Curtis Sittenfeld

The SUNDAY TIMES Bestseller Asking: What If Hillary Hadn't Married Bill?

Rodham

A Novel

Leticia Leal

Thank you Netgalley and Random House for the ARC

Rodham is informative, engaging, and left me feeling wistful for what might have been. Sittenfeld deftly weaved history with fiction and gave an interesting perspective of the issues assertive and intelligent women vying for respect in the public eye face.

I’ve always enjoyed Sittenfeld’s writing and this book was no exception. Admittedly I was a little caught off guard by Bill and Hillary’s sex scenes early on in book. I just never thought I would read a vivid description of Bill and Hillary doing it. I didn’t find the sex scenes gratuitous, but instead necessary to capture the halcyon days of an early deep relationship. Overall I highly recommend this book. It isn’t perfect but ripe for discussion.

Caroline

I thought this was clever and an alternate take to history. I always enjoy Sittenfeld's books. It is clearly wish fulfilment (not to mention Rodham herself is problematic) but after the scars of the Trump presidency and the endurance the year of 2020 has needed, it was a balm to my soul.

Ali Angco

Promising premise, poor execution. See my full review on Storygraph.

Anum Memon

didn't like it at all! I'm sorry that was harsh but still, the book didn't sit right with me. I read this book in one sitting but I still didn't like it. Maybe it's because I forced myself to read it in one day I'm not sure. This book was just not my typical style. It was unbearable because there were parts where I wanted to scream at the author for some odd reason. Remember this is just my opinion I don't mean to mean in anyway imaginable.

Enjoyable, but perhaps reading in Nov 2022 was unfair - I felt the latter quarter of the book, while interesting, wasn't as memorable or interesting as the first three. It also made me somewhat sad. But Crutis Sittenfeld always manages to create uniquely relatable characters and I loved many of the insights we got into Clinton's life and the minds of women who fit the so-called ugly-opinionated-intellectual mold.

Kate LeBlanc

I really loved the beginning. It was really interesting to read about her relationship with Bill as a thing that was different than what it actually became. But I think it was maybe 100 pages too long. The ending was satisfying but took a while to get there.

Eva Bailey

4.5 stars. I loved this, I hate that I left it on my shelf unread for so long. The writing was brilliant and I was hooked from the first page. Who would have thought a Hillary Clinton fanfic would be one of my favourite reads of the year.

Mariane Ferrantino 

** spoiler alert **
           Round this up to 4.5 - not quite 5 stars, but this book WRECKED ME. I don’t think I can truly talk about it without revealing spoilers, so here we are. The absolute insanity of the imagined series of events that lead to the place that Hillary...Clinton, Rodham, whatever...deserves was an emotional roller coaster. That Bill ends up playing the Bernie role in 2016 (kind of), that Trump ENDORSES Hillary, the idea that this woman was fated for the life that she led, ooooooof. Really well-written, just felt like some things were rushed that didn’t quite get it to 5 stars for me. Definitely cried at the beautiful wording at the very end.

Ah screw it - editing this review to give it full five stars. This is the book I think about when I think of my best of 2020. I just gave a fluffy romance novel (and there is nothing wrong with romance novels - books are books got damn it) five stars because it made me smile so much. So maybe I need to rethink my stars. Either way. This books effed me up in the best way possible.

Fraser Simons

What I expected was maybe an alternate history starting when Hilary says ‘no’ to Bill for the last time. In this way, it would construct a sort of alternate reality version of her at a young age. But it actually jumps ahead numerous times in the charting of this alternate life. 

The problem is, as someone in Canada, it feels a lot like inside baseball that reads mostly like jargon for people who understand why these alternate events were relevant in the first place; both in terms of American Politics and Hilary, personally. I don’t. At all. So I feel like much of this flies right over my head. 

I did like the general character arc and the prose though. It still blows my mind Bill Clinton is characterized as a sex object. Like some golden state champion black hole for women. I looked up young pictures of the couple and Bill has never been a looker and doesn’t seem particularly charismatic. This only deepened my notion that as close as I am to Canada, I will truly never understand some nuances of their culture.

Amanda K

This was very readable for me though I can see why many disliked it. I could’ve done without the Bill and Hillary sex scenes and it felt a bit odd reading a first person narrative when the subject is still alive and well. Overall, this didn’t blow me away but I didn’t hate it either.

Tanja Rintala

I guess the book was an okay reading experience. The fact that the book mostly just is a fanfic of a real life person's life makes me a little uneasy? Especially all the sex scenes where a bit too much. I was also a little bit disappointed with the plot. I had kinda hoped the book would focus more on Hillary's political career and less so on her romantic relationship with Bill Clinton. I also felt like the book really wasn't so much "What if Hillary never married Bill" but rather more like "What if Hillary never married Bill but still obsessed over him for the rest of her life". I Felt like Sittenfeld interpretation of Bill beign the only real love of Hillary's life, and if she hadn't married him she wouldn't have found a new "love of her life" ever, was a little bit off putting and a weird take.

Cindy Lieberman

This “what if” novel relies heavily on fairly recent history. What might have happened if Hillary didn’t marry Bill? This is one possible scenario, with a happy ending for many (sorry, Chelsea).

Arden Kowalski

Rounded down from 4.5, it was just a bit graphic for my taste.

Nat Lim

A romp in the park, thoroughly indulgent, pandemic escape read.

FULL REVIEW: https://littlemissmaudlin.wordpress.c...

Jennifer

Reading about a politician is a weird experience to me, so I'll keep this review brief. I do appreciate Curtis Sittenfeld's effort into fleshing out the political atmosphere (spanning across several decades) and the moral amgibuity of the main character. I think the feminist narrative is the reason why I didn't find the story to drag.

On the other hand, I have a few qualms with the intimate scenes and the flashbacks. The former is at times a bit too much for my taste and the latter affects the flow of the novel. 

But these concerns aside, Sittenfeld did manage to make this alternative historical timeline feel believable enough and flesh out a morally grey character.

N.B. This novel contains following content warnings: sex / NSFW, racism, misogyny, and emotional blackmails

Maytal

What a perfect book to read at this time as Trump's presidency ends. Although this is fiction this book was a great reminder that Hillary is a living breathing person that makes mistakes and is making her way through life just like the rest of us.

Lacey

Rodham is split into three parts. We see how Hillary was raised and she meets and dates Bill Clinton. 

But what might have been if she didn’t  marry him? 

In this alternate history, Rodham is the exploration of a woman rising to, and achieving said power. Yet, it’s the struggle of how a woman is portrayed not only in the private sphere but also in the watch eye of intrusive public sphere. 

cw/tw for racism, sexism, adultery, suicide, affairs, sexual assault/rape.

Devin Mainville

I have been a fan of Curtis Sittenfeld since I read Prep in high school and have loved everything else I’ve read by her since. So, I was eagerly anticipating Rodham, her latest novel that asks the question, what if Hilary Clinton never married Bill.

Perhaps my expectations were too high, but it took me a while to really get into the story. The first third of the book is a love story between college-aged Bill and Hilary, but Bill (the character) just never registered to me as someone worthy of having Hilary (the character) fall in love with him. He’s red flag city even if you don’t know what happened in the reality of their relationship – which of course everyone does.

Once the plot diverged from real life, once she turns down his third marriage proposal instead of accepting it, I found myself enjoying the book a lot more. I loved what Sittenfeld says about Hilary in particular and ambitious, smart women in general with this novel. I’ve seen a lot of people likening the book to fan fanfiction, which is accurate, but its also an interesting study in how choices can shape who we become.

Ana Couto

I've seen some mixed opinions on this book, and while it's not without its faults, personally I really enjoyed reading it. As someone who's read two of Hillary Clinton's memoirs, I think Sittenfeld perfectly captured her logical, matter-of-fact voice in this book (as well as her relentless commitment to service--one of the reasons I greatly admire her). Is it wish fulfillment? Certainly, Do I mind that? Not one bit. I will say, however, that if you weren't a big fan of Bill Clinton going into this book, his characterization will leave you feeling even more unfavorable of him. If you enjoyed this book or simply felt intrigued by it, I highly recommend watching Hulu's 4-part documentary on Hillary Clinton. It serves as an interesting contrast to certain parts of RODHAM, and it definitely helped me to analyze it more critically. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed it for what it is: a work of fiction.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the free book in exchange for an honest review!

Rodham The SUNDAY TIMES Bestseller Asking: What If Hillary Hadn't Married Bill?

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