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| Grandma Hillary and Grandpa Bill*** |
Dear Bookclub,
Any trepidation about November 3rd's Presidential Election colliding with our November meeting was quickly dispelled by a gorgeous afternoon on my back porch, while delighting in Curtis Sittenfeld's fantasy, "Rodham". And now, weeks later, feeling giddy about the election's outcome, Sittenfeld's emphasis of Hillary's sensitivity and accomplishments towards social justice reminds me that good people can get back to doing their good.
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| Bill & Hillary's mantra |
The google factor was high. What was real; what was fiction??? Hillary's father was awful. Her mother did have a hard life. She was an extraordinary, intelligent woman. And she did meet Bill Clinton while attending Yale Law School. Certainly we knew the basics but the juicy and the crusty in "Rodham" entertained to a point of longing to believe the fiction could have been real and in our lifetime!
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| from "The Office of Hillary Rodham Clinton" website: |
https://www.hillaryclinton.com/
“Oh, aren’t you opinionated for a girl?" Sittenfeld and grad school friend, Susanna, often quipped to each other, echoing remark to her as a child from a grown man.
Curtis Sittendfeld
Sittenfeld explains her ability to find Hilary's voice and the importance of understanding and conveying the fact and the fiction. The balance of respect for Hillary and the fun factor of the fiction is evident in this interview:
***Sleuthing, I found that Chelsea and her husband, Marc Mezvinsky now have three children.
Lots of fun grandparenting for Bill and Hillary, with a granddaughter followed by two grandsons. Same sibling lineup that Hillary experienced as she had two younger brothers; Hugh Rodham and Tony Rodham. Sittenfeld highlighted their relationship via group text re: mutual interest in the Cubs.
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| https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/04/hillary-clinton-brothers-hugh-tony-rodham-116674 |
In 'real' life, Hugh was also a lawyer and a Democratic politician (https://en.wikipedia.or/wiki/Hugh_Rodham_(born_1950)
Tony, not so much https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Rodham
Our wonder about what Hillary would have thought of the book will have to stay just that until she lets us know. I could not find anything to suggest that she is sharing her opinion if indeed she read it.
Wanda's suggestions for an upcoming selection:
"Jack" Marilynne Robinson
"Normal People" Sally Rooney
"The Other Americans" Laila Lalami *chosen
Up next:
Jolly reading,
LK
