Rodham is Curtis Sittenfeld's sixth book and actually the first I have read. I was drawn in to read this due to the sheer premise and how bold it sounded. I found it to be challenging and it took me a long while to read but my goodness what an absolute triumph.
Rodham is a reimagined story of Hillary Rodham's life. A book that explores what happens if she never married Bill Clinton from Arkansas. At the outset Hillary is at college and meets Bill Clinton. Hillary is making quite the name for herself, but Bill Clinton is ambitious too. Does Hillary put aside her dreams and marry Bill Clinton or does she begin to forge her own path?


My knowledge of the American political and legal system is very limited or to be more definitive, non-existent. This did not lessen the impact of this book for me, in fact I found it entirely informative. The concentration is on Hillary Rodham herself and her decisions and life course, an exploration of feminism, ambition and loneliness.
I was incredulous at the way the author has managed to fuse fact and fiction seamlessly and provide a thought provoking and imaginative read, hours and hours of research must have taken place. I really enjoyed the authors writing style, witty and intelligent but leaving just enough scope for the reader to think and feel. This book could have been dry but it by any means wasn't. I found it exhilarating to explore the path not taken.
Rodham is a book to be savoured and a story worth listening to. It is a rich tapestry of a political landscape that never was. I enjoyed the amount of time that I felt like I was alongside Hillary Rodham and had somehow slipped though to an alternative universe.
Bold and spectacular. I loved it.

Rodham is a fictionalised account of Hillary Clinton’s life, but with one important twist…

You see, for a start, Hillary isn’t called Clinton…because crucially, she never married Bill.

It is this decision which lies at the heart of this story and which may just be the key to the shaping of Hillary’s future career in politics.

The first part of the book follows Hillary’s childhood and adolescence as she grows up in the 50’s and 60’s. Intelligent, driven and ‘awfully opinionated for a girl’ Hillary is destined for great things. She impresses both at Harvard and then Yale, where she meets Bill.

The attraction is instant and enduring. It is meeting of both minds and physical attraction. For a woman who has continually found that her intelligence has been a barrier to any meaningful relationship, Hillary is somewhat overwhelmed by the fact that this tall, charming and vibrant man is declaring his commitment to her.

Bill, it is fair to say, is a man of extreme appetites! Certainly he soaks up knowledge and experience but his sexual conquests seem to be wide and far reaching. The novel does not shy away from divulging and detailing this aspect of their relationship, and it is here, after a while, that the alarm bells start to ring.

The early years of Hillary’s life and career, ‘ The Bill Years’, if you will, are broadly factual. Believe me this novel will have you reaching for Google on a regular basis to separate fact from fantasy! Things start to branch away from ‘real life’ when Hillary decides that Bill’s sexual appetite and continued infidelity is just too much for her to live with, despite their deep intellectual and emotional connection.

From this moment onwards her work is her focus and the trajectory of her political career is up for grabs. The following decades see her rise through the political spectrum, meeting a few familiar faces along the way. The book ends with her final chance to run for President. And her opposition will take you completely by surprise!

This is a page turning portrayal of a savvy, accomplishment woman battling and rising through a predominantly male oriented world. Hillary’s determination to further not only own career but the lot of American women in general is one of the novel’s mainstays.

The continued casual and debilitating sexism, in the home and the work place, is depressing but sadly not surprising. The campaign trail is portrayed as a tough and lonely route to travel, particularly for a women who is under constant scrutiny in a way her male counterparts never are. Appearance is king; policies are all too often second to hairstyle and clothing choices. When Hillary is forceful in her address, crowds begin to chant ‘Shut her up’, a throwback to the recent Trump/ Clinton campaign where cries of ‘Lock her up’ rang through the media.

Here is a fascinating if some what disturbing insight into American’s political system. A system where only those who either have money, or the backing of people with money, have a chance of running for President. Where your every move is watched, nothing is forgotten and the past can come back to haunt you at anytime. Your only hope is how good your ‘team’ is at adding the necessary spin to any given eventuality.

The characters that populate this novel are vivid and plentiful . Some are familiar, some are factual but their voices all burst forth from the page. Love or loath the man, Donald Trump is here, very definitely making his presence felt, although not in the way you might expect. Curtis Sittenfeld has his voice nailed. Be warned dear reader, Donnie will be booming from the book in all his questionable glory.

If you want a page turner this Summer, this is it. There is just the right about of humour, pathos and let’s face it, sex to make this pretty hard to put down. As we head towards the next American election, grabbing our popcorn as we go, Rodham gives us the opportunity for a wry smile and a potential ‘If only’ moment.

‘Awfully opinionated for a girl’ is what they call Hillary as she grows up in her Chicago suburb. Smart, diligent, and a bit plain, that’s the general consensus. Then Hillary goes to college, and her star rises. At Yale Law School, she continues to be a leader— and catches the eye of driven, handsome and charismatic Bill. But when he asks her to marry him, Hillary gives him a firm ‘No’.

The rest, as they say, isn’t history. How might things have turned out for them, for America, for the world itself, if Hillary Rodham had really turned down Bill Clinton?

Rodham is Curtis Sittenfeld’s sixth novel, echoing her 2008 novel American Wife in which she imagined the life of a first lady like Laura Bush. Full of lively conversation, deep politics, and a lot of sex, it’s a pacy novel that follows the life of a firey woman who could hold her own against anyone in political office.

Sittenfield is clearly a Clinton fan, and whilst you don’t have to be to read the novel, it certainly helps if you have some interest in their life. It begins with the famous speech at her 1969 Wellesley graduation ceremony where Hillary told off the conservative senator who spoke before her, which sets the tone for the energy of the main protagonist. Women in the pubic eye are often held to ludicrously high standards, and the author challenges this at the same time as creating warmth and empathy to a woman who is not at all cold and calculating.

Even though she doesn’t stay with him, and leaves at the first sign of infidelity, Hillary does truly love Bill – and it wasn’t just sexual. ‘I knew plenty of smart people, but I’d never before encountered a person whose intelligence sharpened mine the way his did,’ she says. There’s a certain thrill that comes with seeing her in emotional and domestic settings, so far removed from the reputation that has been built up over the last few years. But she’s also a political powerhouse, and Sittenfeld draws the conclusion that without Hillary Bill’s political career would never have happened.

Most women in the public eye are full of contradictions. Is there any value in imagining an alternate life for them and seeing where those layers take us? Maybe not, but Sittenfield is a good writer and tells a story with emotion and empathy.

How different the world could have been.

Rodham is a truly fascinating book. I must be honest and admit that I am not someone who knows a tremendous amount about the American political system beyond some very broad brushstrokes. My knowledge of Bill and Hillary Clinton is also fairly limited. I remember the great excitement around Bill Clinton’s visit to Belfast back in 1998 when I was at school and of course the Lewinsky scandal. More recently I am aware of the controversies of Hillary’s 2016 US election campaign but most definitely not the finer details. I don’t think it matters how much you do or don’t know about the Clintons before reading Rodham, you could never have heard of them, although that seems unlikely, and would still enjoy reading this book.

Rodham is split into three sections. The first outlines Hillary’s college years and her relationship with the young charming Bill. We see how they meet and make plans for the future, with Hillary changing her life to suit his ambitions. Nonetheless, they seem to be in love until it all falls apart and they split. In part two we meet Hillary as a law professor as thinks about running for senator and in the third we follow her into almost the current day and what might have been.

Although not the primary goal of this book, it is both interesting and frustrating to read about the additional challenges faced by Hillary simply for having the XX arrangement of chromosomes! She is told that she will not be loved for her mind and needs to flirt more rather than cultivate relationships based on interests if she is to be seen as a potential girlfriend. She receives scathing feedback from a student about the feminist element of one of her courses for daring to include aspects of women’s rights within the curriculum. Later when she considers running for senator, when another woman throws her hat in the ring first, doubt is cast as to whether Hillary also running would be in good taste yet men never seem to have these concerns. In some ways she can come across as quite clinical and perhaps cold and this may stem from her upbringing. Her father was stern and comes across as incredibly critical, demanding and in some ways almost unloving.

I’ve really enjoyed reading Rodham – although a blend of fact and fiction, it has given me a greater insight into the runnings of the American political system and how a lot of success can come from hard work but without having the right face and connections, some challenges can be insurmountable. I think Curtis has a wonderful style of writing and I am very keen to read American Wife having now read Rodham.

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/curtis-sittenfeld-interview-rodham-hillary-clinton-bill-marriage-book-a9528696.html

Who was, is Hilary Clinton, or should that be Hilary Rodham. There is the public face, the one we see on the news, on social media, but how did she get to where she is today, a figure head in American politics, a woman who got so close to being the first woman President.

Now we know all about her marriage to Bill Clinton, but what if she hadn’t married him, what would our opinion of her and indeed her life have been like? Sittenfeld took this as her starting point and worked her way backwards to a Hilary still at University, a student in the midst of the feminist movement as they pushed themselves further up the career ladder.

Sittenfeld, gave us the impression that Hilary was one of a kind, resolutely focused, awkward in her relationships with the opposite sex, acutely aware her looks would not bag her the handsome man so many craved. Yet it was something she felt she did want, her brusque nature a barrier, but more importantly her intelligence seemed to scare them, men unused to a woman who could debate and compete on a level playing field.

It was her happiness in her relationship with the young Bill Clinton that delighted you, at last a man who accepted her on her own terms, in fact relished her intelligence and found her hugely attractive. Would she follow him as he chased his dream of becoming Senator of Arkansas and ultimately President?

Sittenfeld made you feel the electricity that existed between them, as you wondered if Hilary could settle for life as the other half, if love did indeed outweigh everything else. But that was what so great about Sittenfeld’s Hilary, she was a woman who resisted the urge to settle just for love, she wanted more, unwilling to accept Bill’s sexual failings, unwilling to be second best.

It made me cheer silently and that was indeed when the novel took a truly interesting turn. Hilary on her own, her drive to succeed took over and Sittenfeld brilliantly showcased an American political world that was mired in intrigue, in deals with surprising and recognisable characters. It made my mind whirl as I contemplated the what if’s, the realisation that it was all one game, of who held the power of information, who held their nerve, was patient as they bided their time, waited for that one perfect moment.

I loved Sittenfeld’s version of Bill Clinton, charismatic, ultimately a sexual sleeze machine, selfish, superficial, a real sense of his own importance. He wasn’t someone I liked, his attitudes towards women repugnant, almost as if Sittenfeld had lifted the lid on the real Bill Clinton the one that many chose to ignore instead hoodwinked by his charm and affable nature.

Other well known characters made a guest appearance, their actions and relationship with Hilary a little surprising but a brilliant twist on reality!

There was so much to Rodham, so much to admire in Sittenfelds narrative, themes and characters. The ultimate question she left me with, was has the real Hilary Rodham read it and what did she think about herself as she appeared in Sittenfelds world.

Although I know next to nothing about politics, I was intrigued by the premise of Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld as soon as I heard about it. Everyone, whether they understand politics or not, has heard of Hillary and Bill Clinton, the infamous American power couple: Bill, controversial former President and Hillary, the one that never quite made it.

But what if Hillary Rodham had refused Bill Clinton for the third and final time when he asked her to marry him? Would the nightmare scenario of 2016 still have happened? Or would things have been very different? In Rodham, a fictionalised account of Hillary Rodham’s life, Curtis Sittenfeld attempts to find out.

Told in three parts, Rodham begins in the 1970’s at Yale University as Hillary is trying to decide who she is going to become. A feisty young woman, her star begins to rise and she soon catches the eye of the handsome and charismatic Bill Clinton. Here we see a reimagining of Hillary and Bill’s early years together and is the part of the book I enjoyed the most. They seem incredibly well matched, both ambitious, with Bill already having his eye on the top job even at such a young age. This part of Hillary’s story is fairly light and easy to read, the first flush of love between the young couple palpably intense and beautifully written. I have to admit it felt a little bit like voyeurism at first, but I soon got past that and began to enjoy the story for what it was rather than for who it was about.

We then move forward to 1991, with politics beginning to take a more central role in the story. Hillary and Bill’s earlier romance is now over after he had a dalliance with another woman, which sounds very much like the Bill Clinton we know in the real world. This part of the story is told with an emotional intensity that sees the former couple move forward with their lives, but never quite losing sight of each other as their paths continue to cross in their chosen careers. This middle section is probably the part I enjoyed the least, but still gave a fascinating glimpse into the world of politics and the very different roles both Hillary and Bill play in it.

The third part brings us closer to a fictional version of the present day, with the story becoming an intriguing character study of the woman Hillary would have become if she hadn’t married Bill. A strong, determined, not always likeable woman it must be said, who has finally become the person she was always meant to be. But how does that differ from the Hillary we’ve come to know in the real world? And would the outcome of the 2016 election have been very different or still the same?

To find out you’ll need to read the book for yourself, but suffice to say Rodham is a fascinating and entertaining read that gives us an insight into the cutthroat world of politics. The usual suspect are all there, including the current president of the United States, who (without getting too political) is exactly as you would expect him to be.

Curtis Sittenfeld has written a book that is as unique as it is compelling. This reimagining of Hillary’s life drew me in from the very first page and paints a picture of a complex woman who was always destined to lead an extraordinary life, whether she had stayed with Bill Clinton or not. A thought provoking read that I would highly recommend.

‘Rodham’ is the latest book by Curtis Sittenfeld.

Smart, diligent, and a bit plain, that’s the general consensus. Then Hillary goes to college, and her star rises. At Yale Law School, she continues to be a leader- and 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?

Rodham is a fascinating story of what ifs. What if Hillary Rodham hadn’t accepted Bill Clinton’s marriage proposal and went onto focus on her own political career and put her own needs first.

Rodham is written from the narrative of Hillary and follows her on her journey from university to presidency and truly makes for interesting reading as Hillary dares challenges the dynamics of politics and how it’s not only for men. She’s outspoken with morals as she’s determined to make a better society for those in less fortunate settings.

The scenes where she first meets Bill are quite intoxicating and the author has portrayed him as a quite a gentleman they oozes sex appeal and charm, but even though he claims undying love for Hillary, he’s unfaithful and this is sad to read as Hillary has invested so much into the relationship, even putting her own career on whole for the sake of his.

To be honest, I was delighted when she called it a day with Bill, as he didn’t deserve her and Hillary is such more than someone’s wife. The story is thoroughly researched and gives a candid insight into the running of politics, the money involved as well as how women are treated in this male dominated industry and how they are threatened by confident women.

I really enjoyed this book, it’s clever, dark with witty dialogue and really does make for reflective reading. With a striking cover, ‘Rodham’ is a fascinating story that really did leave me wondering, where would Hillary be if she hadn’t married Bill?

You can buy ‘Rodham’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.

What a brave endeavour! Writing a fictionalised account of a living character’s life throws up all kinds of questions. Read the full review here www.booketybook.com you wont regret buying this book.

This is a work of fiction which re-imagines what Hillary Clinton's life would have been like if she had not married Bill Clinton. Although you are always clear that this is speculative and fictionalised, I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy at someone's life being used in this way, especially when intimate thoughts and sexual encounters are included. However, if I put these reservations to one side, I can say that this is an enjoyable read which threads together political figures and even uses words from seminal moments.

This is a study of the costs of political ambition to the individual. It is made clear that the public persona has to take precedence on the private one and you feel that Hillary's ambition and belief in her ability supersedes everything to her. But she nevertheless feels like a rounded character who has regrets and affection for others. The background to electioneering and political manoeuvring is shown in detail. The other message which comes over loud and clear is the sexism which she fought against all her life. Women's rights are written in large letters throughout.

In short: Literary fiction merges with politics

This is a pretty amazing book. I’m not from the USA so I know very basic information about Bill and Hilary Clinton. This is the kind of book that people will have different responses to. Some people might not like the liberties taken will Bill Clinton, portraying him as a sleazy womaniser. Some people may love this. I can see this book being one people love or hate. I personally loved it, a work of sheer brilliance. It’s sort of alternative history, a what if novel with amazing depth. A lot of the book os focused around American politics such as running for office, campaigning for President etc. The political system in the US is vastly different from the UK so I was surprised to enjoy this aspect of Rodham and found it quite fascinating actually. This is a fresh, original and brilliant piece of writing,

What if Hillary didn’t marry Bill? Spoiler alert Trump would never become president, and I’m just saying makes the book worth it! OK let me preface this review by stating I am not a big Hillary Clinton fan. I am liberal and I would love to see a woman be president, she just rubs me the wrong way. Probably for many reasons brought up in this book. This book did really make me think about how we unconsciously judge women differently than men. A woman is a nag or being bossy while a man is being assertive or commanding. In reading this book it appears as though Hillary battled this her entire life. Even as a child her classmates and classmates parents saw her strong assertive personality as her acting like a “boy“. But this is not a love letter to Hillary, the book really shows all sides of her, both the good and the bad. I found the early relationship between Hillary and Bill quite fascinating. If this book is completely true Hillary knew what she was getting into when she married Bill, she made a conscious decision to Mary him warts womanizing and all. But this book is about what happens to Hillary if she does NOT marry Bill.

This might be the very first historical retelling of sorts involving historical people I’m familiar with. Meaning I’ve read books about the Kennedys but I was not alive when JFK was president. It all is kind of like a fairytale of sorts. With the Clintons I actually went and saw Clinton speak when he was running for president in 92, so this was a little surreal. And some of it just did not work. Like the thought of Bill and Hillary having any kind of sexual interactions *yuck* it’s kind of like thinking of your parents having sex. I also think I got a little confused by trying to separate what had actually happened and what hadn’t happened. I am really intrigued by the question of, what if? This book gave me a lot to think about. I also think I like Hillary a lot better after reading this. Or at least I have open my mind to where she was coming from. Now Bill on the other hand, he was not painted well in this book I don’t think. All in all this was a really fascinating well told story and I think people will enjoy it whether they are a Hillary fan or not.

This book in emojis 👩🏻‍💼 🗳 🎷 📱 🇺🇸

*** Big thank you to Transworld for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

The premise of the book is simple. What would have happened if Hillary hadn’t married Bill Clinton? How would her life and her career have been different?

What is striking about this version if history is that even though Hillary walks away from Clinton and his infidelity, the impact that this relationship has on her life is huge. She remains unmarried and childless and focuses all of her energy on her career and public service.

Hillary is passionate, hardworking and principled. She has a successful career as a law professor before deciding to run for senate and beginning a political career.

Throughout her fictional life, as in reality, Hillary is critised for being too smart, too argumentative and for being unlikeable. In Sittenfield’s world Rodham goes against Clinton rather than working together and Hillary forms a fascinating “friendship” with Trump.

Sittenfeld blends fact and fiction seamlessly. Real events are used and recreated. Real speeches are quoted. And the essence of the public personas of each of the real people is maintained.

This is a version of history Hillary fans will love. Hillary is warm, friendly and extremely likeable. She is witty and insecure and entirely human.

I absolutely loved American Wife by this author so I was really excited to read this book, especially as it once again offered an interesting insight into American politics. It’s an amazing, engaging read which I found hard to put down.

Firstly the author has obviously done her research and I found it fascinating to learn more about Hilary. We get taken through her early life and discover more about the women behind the politics in a very interesting way. The author has cleverly written the story so that it feels very real and it’s easy to believe at times that the alternative life she’s writing about could have happened.

Hilary is definitely an interesting woman who I struggled to like at times. She was quite annoying at times and seemed to want people to not like her. The author has managed to mix in some of Hilary’s known character flaws so I always felt like I was reading about a real person.

Overall I thought this was a well written, emotional story that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was perhaps a little detailed in places when it came to the political side of things but not enough to stop me enjoying the book. I liked the idea of the alternative life for her and found myself wishing that was the reality for her.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Transworld for my copy of this book via Netgalley.

I am not sure whether I am fully equipped to review this novel. As per geographical position, I live nowhere near America and hence not an ardent follower of the political condition there. But I did want Hillary to be elected as the President, so a fictionalised version of events where she gets to fulfil her dreams along with that of many is a small consolation.
Reading a fictionalised account of a living person is kind of eerie, especially when she is a household name. No one wants to think about the road not taken, that's a sure way to madness. Did her marriage to Bill Clinton change the course of Hillary Rodham's life? Perhaps. But I would like to believe that the glory of being the first female President of the United States is destined for someone else.
Now let's have a look at this as a work of fiction. This is my first time reading Curtis Sittenfeld and her writing is nothing short of incredible. We get to see a young and ambitious Hillary making her mark in the law school and the story keeps fidelity to her life story until she rejects the proposal of Clinton. There starts a long and sometimes tedious journey of a law professor who finally finds her way after many years.
What I loved most about this book is the inside information and the excitement and terror of campaigning. As expected, it is not enough to have the best intentions at heart, you need to advertise it to convince the media and the voters. It does present some hilarious and crazy situations which make this fictional account truly enjoyable. I was not expecting that 'Trump' card . . . Ha! the best moments of the story, without a doubt.

Wow, I really enjoyed this. It’s very well written, well researched and thought-provoking. It is of course fiction and a very good piece too. I aways find the ‘but what would have happened if’ scenario incredibly fascinating, Hillary Clinton is a success in her own right but imagine if she hadn’t married Clinton, hadn’t become First Lady – if she’d remained a Rodham. In a parallel universe perhaps it is so and perhaps it is just how Curtis has imagined it. Of course you could also say is that’s it about an ambitious young couple who fell madly in love but even love couldn’t keep them together in a world where secrets and infidelity can come back to haunt you at any time.

What I think this novel does is show the strength and intelligence behind the woman. A woman who would have become the first female President of the United States if it had been down to the popular vote in 2016. It doesn’t really matter if you love or hate the real Hillary Clinton, this book is about more than her. It highlights the sacrifices made for success and career development, sacrifices that are often not asked of men and also held against a woman for making them.

Curtis’ portrayal of Hillary is interesting, it doesn’t make her blameless – a champion of women who sets out to change the world. It shows her in all manners – vulnerable, formidable, courageous, weak and ambitious. I feel that this book does shine a light on her strengths. It also highlights just how difficult being a woman of political standing can be. From very young we see Hillary being shouted down by domineering males. But she stays standing, standing up for herself and for others – most of the time.

Parts of the book are based on real historical events and we see the early days of Hillary and Bill’s romance and then are diverted to the parallel world as instead of marrying Bill, Hillary leaves, heartboken, to pursue a life without him. A life that leads to her own personal success, sacrifices and ultimately a hostile fight for the White House. There is also an appearance by Donald Trump (Sittenfeld writes him brilliantly I thought).

Curtis’ Hillary is a fighter, she’s resilient and she makes mistakes along the way but generally she is honest. Politics is a dirty world and Sittenfeld certainly doesn’t sugar coat it here but it did make me think and I did revisit my own opinion of Hillary. Athough this is a work of fiction, there is a great deal of truth here. To be a woman in a position of power is tough. It always will be. Their will always be those (male and female) who are ready to ‘put you in your place’, to not give credence to your opinion. Hillary Clinton may have not have won her place a President but she sure did show that one day a woman might just get there.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, wife of former American President Bill Clinton, the first woman to run for President, the person who lost to one Donald Trump in 2016, but what would have happened if Hillary and Bill hadn’t married? If she hadn’t built a life with him in Arkansas and helped him in his path to become the 42nd President of the United States? If she didn’t watch as her husband faced impeachment for “high crimes and misdemeanors” in 1998? What sort of life would she have led? What would she have become? In Rodham, Curtis Sittenfeld asks these questions and more and examines an alternate reality.

This is a book which will polarise opinion. I’m sure some may feel that it isn’t appropriate to write in this way about people who are still living. Whilst I understand this, I decided to read this as a piece of fiction and to reserve judgement until I had finished it. It is my first Curtis Sittenfeld book, I had only heard great things about her writing but I didn’t really know what to expect. What I got was a book which was deftly and intelligently written about an incredible woman and completely moreish and left me wondering why I hadn’t read anything by her sooner.

Although I approached this as fiction, I kept forgetting it wasn’t an autobiography. It is written from Hillary’s point of view and her voice is a clear as a bell. We meet her as she is about to take to the stage to be the first ever student speaker to do a Commencement Speech at her graduation from Wellesley College in May 1969. This is a historical moment and the speech she gives garners national media attention and is a glimpse into her brilliance. It puts us straight into Hillary’s head and is a powerful opening to an extraordinary book.

Split into three sections, the first concentrates on her time at Yale and her relationship with Bill. She has always felt plain and is told on more than one occasion that she is “one the boys” and is taken by surprise that the charismatic Bill Clinton is interested in her. Their courtship is intense and they are more than equally matched in terms of intelligence and intellectual possibility but it his dream to become President, something which he treats as as his destiny rather than an ambition. He expects to one day live in the White House and that she will support him, not only emotionally but with her intellect and sharp mind.

I won’t go into what leads to Hillary and Bill not marrying, but suffice it to say that factual events are used to frame the fictional events portrayed in this book. The use of real life events make this feel utterly authentic which added to the perception that I was reading an autobiography and adding weight to the alternate reality.

At its heart though is the portrayal of a smart, astute and brilliant woman. A woman who recognises that she has to work ten times as hard as a male contemporary just to stay on a level playing field. A woman who is ambitious, intelligent and unafraid to speak her mind. A woman who is deemed as being unlikable because she is ambitious, intelligent and unafraid to speak her mind. She even asks herself at one point “And really, wasn’t this endless ruminating over my own likeability a thing only a woman would do?”

It is this disparity between the sexes which form the crux of the novel. Dare I say that this book isn’t really about Hillary at all? Spanning from the 1970s to the present day it is a book about the treatment of women both politically and socially, it explores feminism, racism, sex, sexual assault and the double standards between men and women. It shows both how far we have come but how much more work there is to do.

This is a great novel about an endlessly interesting woman. It led me down some Google rabbit holes (it turns out despite having an A Level in American History I know very little about the political system) and has made me want to read both more about Hillary and more from Curtis Sittenfeld.

Will appear at link below on 10th July

What an intriguing prospect Rodham is. While alternate history is a really fun genre to read, I was slightly hesitant with this book as I don’t think I’ve ever read an alternate history book where the subject is a real person who is still living. Would the fact that Hillary Rodham-Clinton is still with us colour my enjoyment of the book?

Apart from the tiniest tickle at the back of your mind when you remember who the book is about, there’s nothing here to spoil your enjoyment of what is a fantastic read.

We join Hillary Rodham at Yale and go into detail as she meets Bill Clinton and moves to Arkansas to be with him as he takes his first run at being elected to Congress. But where the real Hillary and Bill married and became the ultimate 90s power couple, this story sees Hillary leave Bill, literally driving away into the sunset.

Fast forward 15 years and Hillary is now a law professor at Northwestern, butting up against workplace misogyny and considering her own political ambitions. Fast forward again, and Hillary is eyeing a run for President – is Curtis Sittenfeld going to give us the President the world deserved in 2016?

It’s a really canny choice for Curtis Sittenfeld to use Hillary Rodham-Clinton as the focus of the novel, precisely because we know how real life turned out, but really this book could be about any woman of Hillary’s age who has persevered in the face of direct and indirect bias in life and work, purely because of her sex. There are some really interesting observations that could only have been made by a woman, mainly based around how women are perceived as they age and the innate suspicion of any woman who chooses to remain single, childless or both.

You could highlight whole chapters of the book which show how female political candidates have to think twice as hard as their male counterparts about running in the first place, and then how they have to work twice as hard to be elected. I can’t think about the perfectly observed sections about how the press will criticise every facet of a female candidate, while ignoring huge red flags in her male opponents without rage. It’s all true and we see it every day in the media.

The alternate version of Hillary’s life is interwoven with real-life political events, which inspire her and others and also provide some shocking statistics – for instance, in 1991, only 2 women sat in the US Senate, and neither of those women were invited to serve in the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, despite testimony from a woman he had allegedly sexually harassed. This real-life event inspired several women to run for Senate the following year, of which five were elected.

This tying in of real-life events has made me want to grab Hillary Rodham-Clinton’s What Happened, just to see which events in her personal life were true and also what she thought of the events that inspired her alter-ego.

Rodham may be a book about one woman, but there is so much in it that speaks to all women. There are experiences in it that any woman could have experienced – even as far as wanting to go for a swim but forgetting to shave your legs. From the mundane to the monumental, there are lessons for us all here and it’s brilliant to be able to read them through the lens of what might have been.

2016 may be a year that Hillary Rodham-Clinton would rather forget but, still, #ImWithHer…

What might have happened if life events for Hillary Rodham, nee Clinton were different? It’s a thought and one that Curtis Sittenfeld has had and wrote about her vision. One thing that went through my mind was what Hillary and Bill thought of it…

Set in the 1970’s at Yale Law School, Hillary Rodham is trying to decide how she should style herself, what hair-do to have etc and she has some feistyness about her, which I enjoyed.
It’s where she meets Bill Clinton. This is a book that tells a story about the Clintons in their younger years. It’s a re-imagining of Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The novel reads very well. It’s not at all as heavy going as you might expect. This is most definitely a plus point. Is it odd reading a re-imagining of someone’s life? To be truthful, a bit, but all the same, this is better than what I thought it was going to be. I had gotten somewhat intrigued by it when I was invited on the blog tour and intrigue soon turned into a kind of enjoyment.

There’s already ambition in Bill to become President from near the start. It’s a bit of a love story with that first look of young lust and youthfulness. It is all rather fun and reads with a certain ease in the air. The romance throughout this part is intense and well-written.

There’s an interesting thing that happens on a bus, which demonstrates different races living in different areas and not really living like a few whites and a few Mexicans etc in the same area as each other (not that I’m getting into politics, it’s just a part that really stood out for me).

There’s some light humour in the first part of the book. I like the tone how it shows a lighter side to life and also a deeper side, such as when Hillary is looking into cases, that are a definite contrast to the rich and wealthy at Yale to those who are scraping by and those with medical conditions and more…

Readers are later taken to 1991. Politics is tense, Bush is around and Bill Clinton wants to take Professor Rodham (Hillary) with him to campaign for presidency. Bill and Hillary’s earlier romance had broken off as Bill went off with another woman. There’s some emotion, I don’t mean sad emotion there, more matter-of-fact in a way. It’s written well, it isn’t harsh or anything like that, it’s saying how it is.

Time moves forward further and there is an interesting list of president and vice-presidents. There is also a taste of the atmosphere around rallies and also some of the bigger issues being questioned that were on-topic at the time, such as Aids. Although this is a re-imagining, there is some reality throughout it, about what was going on and what people were caring about most at the time. The author has also show some of Hillary’s connections with charities and, as with the majority of the book, it demonstrates this human connection. The author is certainly trying to paint Hillary Clinton as she became in as positive light as possible. As time moves onwards to the millenium years, there’s tension that mounts and can be felt in the writing. The writer also goes into Hillary dropping out of the rallies early (Barack Obama then succeeded and went all the way to being President). The relationship with Bill and how she now views Bill (remember this is a reimagining) is an interesting way of looking at things. The book goes right up to practically the present and Donald Trump and what he says about Hillary Rodham.

The conclusion is strong and is actually quite profound and opinionated in a good way. If you enjoy some romance, a reimagining of a life-story and a bit of interest in American politics, or even romance (there’s plenty of it), then this, I recommend for you. It is well-told and got strong writing.

“You are awfully opinionated for a girl”

Rodham is a work of fiction, a what-if Hillary Rodham had not married Bill Clinton tale. An alternate reality.

It details their meeting and romance, but Hillary moves on. She had a life before Bill and this novel makes you wonder how different life would have been for her without Bill’s influence (damaging as it may have been at times).

There are plenty of humorous moments, such as Hillary’s cooking and I’ll never be able to look at Bill again without seeing the largest watermelon. It also tells of the drudgery of politics, the sheer determination it takes to carry on when all seem against you.

A clever mix of facts, politics and fiction make this an engaging and entertaining read.

Thank you to the author, the publishers and NetGalley for an eARC of the book. This is my honest, unbiased review.