I wanted to like this but in the end it felt like I’d been tricked into reading someone’s modern American politics rpf fic ( )

In the classroom we often used to play a game of 'What if . . .' to show children ways in which they could generate something to write about. What if Barbie went into space? What if a tractor could talk? What if Superman got stuck on the clock tower? It was great and we used to take the ideas we liked and imagine what might happen. So, imagine my delight when I picked up Rodham and discovered that Sittenfeld had done just that. Imagined what might have happened if Hillary hadn't married Bill.

It's really quite good. Based on real life events that are written about in many other books, Sittenfeld marries the factual and imaginary well into one solid story that in places seems to go nowhere but eventually pops back up and hits you. I guess most people imagine that without Bill, Hillary would have run for president and that is what happens but the book has several twists and unexpected turns.

Trump makes an appearance, his words from his 2015 presidential announcement used, and adds a real-life dash of humour (well if it weren't true it might have been funny) to the story towards the end. Is Sittenfeld a real fan of Hillary? It reads as if she is. Hillary does nothing wrong, and instances where the media make out that she has, the book explains how the incident came about by referring back to events mentioned earlier in the book. I didn't catch on to the tights (pantyhose) incident but I did pick up on the student who hated what she stood for and wondered when he would come back into the story. Rest assured, he does.

Bill comes over as a charming, manipulative knob, so completely self-assured and addicted to sex even when in college. As they say, a leopard never changes its spots and he and Hillary keep an awareness of each other until finally Hillary understands what sort of person he is and truly leaves him. Like her or not, she undoubtedly worked hard, understood her briefs and prepped particularly well for all meetings giving her that slightly intense, not quite-normal behaviour so commented on by the media and all those who were a little threatened by it. The misogyny and sexism were daily and on a macro and micro scale and yet she still loved politics and wanted to be involved - as the book tells it. Because, let's remember. This book is fiction!

The book does manage to shock towards the end, moving far more into flights of fantasy than it does earlier on when it is tied to real events. Sittenfeld makes her wait for success and we wait a long time for the fun.

This is a portrait of what might have been. ( )

Delicious, gossipy imagining of how Hilary may have fared if she’d turned down marriage to Bill. This is funny, sympathetic and, to someone who lives across the pond, believable.

This takes some nerve to write an alternate life story about a very-much-alive and well-known couple. I’m surprised it’s even legal. Hilary has of course said she hasn’t read it, but wouldn’t it be fascinating to hear her take on it. ( )

This is an alternative history, suggesting what might have happed if Hillary Rodham had not married Bill Clinton following their early relationship as students. I found it fascinating.

The book follows her new history, working as an academic lawyer and then standing for Congress, before eventually running for President. Hillary emerges as a very strong character, although I guess we all knew that was the case anyway. The book is very far from being a hagiography – Hillary is far from perfect, and makes decisions that she later regrets.

I particularly enjoyed the portrayals of various figures, including Donald Trump who makes a rather peripheral appearance. I was particularly intrigued to see that Barack Obama plays a relatively small part in the novel.

It has clearly been very deeply researched, and was far more entertaining than my few words here might suggest. I was not keen to read it but was persuaded to do so by a friend, and in the event was very glad that I listened to her. ( )

At times funny, at times painful. What might have happened if Hillary hadn't married Bill? This book examines the cost of "success" for a highly ambitious woman. Thought provoking. It's uncomfortable to read a fictional account of an actual human, but this is an interesting thought experiment nonetheless. ( )