Book Buzz

Recently, I found a galley on the shelves in the back of the store. Maureen Dowd wrote about this upcoming book in the New York Times, so I took it home to read. Called American Wife and written by Curtis Sittenfeld, the acclaimed author of Prep, this powerful novel tells the story of Alice Blackwell (nee Lindgren) a normal and average Wisconsin girl until tragedy strikes. Eventually, Alice meets and marries Charlie Blackwell who comes from a prominent politically connected WASP family. He turns out to be nothing more than a spoiled rich frat boy with a drug and drinking problem until he finds God and is born again. He runs for office and soon enough Alice Blackwell finds herself the First Lady of the Land, a destiny that goes well beyond her, and our, expectations. If this all sounds familiar, it should. I wonder if Laura Bush will read this book? It's getting a lot of attention and will be published in September.