the ending somewhat satisfying. I think I will read this book again to enjoy some of the nuances that I missed the first time, for me this book struck the right note of not too arduous read whilst requiring some thought. It also succeeded in raising questions about how we get to be the people that we are, and how we stay true to ourselves. A good Summer read that may well have you riveted, as I was.



Paperback: 640 pages
Publisher: Black Swan (2 Jul 2009)
ISBN-10: 0552775541
ISBN-13: 978-0552775540
Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.6 x 4.6 cm


Currently available for £3.86 on Amazon or fromTesco Book Club (2 for £7)

Summary: A gripping story of a fictional USA President's wife