The Candidate's Wife

by Patricia O'Brien

After her husband, Luke, accepts the Democratic nomination for president of the United States, Kate Goodspeed soon discovers the devastating impact of his long campaign on her marriage and family

352 pages, Hardcover

Published February 15, 1992

About the author

Patricia O'Brien is the author of the critically acclaimed novel The Glory Cloak and co-author of I Know Just What You Mean, a New York Times bestseller. She lives in Washington, D.C.
Writes also under the pseudonym Kate Alcott.

Reviews

[Bren fall in love with the sea. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patricia O'Brien wrote a great political story here.

I very much enjoyed this book about Kate, the wife of a politician. Luke is the husband in question and he is running for not just any office. He wants to be President.

This book takes you behind what goes into a successful political campaign and it isn't all that pretty as you may have guessed. Some of the things that happen honestly made my flesh crawl. But I kept reading because the story is actually really interesting and as a political junkie myself just about everything that happens seems plausible.

SPOILERS:

As much as I liked the book..and I liked it alot..I so wanted for Kate to tell Luke to get lost at the end. I know that is not what her character would do. But I really disliked Luke and I was not impressed with his turn around at the end.

Kate is the most interesting character in the book and it was like a (somewhat sleazy) but fascinating peek into DC politics. A well written and interesting book.

[Elsa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 stars

I picked this book up thinking it would be a romance with an abundance of drama, but it was mainly on the trials of marriage during a man's run for the presidency. This book had a lot of juicy elements that I was really excited about, but there were also a lot of stereotypes from a campaign that came into play as the presidential candidate had total JFK vibes. Overall, it was a pretty good read if you're looking for drama! Perfect timing to read it too with the election this past fall.

[Ellen Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book very interesting. The issues that came up during the campaign were the same ones or very similar to those I remembered from actual candidates over recent years. The difficulties for couples and families when involved in a campaign for a major political office were well portrayed, especially the lack of family time and privacy and the control exerted by the campaign manager over every thought and action of the candidate, his spouse, and family members during the long, exhausting, and grueling campaign.

[ANTC · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5-3 stars. Husband cheats. The wife forgives at the end and they stay together.

This book was written well and gave good marriage-in-trouble angst; I could feel the tension building throughout. Also, the cheating was believable and the reason given made sense (with caveats, see below).

However, there were key things missing to truly make this book anything more than three stars:

1) We never get the husband's POV with the OW. We don't see the cheating and we don't know his thought process throughout.

2) There was no grovel. There were apologies, but nothing near a grovel at all. The wife was too forgiving. The husband straight up lied to her face when she confronted him about the cheating rumors multiple times. He told her not to worry all the while he was still cheating on her...and even after he had just had sex with his wife. Yes, we're to assume he was having sex with both at the same time (but again, not a lot of details are given...).

3) Key questions about the cheating are never answered. The heroine didn't seem to care about asking. How many times? How long? When did it end? How did you end it? We sort of know the cheating had to be within like 6 months duration (presidential campaign)...

4) The OW has no real sendoff; she just kind of stops appearing on the page. The husband never confronts her and tells her to go away, that he wants his wife and that it was a huge mistake...nothing like that.

5) Although I understand sort of the reasons he gives for cheating (during the presidential campaign his ego got super high, basically)...given 1-4 and how quickly the heroine forgave him...I'm not absolutely convinced he won't cheat again.

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book about a campaign and some secrets that appear

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here's what happened in the 54 pages I read (out of less than 350 in the book total): The titular candidate's wife eats some eggs for breakfast. The candidate gives a speech - described in a paragraph or two - and then goes for a jog. I yawn mightily. The candidate's daughter wants to give a speech at a breakfast, but she can't because there isn't enough time. I get bored and my attention starts drifting. The candidate's wife takes a car ride. They get on a plane and land at an airport. I realize nothing interesting is going to happen and put the book down. I come Goodreads and rate it 2 stars (generously).

[LeAnne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Borrowed this book from a coworker for a quick vacation read. It was entertaining. Story of a presidential candidate's wife and the stress of backing her husband through a variety of personal and professional trials.

[Lesley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't finish it - horrible book.