Rodham

Rodham imagines what would have happened if Hillary and Bill had never been… Hillary and Bill. Or rather, if they had dated but broke up and never got married. What both of their lives would have looked like… and how the world would be different. I REALLY wish I could sit down with Hillary Clinton (and a glass of wine) to get her thoughts on this book. Wow. Truly – if she read it (which is probably doubtful), I’d just die to know. It was so fun to read – I couldn’t tear myself away. But, shiiiit – it was also awkward as hell to read at times! It starts out (potentially?) true to Hillary’s story, feeling a bit like fan fiction: she graduates from Wellesley, heads to Yale, and meets and dates Bill Clinton. But what if they broke up? This is a wild retelling. The story is told in three parts: their early courtship (this isn’t a spoiler but there’s quite a bit of sexy stuff – in particular, a scene where a naked Bill plays the saxophone for Hillary. This is now imprinted on my brain and I cannot get the image out of my head, help!). From there, it follows her story (and bits of his) all the way through the seventies through present day. I really enjoyed the book. But was weirded out at times, mostly just because Sittenfeld nails Hillary’s crisp, dry way of writing (the book was clearly well researched!) which made it feel so real in a way that is truly quite eerie! I was a little emotional reading it, especially when it gets to modern day – I won’t say anymore about why as I don’t want to spoil it. It’s fun and clever but will definitely confuse you a little as at times it feels so real. Also: the Donald Trump cameos are pretty incredible.