Book Review | Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld

 

Hey my lovelies, hope you are all well and keeping safe and welcome back for another blog post! After having last week off (my only week since I started my blog in August!) I am now refreshed and ready to start creating fun and exciting content for you all in 2021. To kick off this fresh start, I'm coming to you with my first book review of the year, and we'll be talking all things Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld. As it's a book review, these are normally longer than my average posts, so make sure you are all snuggled up and have got your snack at the ready!

A quick overview to begin with, Rodham tells the story of Hillary Rodham (better known as Mrs Hillary Clinton) and what may have happened in her life if she hadn't married Bill! I think most people reading this post will be well aware of the scandals that have surrounded the Clintons in the past, including Bill's sex scandals, impeachment and their disastrous effect on Hillary's presidential run in 2016, which she lost to Republican candidate Donald Trump. 

Now I don't want to give away too much of the plot, as that is the beauty of it and what makes this book so special. The novel itself is split into three parts: 'The Catch', 'The Woman', and 'The Front-Runner'. 'The Catch' starts with Hillary at law school and the early years of her and Bill's relationship. I have to admit, I think this section was my favourite out of all three and I couldn't put the book down. It was fast-paced, engaging, and exciting. It really draws you in to their relationship as a young, intellectual couple and I found myself contemplating "was this really what it was like for them?". Set in the 70's, Sittenfeld revisits key, political events which played a huge role in defining the world of politics as we know it today, including the impeachment charges against President Richard Nixon and his inevitable resignation. 

Moving on to part 2, 'The Woman', Hillary is now in her 40's and after declining Bill's marriage proposal at the end of part 1, he is now married to another woman and running for President. This section was very heavily politicised, which I did not mind as the ins and outs of American politics is something I find interesting, however I can imagine it is not for everyone. Finally, in part 3 'The Front-Runner', it is 2015, Hillary is now in her 70's, and she is running in the presidential election for the 3rd time. By this point, Bill's reputation has, inevitably, taken a turn for the worst with many a sex scandal, and Hillary is still unmarried with very little of a sex life. What makes this section is the twist, and without giving it away (because I can not recommend this book enough!), it is what political dreams are made of ;). The third section did seem to have a slightly slower pace, and again was very heavily politicised, but by this point I was so invested in the story and Hillary's life that I just needed to know what happened. Would she become the first female president of the United States? There are a few well-known faces along the way, including the likes of Barack Obama and Donald Trump, which makes the story seem even more of a possibility if Hillary had rejected Bill's marriage proposal all those years ago.

Overall, I rated this book a grand ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️.5 stars, which as an ex-English Lit student, is an incredibly high rating in my books. Had it not been for the slower pace towards the end, this would have been a 5 star read for me. As an American history scholar and feminist, this novel was truly inspiring and really shows that no woman needs to be defined by the man she loves, and most of the time, could do a better job than him anyway ;). Especially reading alongside the current presidential election and results, and the first female, woman of colour, Kamala Harris, elected as US vice-president, I really felt Sittenfeld's story was a very special one and I am well and truly Hillary Rodham's biggest fan. 

I would love it if you could let me know in the comments below or over on my Instagram if you have read Rodham and what your thoughts are, or if this is on your 2021 #tbr? I really cannot recommend it enough! I'm looking forward to reading and sharing more books with you in 2021 and can't wait to hear your thoughts. See you next week for another blog post! Lots of love xoxo



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