Perhaps I am suffering from Bush Fatigue, but this fictionalized memoir of Laura Bush took an already uninteresting woman and made her rather flat. Sittenfeld is a skilled writer and this is a compelling read, despite its flaws. She begins conspiratorially, as though telling the reader a secret and drawing them into her narrative. The reader follows Alice Lindgren, small town Wisconsin girl, through high school where she causes a car accident in which she kills a fellow classmate. This incident in turn triggers some unfortunate events for which she must later reckon. Her grieving and subsequent actions are quickly glossed over in favor of details of her whirlwind romance with a charming, if misguided, Charlie Blackwell. He later ascends to the presidency where Alice must choose between loving her husband and standing up for what she believes in.

Despite being a memoir about Alice, we ultimately learn more about her husband and why he's not such a bad guy. By the time they have reached the White House Sittenfeld's narrative has lost steam and the final conflict is completely devoid of tension. It wraps up neatly, with a treacly speech about how hard it's been to love her husband and yet not support so much of what he's done. Like Prep, Sittenfeld's debut novel, there is a strong theme of alienation, not only by other people, but by the protagonist to herself. While the character of Alice Blackwell is initially relatable, that is eventually lost when she becomes so show more improbably even-keeled that she seems lobotomized.

I think Sittenfeld is a very good writer and she shows terrific promise. While this one missed the mark for me, I'm eager to see what she writes next. show less

This story begins slowly, but builds to a moving conclusion. Skip the movie.

It doesn't suck, despite featuring dragons.

This book isn't perfect, but it's sweet and lovely. Steve Martin is a surprisingly poignant and sensitive writer.