What ifHillary Rodhamhadn’t marriedBill Clinton? This question is the premise behind Curtis Sittenfeld’s latest novel,Rodham, which will be published on June 30.
Sittenfeld, who similarly fictionalized the life of former First LadyLaura BushinAmerican Wife, says she “also wondered what it might have been like if she had made different choices, personally and professionally, than the ones we now know so well.”
“I love writing (and reading) fiction because it allows me to really imagine the granularity and texture of another person’s feelings, days, habits, opinions, and secrets,” the author continues. “We all know that our own lives are complicated and contradictory. Fiction helps us recognize the complications and contradictions in other people’s lives.”
Rodhamdoes still trace Hillary’s love story with her Yale Law School classmate Bill. While the two share a “profound intellectual, emotional, and physical connection,” she decides to turn down Bill’s multiple marriage proposals.
This choice splits her from history: In real life, of course, Hillarymarried the future 42nd president, joining him in the White House as first lady.
But Sittenfeld’s novel probes other questions, including: What would have happened to the former secretary of state and the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate if her legacy hadn’t been tied to her husband, who was impeached after hisaffair with a White House intern?
Random House
Hillary and Bill Clinton in January 2018.Kevin Mazur/Getty
Curtis Sittenfeld.© Josephine Sittenfeld
While Sittenfeld is known for her political fiction, she’s turned down one request dozens of times: She refuses to write a novel about First LadyMelania Trump.
From left: The first lady and president.MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty
“First, I cannot imagine at this point voluntarily writing about the Trump administration because it has claimed so much of my mental energy, so much of my life, that to allow it to take up my writing time too feels like I would be giving up something very precious,” SittenfeldtoldThe Guardianin April 2018. “I don’t want to think about Trump more than I already am.”
She continued then: “Another reason is that I don’t like purely being satirical or savaging people. I really like writing about characters in a balanced, complicated way and I don’t think I could do that withMelania Trump. I don’t admire her. I don’t see her as one-dimensional, but neither do I see her as someone whose consciousness I yearn to explore.”
Rodhamwill be published on June 30.
source: people.com
