By Fred Petrovsky

ISBN: 1438215649

205 Pages

Has it really been more than ten years? The Clinton Diaries by Fred Petrovsky, with dates, brings back memories as fresh as yesterday’s for many of us. What more could be said? For those who lived through the months and years of daily news announcements, together with the sordid jokes by late-night shows, we had heard enough about Monica Lewinsky’s role in the life of our President.

Still, when I saw the title of this new novel—a work of fiction, parody and satire, I was curious. Are you? Let me first tell you that the entire book is not in diary format. There are periods of dialogue and action of the events, combined with much internal dialogue that was imagined by the author. Other than the short, initial dialogue between Lewinsky and Clinton, which to me was somewhat stilted with the overuse of “nice,” I found Petrovsky’s novel to be totally believable as “the real story.” The novel is fiction--some might even say alternative historical fiction—and includes actual happenings as well as narrative in support of events.

Having read a number of books on sexual addiction during my years of reviewing books, I think Petrovsky has written an excellent representation of the agony that is felt by those who attempt to deal with internal struggles that many individuals face (no matter what addiction is involved). At the same time, the role and the rationale for Lewinsky is not so well defined. Readers discover that she had earlier been involved in a similar relationship and that she appears to have been the aggressive participant with Clinton. Was her thirst for Clinton just the thirst for those who frantically seek to be tied to power? You decide.

The interpersonal actions within the Clinton family are realistically presented, including a variety of assumptions on the intimate life between Bill and Hillary and references to marriage counseling. The book should definitely be considered adult content—even if these issues at one time were headlines!

Movement into the final time period when Congress was considering impeachment contains the most dramatic disclosures as, for instance, Clinton’s counseling sessions with Reverend Tony Campolo are presented.

This novel is available exclusively through Amazon. Petrovsky, who has a MFA in Creative Writing, has done an exceptional merge of his research efforts with his creative talents. It is written in first-person, as written by President William Clinton. This novel, although fictionalized, presents a significant historical event. I believe it presents the material in an unbiased, informative manner and is recommended as significant in exploring this traumatic event in America’s history. 

            “It began on a bitter November day in 1995.” (p. 6.)

G. A. Bixler

Independent Professional Book Reviewer