American Wife

It took me three weeks, but I finally finished the novel American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld. I don't know why it took me so long to read this book because in the end I really liked it. I guess it just wasn't a page-turner, which is ok. What I found from reading this compared to some of the other books I've read recently is that not all books should be expected to be superficially entertaining.

The book is centered around a woman, Alice Blackwell, who just so happens to be the first lady of the United States. The story starts with her as a young girl and follows her throughout her life, chronicling the events that resulted in her appearance in the White House.

Instead of placing focus on the plot line, this book focuses on the characters. Unlike other character driven books I've read recently (like Freedom - which sucks), Sittenfeld draws you into the lives of the characters in her book and makes you interested in them. There had been several times while reading this book that I found myself wondering what Alice was going to do about certain events in the book ... even during times when I was doing things other than reading.

The books is long (555 pages), but worthy reading.

My rating: 4/5 stars.