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.