REVIEW: Rodham (Curtis Sittenfeld)

Book: Rodham

Author: Curtis Sittenfeld

My rating: 1/5.

Premise: 'Awfully opinionated for a girl' is what they call Hillary as she grows up in her Chicago suburb. At Yale Law School, she catches the eye of driven, handsome and charismatic Bill. But when he asks her to marry him, Hillary gives him a firm No. How might things have turned out for them, for America, for the world itself, if Hillary Rodham had really turned down Bill Clinton?

This book wasn't for me. The story is split into 3 parts: Hillary and Bill's relationship in the 1970s, her first run for Senate in 1992, then her presidential campaign in 2016. The first section was a bit uncomfortable for me. Mainly because there were a number of rather graphic (and fanfic-like) sex scenes between Bill and Hillary. I couldn't help but wonder if either of them had read the book. The second and third sections dragged a bit for me. Also, Bill got progressively worse and again, I was wondering how he'd feel about the book. The theme of sexism was loud and clear, which I liked. It definitely raised the issue of how differently women are perceived and treated. It's an odd one: I'd have felt more comfortable if it wasn't based on real people, but the only real thing that made it interesting was that it's about Hillary Clinton! Not my cup of tea unfortunately.