Overall I would have to say that I found this book to be a disappointment. This book is supposedly based loosely on Laura Bush. I found parts of the book to be realistic, heartfelt and appealing but was surprised at the gaping holes the author left in the political aspect of the work.
Don't get me wrong, topics from abortion, to the environment, to the war are all discussed throughout the work. What's disappointing is the gaps in storytelling. In the beginning of the book, we meet a young and naive Alice Lingren. Alice is very human and appealing. She goes through the same awkwardness in middle and high school that so many of us do. She faces some of the same challenges and heartbreaks.
In the first 80 pages, the author takes the fictitious Alice on a wild ride from love, to loss, followed by gratuitous sex and illegal abortion. But, that was life in the 60's and I'm willing to accept those constraints for the character.
Alice meets and falls in love with the boyish Charlie Blackwell, son of former Governor Blackwell. After a whirlwind romance, Charlie and Alice marry. They are an odd pairing from the start, with the straight laced Alice finding it difficult to fit in with the rest of Charlie's family.
The author does a wonderful job of making these characters real throughout their courtship and early marriage. There are traits in both Alice and Charlie that are alternatively charming and appauling.
The disappointment comes in that in a supposedly political scandal novel, there really isn't a lot of politics. The author never discusses Charlie's time as a Governor, his political campaign for the presidency and in fact, only breifly touches on certain aspects of Charlie's Presidency. The beginning of the book was so promising that I was really hoping for more, even though my political persuasion may be different from that of the author. I am hoping to fair better with my next choices. Rachel and Always Looking UP....
No comments:
Post a Comment