5 Star Review: Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld

I've read lots of great books this year - I've already handed out lots of 4 star and even 4.5 star reviews - but I save my 5 star ratings for the top of the top, so I only just now read my second 5 star book of the year - Rodham, by Curtis Sittenfeld.  If you haven't already heard of it, the main character of this novel is Hilary Rodham - yes, that Hilary Rodham - but though she meets Bill Clinton and dates him in law school and beyond, she ultimately doesn't marry him.  So while part 1 is a fictional rendering of that young time of her life and their early relationship, parts 2 and 3 are something even more interesting - an imagined rendering of what would have happened to Hilary - and the world - if they had not gotten married.  Some things turn out the same, some turn out totally and utterly different, but in a way the most interesting are the little parallels of things people say or do that echo things that happened in our version of history but sometimes play out in different ways.

You definitely don't have to be a Hilary super-fan to read this one, though I think it would be hard to read it and not come out with more appreciation at least for this fictional rendering of her.   In Sittenfeld's hands, she is certainly not portrayed as unflawed, but she comes across as so deeply human and emotionally relatable.  It's part of what makes this book so interesting - not just the politics angle and the "what if" angle, but the interpersonal relationships and the self-reflection.  And the portrayal of sexism - both overt and unconscious - is searing.  

I know, that premise might sound a little goofy.  But I am a big fan of Curtis Sittenfeld, so I was not going to miss this one.  Sittenfeld is perhaps most famous for her debut novel, "Prep," about an awkward teenage girl at prep school; I happen to think that is her weakest book and that she has just gotten better and better since then, with this current book her tour de force.  My other favorite of her books, "Eligible," is a modern re-telling of Pride and Prejudice, and was one of my top 10 favorites of 2018.  Interestingly, Curtis Sittenfeld also wrote another book about someone who in our world was a president's wife - "American Wife" is about a fictional character named Alice Blackwell, who is loosely based on Laura Bush.

"Rodham" would definitely makes a great book club book, there is a lot to discuss and unpack.  Just a really compelling read, engaging both intellectually and emotionally.  Especially towards the end I laughed and I cried, and I dare you to read the ending without choking up a bit.  I had trouble focusing my eyes to read the acknowledgements because they were so filled with tears.  If you're an ultra right-wing man, this book is probably not for you, but for everyone else, this is a book I'm going to highly  recommend.