The American Way of Life?

The American Wife: Curtis Sittenfield (2009)

A fictionalized biography, this hefty tome is loosely based on the life of former First Lady, Laura Bush; well, 85% of it, so it’s been calculated. The difficulty is, which 85%? There’s little attempt to disguise the subject of the book: Alice (Laura), is the first person narrator; but how reliable is her version of events? And what did what Laura Bush actually think of this novel, particularly the explicit sex scenes and shocking revelation of personal details?

As Alice explores her life in a kind of inner monologue, the reader is taken from her humble, safe upbringing, as she embarks on a roller coaster ride, precipitated by a serious road traffic misdemeanor that results in the the death of a school-friend. Her innocence swiftly lost, we read of Alice’s burgeoning sexuality, her meeting with Charlie - raucous, vulgar and crass and a member of the white, privileged Blackwell family; her less-than-perfect marriage and then to the White House, with all that being a First Lady of America entailed.

It’s easy reading, the initial high school scenes like those in any American teen movie. Then the mood darkens; the tone becomes more thoughtful, after youthful innocence is shockingly shattered by the dreadful car accident (a true incident). As the novel – and Alice’s life – unfolds, a plethora of important themes are developed and explored: friendship and loyalty; the compromises in marriage; the grubbiness of politics; how the general public views ‘the famous’; issues of class and race; same sex love; privilege; abortion versus pro-life debate etc.

The characters of both Alice and Charlie are well drawn: Charlie often obnoxious in his childish vulgarity, but with a sense of humour. Alice is kind, shy, and bookish. But is she also a bit of a “sly boots?” Is Alice as genuinely perfect as she is made out to be? It’s hard to gauge how much sympathy the author has with both her creation and its inspiration.

There are plenty of ‘set-pieces’ driving the narrative, some of which are hard to stomach for those unfamiliar with the American way of life; the scenes at the Blackwells’ country club, Halycon, for example. It’s a book that’s certainly an eye-opener to how others live their lives.

Although most readers of the Giffordtown reading Group enjoyed the book, many were troubled by the ‘exploitation’ of the lives of people still living and who couldn’t easily answer back. However, it’s interesting that Laura Bush wrote her own biography, ‘Spoken from the Heart’ in 2010, a year after the publication of ‘The American Wife’. Reading that would be the way to discover how much of ‘The American Wife’ is true and how much is fiction.

July’s book for the Giffordtown Reading Group is by Sally Magnussen’s ‘The Seal Woman’s Gift.’ Expect a tale of peeries and other supernatural beings!

Monique Sanders.