http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/opinion/09dowd.html?ref=opinion
Dreams of Laura
By MAUREEN DOWD Published: July 9, 2008
The cover of this fantasy version of Laura Bush’s life, “American Wife,”
is
alluring, a woman’s shapely figure in a white gown, with white opera
gloves
and a diamond ring.
The author is not Anonymous, or Eponymous or Pseudonymous, yet there is
the
air of a “Primary Colors” stunt about this political roman à clef, which
is
timed to come out during the Republican convention.
Still, it’s not a salacious tell-all, and words like “smear” and “gossip”
are misplaced. It’s a well-researched book that imagines what lies behind
that placid facade of the first lady, a women’s book-club novel by a young
woman named Curtis Sittenfeld who has written two best sellers, including
“Prep.”
(snip)
During her husband’s presidential runs, many re****ters ****ed away from
asking Laura Bush about the freakishly horrible accident she had when she
was 17. Hurrying to a party, she ran a stop sign in Midland, Tex., one
night on Farm Road 868 and ran into a car that turned out to be driven by
the golden boy of her high school, a cute star athlete she was believed to
have had a crush on. He died instantly of a broken neck.
As Ann Gerhart wrote in “The Perfect Wife”: “Killing another person was a
tragic, shattering error for a girl to make at 17. It was one of those
hinges in a life, a moment when destiny shuddered, then lurched in a new
direction. In its aftermath, Laura became more cautious and less
spontaneous, more inclined to be compassionate.”
Laura has rarely spoken publicly about it, except to say in 2000 that “it
was cru****ng ... for the family involved and for me as well.”
(snip)
-----------------------------
Unfortunately, it appears the book never asks why no charges were filed
against Laura the Rammer. When you're a rich white texan, the rules must
be
different.
|
