If there was ever a logline that summed up a book so perfectly, this has to be it – What if Hillary hadn’t married Bill?
The sensational long-awaited new novel by Curtis Sittenfeld, the acclaimed bestselling author of the fictionalised version of Laura Bush, American Wife, asks the question:
WHAT IF HILLARY RODHAM HAD TURNED DOWN BILL CLINTON’S PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE?
And then her answer to that question is delivered in one of the most interesting, original novels I’ve read for a long time.
‘Awfully opinionated for a girl’ is what they call Hillary as she grows up in her Chicago suburb. Smart, diligent, and a bit plain, that’s the general consensus. Then Hillary goes to college, and her star rises. At Yale Law School, Hillary Rodham is a young woman full of promise: Life magazine has covered her Wellesley commencement speech and she’s on the forefront of student activism and the women’s rights movement.
And then she meets Bill Clinton. A handsome, charismatic southerner and fellow law student, Bill is already planning his political career. In each other, the two find a profound intellectual, emotional, and physical connection that neither has previously experienced.
In the real world, Hillary followed Bill back to Arkansas, and as we all know, she eventually accepted a proposal and became Hillary Clinton. But in Curtis Sittenfeld’s powerfully imagined tour-de-force of fiction, Hillary takes a different road. How might things have turned out for them, for America, for the world itself, if Hillary Rodham had really turned down Bill Clinton? If Hillary’s own political aspirations weren’t coloured by her marriage to Bill, or his sexual history?
In Rodham, Hillary feels doubt about the prospective marriage, due to Bill’s infidelities, so endures their devastating breakup and leaves Arkansas. Over the next four decades, she blazes her own trail—often crossing paths with Bill, posing questions around fate and connection.
Rodham is a brilliant reimagining – an unmissable literary landmark and truly a novel of our times. Weaving together truths and real events into this fictional tale, Curtis Sittenfeld delivers an uncannily astute and witty story. Plotting such a book so seamlessly is an incredible achievement. This is a great exploration of feminism, female ambition, women in politics and the emotional life of Hillary.
With her sharp but always compassionate eye, Sittenfeld explores the loneliness, moral ambivalence and iron determination that characterise the quest for high office, as well as the painful compromises demanded of female ambition in a world ruled by men.
I loved the fictionalised versions of Bill and Trump. There are extremely interesting twists, some top-notch sex scenes, laugh out loud moments, and the ending is great, but I can’t reveal more or I’ll give too much away.
It’s also hard to review this book without revealing where one’s political leanings lie – the very title of this book will put a lot of people off, while others, myself included, will embrace the idea of a world reimagined. What if…?
We’ll never know in the real world, but like all good novels, this takes us to that parallel universe temporarily. Rodham is an utterly absorbing stroke of genius, and a seriously great read.
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