Although I haven’t been involved in “back-to-school” season for over 25 years,
\nSeptember always feels like the beginning of a new year. Time to settle in and get some reading done!<\/p>\n
American Wife,<\/em> by Curtis Sittenfeld, is the author’s third novel. It is a departure from her first two, both of which chronicled the trials and tribulations of rather morose young women whose lives were difficult, mostly because they couldn’t get out of their own way. In contrast, Alice Lindgren is a quiet, midwestern girl raised to be self-supporting, socially-conscious and to vote the Democratic ticket. At the age of 31, she meets Charlie Blackwell, scion of a prominent Wisconsin political family who is joining in the family business. Alice has resigned herself to being a spinster; she has a good job as a school librarian and is even considering buying a house. When Charlie’s exuberant presence enters her life, she is introduced to a less cautious approach to life; after a six–week courtship, they are engaged, and she needs to learn how to be a political wife—of a Republican. Alice’s strength of character makes this an absorbing story, but what will make this a bestseller is that the novel appears to be based, at least superficially, on the life of Laura Bush. (It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that.) No matter your political persuasion, this novel is worth a read for its take on how to balance individuality and duty.<\/p>\n Another novel for the upcoming political season is American Savior: A Novel of Divine Politics<\/em> by Roland Merullo. Merullo has had success with a couple of novels that feature spirituality—Golfing with God and Breakfast with Buddha<\/em> being the most recent. American Savior overtly joins spirituality to politics with its over-the-top plot point: What would happen if Jesus returned and announced himself as a candidate for the presidency of the United States? Narrated by cynical TV reporter Russ Thomas, this is a thought-provoking look at our current political climate, in which claims of faith and religion on the part of politicians usually trump humanitarian action. When Russ reports on two “miracles”, he is skeptical of their validity until he is invited to lunch with someone named Jesus who claimed to perform the miracles. He also announces that he is going to run for President of the United States and he’d like Russ to help with his campaign. Russ’s skepticism recedes when his girlfriend has a dream that Jesus chose her to help him and by the end of their conversation, they are engaged and have agreed to quit their jobs and work for Jesus. Merullo’s writing flows and his style is engaging. Some of his character names are overly cute (Lenny Queen = Larry King, Hurry Linneament = Rush Limbaugh, Anne Canter = Anne Coulter), but the story keeps you riveted despite these distractions. Jesus’s rise in the polls, Russ’s internal war between cynicism and belief, and the American public’s reaction to the third-party candidate make this novel perfect for book groups that are spiritually—or politically—inclined. It may not answer the question, “What Would Jesus Do?” but it poses some interesting questions about our political process and what we talk about when we talk about faith. Politicians of all persuasions (are you listening, Obama and McCain?) would benefit from reading this book. Although I haven’t been involved in “back-to-school” season for over 25 years, September always feels like the beginning of a new year. Time to settle in and get some reading done!American Wife, by Curtis Sittenfeld, is the author’s third novel….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":138,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\r\n
\nSusan Taylor has been in the book business, in one aspect or another, since 1982. She currently works at the Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza. Stop by the store if you are looking for a good book—she’s read a lot more than she can talk about here!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"