the man of my dreams by curtis sittenfeld

I just wrote in the title of this post and then set my fingertips on the keyboard and sighed.

I finished this book this afternoon and then immediately called my friend Paul in the parking lot - I felt so empty after finishing this book, so...worn out. It took a surprising amount out of me to read it, and I am still mourning it a few hours after closing the back cover. I'm not sure what it was that affected me so much - I identified deeply with the main character on some levels, but on others felt like we couldn't be more different. I guess maybe I identified so closely with her that the things that happened to her felt like they were happening in my own life.

After finishing this book, I am intensely glad that I read Sittenfeld's 3 novels in the order that I did - Prep, American Wife, and then this book. I unknowingly read them in the opposite order I would rank them. Prep honestly makes me angry. I was expecting something very different when I opened the book with the grosgrain belt on the front - something about kids from prep schools that would speak of my life - but what I found was sad and dark and...unsavory. Nothing like the joy and irresponsibility I experienced at my own prep school. I suppose I should go back and read Prep again, this time not judging the book by its cover, more prepared to face and cope with what it is.

I read Sittenfeld's other books knowing what to expect - and I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe if I gave Prep another chance and this time, allowed it to be what it is rather than what I was hoping it would be, I would have the same reaction. Though I must say, it's doubtful.

In short, the man of my dreams accomplished what I was hoping for from Prep - it echoed my life. It is the story of a young woman named Hannah, from her childhood through her twenties. She is the product of a divorce between a passive mother and an aggressive father. She struggles through her life, trying to define herself independently from her relationships with men. It is real. What more can I say about it? There are so many fluffy chick lit novels out there right now, riding high on the fantasies young women (such as myself) maintain about themselves and their potential futures - but Sittenfeld's voice is honest, and Hannah's experiences ring true. Maybe this will explain why I copied half of the book over into the quotes section on my other blog.

I imagine that Sittenfeld wrote this book out of personal experience, hoping it would find other young women who had felt the same way at one point or another in their lives. It did.

Jemima J by Jane Green

Jemima J was recommended to me by two friends as a light, easy read. I felt, after the emotional connection that I had with American Wife, that I needed something a little lighter. Jemima J was perfect. I was actually quite pleasantly surprised - I haven't been the biggest fan of Jane Green in the past, but I figured that with the recommendations of two friends, I needed to give her another shot.

Jemima J is basically a story about first impressions and the snap judgements people generally make based off of them. I won't get into too many details, but it's entertaining, and I would recommend it for a vacation read - or a read to cure you of the emotional hangover you're having after finishing another book.

Parts of the narration are confusing - the narrator does not have a voice distinct enough from the main character for you to always know exactly who you're hearing from. Other parts of the book are a little...cookie cutter. I don't mean to downplay the book, because as I've said, it IS interesting and fun - but it's also predictable. It has all the parts necessary to make up a successful chick lit book, and at times it feels a little bit like "Insert part A into part B and you will have a good story."

Sometimes, though, there's something to be said for familiarity. You don't turn to Jane Green for thought-provoking literature. You turn to her for laughter and daydreams of prince charming...and she delivers.

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

I want to write about American Wife the same way I would write about a friend, or a favorite restaurant, or a movie I had just seen and loved. I have surprisingly positive and tender feelings towards this book, considering that I was not a huge fan of Prep, Sittenfeld's first novel.

American Wife is a story loosely based on the life of Laura Bush. I read the book for that reason - and I loved it. I'm not a huge fan of the Bushes - but I basically wanted to see just how much Sittenfeld could get away with criticizing the Bushes through their thinly veiled disguises. That wasn't the point of this book. Granted, I'm not entirely sure still what the point of the book WAS, but the story and the narration were outstanding. I'm tempted now to read a biography of Laura Bush to see just how much of the plot was true to life. I can't tell you how lost I was in the story of this book...it enveloped me and I felt like a true friend of the narrator who followed her as she told the story of her life.

It was tragic and hopeful in the way that I think only true stories can be. Finding that funny oxymoron in life is a beautiful thing - and capturing it on paper is even better. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a read that is not necessarily more challenging than others - but is more worthwhile.