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American Wife

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American Wife

By: Curtis Sittenfeld
Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
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Summary

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In the year 2000, in the closest election in American history, Alice Blackwell's husband becomes president of the United States. Their time in the White House proves to be heady, tumultuous, and controversial.

But it is Alice's own story - that of a kind, bookish, only child born in the 1940s Midwest who comes to inhabit a life of dizzying wealth and power - that is itself remarkable. Alice candidly describes her small-town upbringing, and the tragedy that shaped her identity; she recalls her early adulthood as a librarian, and her surprising courtship with the man who swept her off her feet; she tells of the crisis that almost ended their marriage; and she confides the privileges and difficulties of being first lady, a role that is uniquely cloistered and public, secretive and exposed.

In Alice Blackwell, Curtis Sittenfeld has created her most dynamic and complex heroine yet. American Wife is not a novel about politics. It is a gorgeously written novel that weaves race, class, fate and wealth into a brilliant tapestry. It is a novel in which the unexpected becomes inevitable, and the pleasures and pain of intimacy and love are laid bare.

©2020 Curtis Sittenfeld (P)2020 Penguin Audio Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Political Women's Fiction Marriage Inspiring Tear-jerking Thought-Provoking American History
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Loved delving into this woman’s life and the way big questions were tackled. Really well written and read!

An epic novel

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I was just so engrossed with the privilege of a woman’s personal insight to life as a woman - the ability to overcome tragedy, enduring devotion to human partnership without losing sight of who you are, the compromises and sacrifices and the almost silent self congratulation that can keep our sanity. Definitely one of the best I’ve read. I’ve completed Rodham and Eligible too and just love the ever present twist or quirk that Curtis Sittenfeld seems to use as the seed for the idea of each book. My only regret with American Wife is that I’m not reading it simultaneously with my own wife Jane because through this book I have a better understanding of all that she has done to support me, and me, her. ❤️

Books you never want to end

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Bit weird. How do you write such personal things based on a real persons life. But, if you can get your head around that, there are many beautiful insights and a clarity when understanding emotions. Very good writer.

Good writing

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Curtis Sittenfeld has fully realised the character of Alice Blackwell as a wholly sympathetic yet complex character. Unlike Rodham which I also loved, it is not political in the same way until the latter sections. Although partly inspired by the life of Laura Bush, it is about the ironies, pains and consolations of life more than anything else. It is rare to find a long novel that consistently appeals. It is a huge skill to be able to make even relatively uneventful periods of life wholly compelling. I’m struggling to think of a better written modern novel. Increasingly Alice moves between the various time zones to create a satisfying, cohesive narrative. It’s quite rare to come across a novel I so looked forward to continuing and didn’t want to end.

Wonderful novel

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A really good story and with so many apparently authentic references it was difficult to imagine how much was fiction and how much reality!!

Fiction or Nonfiction?!

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