Sittenfeld's novel, "American Wife" is the quasi-biographical tale of a recent First Lady, Laura Bush. The character, Alice Blackwell, has a number of things in common with Mrs. Bush: she worked as a school librarian before she was married, she had a similar upbringing, she is generally considered more liberal in her leanings than her husband and probably also more intelligent. As for the dramatic details-- the accident that Alice causes as a teen that leads to the death of a friend, the break-up of her friendship with her hometown friend Dena, the abortion that Alice has, and details about her marriage to Charlie Blackwell-- it is hard for me to say which of those mirror Mrs. Bush's experiences as I have not read a Bush biography. Sittenfeld does list a number of biographies on Laura Bush and works by and about Hillory Clinton as inspiration for her novel.
While I dutifully kept reading the book and enjoyed parts of it, I often found it hard to get inside Alice Blackwell's head, and especially hard to find much sympathy for Charlie Blackwell, the spoiled son of a Wisconson meat packing tycoon, baseball team owner, governor and Republican president. I just don't get what she saw in Charlie and why she stayed with him all those years when he was a liability to her and to his family and an alcoholic. I kept reading to find out and really never did figure it out.
I'm glad I read this novel-- but I still don't know why.
Liz Nichols
Showing posts with label American fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label American fiction. Show all posts
Monday, October 18, 2010
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
A Separate Country by Robert Hicks
It has taken me much longer than usual to read "A Separate Country" than the typical 424 page novel. It is tough to wade through 19th century journal writing, and that is what makes up the majority of this book. At times I found it dull, and at times things picked up considerably and got quite absorbing. I especially liked the sections narrated by Eli Griffin, the grifter who befriended the Hood family right at the end of their lives and tried to wind up the loose ends.
Most of the book is made up of fictional journals and memoirs of CSA General John Bell Hood and his wife, Anna Marie Hennen Hood, who were, of course, real historical figures. The story is set in New Orleans after the Civic War, where several former Confederate generals settled. Hood and his wife had 11 children in a space of about 12 years, and family life plays a big part in Anna Marie's journals, understandably. Hood tries and fails at business, and in the end reaches a point of salvation for his sins on the battlefield by nursing black New Orleaneans during the yellow fever epidemic of the late 1870s, an epidemic that also took Hood's life, and that of his wife and his oldest and youngest daughters.
The book is a reminder that New Orleans has always been a hotbed of grifters and corrupt government and politics. It was an especially dangerous place to live because of the people and the pestilence during the Reconstruction period. Hick's book is a graphic reminder of both the seamy and the somewhat more noble side of the great Creole city of the South.
Even though I found it slow-going, I did enjoy the book for the most part. I found some of the characters a little one-dimensional, but even these characters come up with a surprise or two. I want to go back to Hick's first novel, the highly acclaimed "The Widow of the South."
Liz Nichols
Most of the book is made up of fictional journals and memoirs of CSA General John Bell Hood and his wife, Anna Marie Hennen Hood, who were, of course, real historical figures. The story is set in New Orleans after the Civic War, where several former Confederate generals settled. Hood and his wife had 11 children in a space of about 12 years, and family life plays a big part in Anna Marie's journals, understandably. Hood tries and fails at business, and in the end reaches a point of salvation for his sins on the battlefield by nursing black New Orleaneans during the yellow fever epidemic of the late 1870s, an epidemic that also took Hood's life, and that of his wife and his oldest and youngest daughters.
The book is a reminder that New Orleans has always been a hotbed of grifters and corrupt government and politics. It was an especially dangerous place to live because of the people and the pestilence during the Reconstruction period. Hick's book is a graphic reminder of both the seamy and the somewhat more noble side of the great Creole city of the South.
Even though I found it slow-going, I did enjoy the book for the most part. I found some of the characters a little one-dimensional, but even these characters come up with a surprise or two. I want to go back to Hick's first novel, the highly acclaimed "The Widow of the South."
Liz Nichols
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
I've read some very fine novels in the past couple months, and Garth Stein's "The Art of Racing in the Rain" is no exception. Stein does a masterful job of using a dog as his narrator, a very wise dog, I must admit. This dog, Enzo, reflects on his life and his family on the last day of his life.
Enzo, educated by watching TV while his people are away, and by being taken on a variety of adventures with his race car driving master, believes firmly that he will become a man in his next reincarnation. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that dogs do not have an opposable thumb, they might be able to do a variety of human tasks already.
Enzo witnesses the struggles of his master's family while the wife goes through fatal brain cancer and the venemnous way the wife's parents go about taking their granddaughter away from Enzo's master. It is a heart-wrenching story that many people will be able to relate to on many different levels.
This is one of those books that will continue to define the best of American fiction writing for years to come.
Liz Nichols
Enzo, educated by watching TV while his people are away, and by being taken on a variety of adventures with his race car driving master, believes firmly that he will become a man in his next reincarnation. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that dogs do not have an opposable thumb, they might be able to do a variety of human tasks already.
Enzo witnesses the struggles of his master's family while the wife goes through fatal brain cancer and the venemnous way the wife's parents go about taking their granddaughter away from Enzo's master. It is a heart-wrenching story that many people will be able to relate to on many different levels.
This is one of those books that will continue to define the best of American fiction writing for years to come.
Liz Nichols
Sunday, December 21, 2008
"The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski
For a first novel, this one is a doozie.
Like all great novels this one can be read on many different levels. It can be read again and again and each time the reader can take away a new insight or follow a different character or motif through the book. "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" will become one of the cherished classics that will be read by generations to come; it is timeless.
This is much more than a story about a boy and his relationship with his family and his dogs. Certainly it is that, for one of the major themes is the coming of age story that leads Edgar to go off on his own and live off the land with a pack of his dogs. This is also the story of a post war couple trying to make it in a small family business. It is a Cane and Abel story of two brothers who have very different personalities, motives and very real jealousies that poison the lives of everyone around them. This is a dog story that delves very deeply into the behavior and training of dogs. It dissects the different personality types of both dogs and people and explores both human and human-canine relationships on both the conscious and subconscious level.
"The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" is a tragedy with several flawed characters (including the boy, Edgar). There is no insipid, contrived happy ending here.
There are a few thematic elements that require the reader to suspend belief. For example, the Alpha dog, Forte, if taken literally, must be at least 25 years old by the end of the book, and yet he still seems to be going strong. That's a bit of a stretch for any dog, let alone a ferrel one. Still, when looked at metaphorically, Forte is more like the Biblical patriarch of the Sawtelle dogs, and is therefore symbolic and ageless.
"The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" is a masterpiece of American literature and is as worthy of a permanent place on home and library bookshelves as the works of our finest authors. I know this first novel was a long time coming, and I hope that David Wroblewski, who lives in Colorado, has many more great stories in him.
Liz Nichols
Like all great novels this one can be read on many different levels. It can be read again and again and each time the reader can take away a new insight or follow a different character or motif through the book. "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" will become one of the cherished classics that will be read by generations to come; it is timeless.
This is much more than a story about a boy and his relationship with his family and his dogs. Certainly it is that, for one of the major themes is the coming of age story that leads Edgar to go off on his own and live off the land with a pack of his dogs. This is also the story of a post war couple trying to make it in a small family business. It is a Cane and Abel story of two brothers who have very different personalities, motives and very real jealousies that poison the lives of everyone around them. This is a dog story that delves very deeply into the behavior and training of dogs. It dissects the different personality types of both dogs and people and explores both human and human-canine relationships on both the conscious and subconscious level.
"The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" is a tragedy with several flawed characters (including the boy, Edgar). There is no insipid, contrived happy ending here.
There are a few thematic elements that require the reader to suspend belief. For example, the Alpha dog, Forte, if taken literally, must be at least 25 years old by the end of the book, and yet he still seems to be going strong. That's a bit of a stretch for any dog, let alone a ferrel one. Still, when looked at metaphorically, Forte is more like the Biblical patriarch of the Sawtelle dogs, and is therefore symbolic and ageless.
"The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" is a masterpiece of American literature and is as worthy of a permanent place on home and library bookshelves as the works of our finest authors. I know this first novel was a long time coming, and I hope that David Wroblewski, who lives in Colorado, has many more great stories in him.
Liz Nichols
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