Curtis Sittenfeld's American Wife Provides Fictionalized Portrait Of Laura Bush

Curtis Sittenfeld, the bestselling author of Prep and The Man of my Dreams, has penned a fictionalized account of Laura Bush's life to be released in time for the Republican National Convention.

The book, American Wife, will be published by Random House, and centers around a main character named Alice Blackwell, a librarian who unwittingly falls in love with a blue-blooded man (Charlie Blackwell) who would become President of the United States.

The book, as Radar reports, mixes fiction with facts of Laura Bush's life:

It is, in short, a fictional examination of the life of the First Lady that mingles real facts and incidents with the author's imaginative, fanciful, sometimes sexually charged musings. The result is a masterful highbrow-lowbrow mash-up that satisfies as ass-kicking literary fiction and juicy gossip simultaneously.

From discovering that her grandmother is a lesbian, killing her high school crush with her car at age 16 (this incident at least is based in fact--Laura Bush was involved in a fatal car accident at that age), having sex with his brother, getting an abortion, and descriptions of sex with the president, Alice's antics are sure to have tongues chattering from coast to coast.

In the below excerpt, courtesy of Radar, Alice has an abortion. For more excerpts, visit Radar here.

"Alice" gets an abortion

"'We'll go to Chicago, and we'll have it taken care of. Next week, likely. I need to make a few calls. You can do as you see fit, but I'd advise against saying anything to your parents. I just can't imagine what purpose it would serve.'

"I felt an impulse then to express incomprehension, except that I did comprehend. At night, when I listened to 'Lonesome Town,' I knew. She was right.

"'Isn't it--" I hesitated. "'Isn't it illegal?'

"'Certainly, and it happens all the time. You can't legislate human nature.'

"[...]My grandmother was not permitted in the operating room--when Dr. Wycomb appeared in the white coat. She squeezed my hand, and the warmth of her grip made me realize how cold I was. I wore a blue hospital gown, and when I lay on the operating table, the nurse had me set my feet in metal stirrups. 'The doctor wants to talk to you before we put you under,' the nurse said, and ten or twelve minutes had passed."

Read more excerpts here.

Comments

[dac253]

"We were in the back of my '68 microbus and L.aura began to disrobe as the L.S.D./ Ecstasy cocktail we mixed earlier began to kick in. She coyly whispered into my ear, "You know you can't tell anyone about this, or he'll send you to Gitmo." I said, "Of course, but at least I'd have tonight to remember." Her naked body leaned into me as she pulled a long hit from the water pipe and I thought I was going to explode with anticipation. She broke a chunk off the 8 ball and offered me a line, but I only had one thing on my mind. I started caressing her breast with my chicken grease-ladened fingers,..."

[eddiejoe]

I wonder if the author will get into the homosexual love that Georgie has for Victor Ashe....ambassador to Poland.

[CarolinaObserver]

this isn't what the democrats need to try and convince red states...even if they didn't have anything to do with it they will still be associated with it...if this story becomes big it will blow up in some candidates faces...

[TomInJax]

This is just creepy.

[cedricryan]

This is disgusting.

[Melissa]

It is more than disgusting. Laura Bush does not deserve this kind of treatment. It will no doubt become a best seller and a good percentage of people who buy this piece of junk will believe it. I don't like Bush and I never voted for him but I've always respected and liked Laura Bush.

[doctorwang]

I always been ambivalent about Laura Bush. However I do agree with you that she does not deserve the sort of innuendo contained in this book.

[wadenelson1]

Will it include any details of a particular auto accident?

[Kenji]

The article says so above, Why is aura Bush so sacrosanct, by the way? And isn't this fictionalized stuff, in any case?

[incontempt]

wasn't there a book titled "all is fair in love and war" ;-)

[Redrover666]

This sort of gratuitous smear job disgusts most human beings and does no favors for democrats. Laura Bush is widely perceived by the majority of Americans as entirely innocuous and a very nice lady. This may sell some books to the far-left, Bush haters but it will lose those people sitting on the fence who find this disgraceful and a party that revels in it contemptible.

[pkafin]

It's not a smear job. It's an acknowledged fiction. It figures that a Bush fan couldn't tell the difference.

When you lie about someone and try to pass it off as the truth, it's a smear job. When you write a piece of fiction, call it that, and utilize a person that is somewhat known to the general public, it may be ac parody, but it's not a an attempt to put false facts into the stream of public information.

When the Swift Boaters and other Bushies tried to create facts regarding John Kerry's military record. That was smear job. When Karl Rove and DIck Cheney tried to claim that Plame was the one who sent her husband to Niger, that was a smear job.

But, When Larry Flynt claimed that Jerry Falwell lost his virginity to his mother in an outhouse, the Supreme court ruled that it was a parody because it was clearly fictitious.

If you love your country and respect the constitution, you'll revise your thinking on this one REdrover666.

[Cathexis]

You are mistaken, Redrover. I am a "Bush hater" and I regard such a book as inappropriate.

I would suggest, however, that you save your contempt for those directly involved, as this was not a "party-sanctioned" undertaking, to my knowledge.

[Redrover666]

It's unfortunate that people like this author are closely associated with the democratic party in peoples minds, but they are. I know many democrats that would immediately condemn this book.

[doctorwang]

WTF does this book have to do with the Democrats or the far left?

From an earlier comment I made:

In some inane way the Repugnants will make this novel into a left wing smear of Laura Bush. Whether it be by connecting the publisher with liberal leaning authors, or stating that Curtis Sittenfeld is an Obama supporter, or whatever. Even though it makes no sense, they will somehow connect this book to Obama, and Fox will gleefully report it. The first time Obama gets questioned concerning this novel, he should clearly and concisely criticize it. posted 07/07/2008 at 17:03:39

The only smear is the one you are attempting. Why don't you wean yourself from Rove's teat and start drinking from the "big boy bottle" of reality.

[sandiegoconservative]

Come on doctor. Answer me this, if you do not believe this is left-leaning. If the exact same book were drafted about Hillary Clinton or Michelle Obama, would you really think it is not associated with Republicans and the far-right?

[Redrover666]

You figure this book was written by a Republican, do you?

The general public will connect this book to the same people who refer to half of Americans as "Repugnants". Oddly enough, this sort of "Repugnant" behavior is signature to the left, Obama's most ardent supporters.

You are known by the company you keep.

Any reasonable American coming to this site, a favorite of Obama's, will at first encounter a picture of our President with a bone through his nose. Then after a few minutes of reading comments like yours, back away from their computer feeling sickened.

You own the book. You own Rev Wright. You own Pfleger, You own Rezko. You own bittergate. Just remember to shout your motto loud and clear so everyone can hear it.... No drilling, more taxes!

[wilburr0g]

Oh no! Details of the President's sex life? Yuck. I'd almost rather read about Mini-me's sex life with his ex-girlfriend. Oh wait... there's a post on here about that too...
(runs away from the keyboard sceaming)

[trollsbwild]

Does it come with a dime bag?

[teddyr]

I hate fiction that is based on real characters. It is usually a hodge-podge of facts tweaked by the author and thus it is not worth reading. Fact or Fiction, take your pick. But do not mix it up.

[Vinca]

To teddyr: I'm with you on that, those books tell a lot of truth, but they want to be sure not to get into trouble, one never knows when truth ends and fiction begins

[wilburr0g]

And the smear campaign starts. Don't worry Laura, when you run for president in 8 years it'll be payback time!

[Xgal08]

I'm going to go throw up now! EWW!

[majorteddy]

It would definitely have to be fiction to portray Laura Bush as sexy. YUCK!!!

[curioustorquemada]

It would be a bigger stretch to imagine Michelle Obama as happy.

[DoomtoNeoCons]

Please. From all her appearances, Michelle seems very happy. Laura, on the others hand, with her face so tightly pulled back, seems almost inhuman. After seven long years of watching her husband help destroy this country, Laura is definetly not happy. As for sexy? well that's in the mind of the beholder.

[wilburr0g]

Or you as free from prejudice...

[Yvaughn]

What's a shame is that so many people are focusing on the lowest aspects of this roman a clef, instead of considering the whole thing. The write-up on Amazon.com makes it sound far more fair, and downright intriguing:

"As Charlie"s tumultuous and controversial second term in the White House wears on, Alice must face contradictions years in the making: How can she both love and fundamentally disagree with her husband? How complicit has she been in the trajectory of her own life? What should she do when her private beliefs run against her public persona?"

[orangepetal]

Sounds like it could be the story of many a woman. Some may be more saints, others more sinners, and those that are a good mix of both. Kind of like the VH Music show Truth is Stanger Than Fiction. The compillation of experiences that inevitably become part of our 'private lives'.

[danoj]

Write astory like this and attach it to a in a fictional way to Obama's wife and watch the media explode in anger.

[curioustorquemada]

Let's have a contest. Which future First Lady has had the most abortions. My money is on the one who views a baby as "punishment".