In that story, she wrote that 'Laura Bush's own life resembles a great novel.' Two and a half years later, Sittenfeld said from her home in St. Sittenfeld gave herself the idea for 'American Wife' when she wrote a story for Salon in 2004 about her secret, shameful admiration for First Lady Laura Bush. It is the story of Alice Lindgren, a Wisconsin bookworm who grows up to be an independent-minded librarian before falling in love with the ambling, dopey scion of a powerful political family, eventually finding herself the helpless wife of an unpopular and inept president. The awkward dynastic tableau seemed to spring directly from the pages of Sittenfeld's novel, which makes perfect circular sense, since 'American Wife' itself sprang from the Bush dynasty.

That's when George and Barbara Bush (whose unchanging heft and visage make her look like a carved stone monument to imperious matriarchy) took their seats at the Xcel center to watch daughter-in-law Laura introduce the ignominious, boo-proof video feed of her husband slurking through a brief speech from the Oval Office.

What this meant, in addition to politically plumped coverage, was that rabid fans of Sittenfeld's first two novels (the debut smash 'Prep' and its follow-up, 'The Man of My Dreams') who rushed out and bought 'American Wife' probably found themselves experiencing an unwelcome familiarity last Tuesday night. Curtis Sittenfeld's third novel, 'American Wife,' was published, smartly, smack in the middle of last week's Republican convention.

American wife curtis