Rodham

Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked Rodham up because I was so intrigued by Sittenfeld's "American Wife", which is loosely based on Laura Bush's life story. There is nothing about Rodham that is "loosely based". The details of this book are rooted in Hillary Clinton's life, but the premise of what if Hillary had not married Bill is a good one. On her own, what potential did she have? I confess that I thought about putting this book down for the first quarter of it. The audiobook reader is not great (though I wonder if she was chosen because she sounds a bit like Hillary), borderline annoying really, and I have no interest in how Bill and Hillary got together. Once the story, however, ventured into the alternative reality, I was much more intrigued.

I'm not sure I would recommend this book to many people. If I'm honest, it felt a bit like I was reading something for homework, but Sittenfeld has done her due diligence in research (hence the rounding up in my four star rating). I cannot separate fact from fiction on this one, and that's a job well done. Though I'm not a huge Hillary fan, I still wish she had been elected in 2016. The fact that she was not still haunts me as we've undergone the tumultuous years with he-who-shall-not-be-named as president the past few years. Enough politics for now. Call me if you read it. I'll be interested to hear what you think.

Happy reading and make sure you're registered to vote--