When someone first suggested I read Amanda Bright@Home I was a little unsure. I mean isn't this a book about "women's issues?" How would I be able to relate to a book about a stay at home mom wrestling with insecurity? I don't even have kids. (Do I feel guilty about leaving my dogs alone all day? Sure, but that is another topic . . .) So I gave it to a friend who I thought might have more insight into the topic. She read it and enjoyed it and so I thought what the heck I might as well dive in and see what it is all about. I found the topic interesting enough that I wanted to interview the author. Amazingly she was gracious enough to answer some questions. Now that you have read the interview you must be thinking: so what did Kevin think of the book? To try and temper that insatiable thirst for my opinion I know you all have, here is my review.
Amanda Bright@Home is basically two stories woven together, one “internal” the other “external.” The internal story explores the insecurities and emotions of a highly educated "feminist," Amanda Bright, who decides to leave the workplace, stay home, and raise her children. She must do this in the hothouse of Washington D.C.; where politics, power, and gossip make up the air she breathes. This story while influenced and impacted by outside events takes place inside Amanda’s head. It concerns her thoughts, emotions, doubts, and worries. The external story is the flip side. It is the story of how she inadvertently gets sucked up into, and chewed up by, the Washington power game with serious consequences for her husband’s career and even her marriage. This part of the story is driven by the events and people surrounding Amanda. The book alternates its focus between these two plot lines with each putting pressure on the other. The tension between the two holds the book together.
How you think or feel about these two aspects of the book will, I believe, flavor your reaction to it. One reason behind this is the blending of genres. Danielle Crittenden ambitiously set out to explore emotions and internal struggles (aspects that traditionally appeal to women) AND to tell an interesting and entertaining story (something men usually look for). As a result this is not a clear cut romance or tragedy written for Oprah's book club. On the other hand it is not really a political or legal thriller either. It is really a sort of sociological novel that attempts to capture the complicated and messy life that modern couples find themselves in today. It is an attempt to reflect and illuminate the unique tension many people feel between the idealistic, and often politically correct, vision of life they soak up from our culture and the demands of raising a family. This about what happens when one's beliefs, often unexamined, meet reality.
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