Caviar skin cream, pith helmets, tennis pavilions and ignorance of riots at the U.S. Capitol — the novelist who wrote a book called "The Dictator's Wife" says Melania Trump's memoir must be read to be believed.
Freya Berry said Wednesday her novel, inspired by the former first lady, was nowhere near as odd as the "stranger than fiction" narrative presented in Melania Trump's 184-page memoir.
"You literally couldn’t make up Melania the memoir," Berry wrote. "In her first reference to her duties as First Lady, she says 'I embarked on a grand odyssey, traveling the corners of the globe.' I mean, I guess you can view the role as a round-the-world cruise."
Berry describes "Melania" as a strange mash-up of Wikipedia pages, unsuccessful corporate marketing ploys, warped priorities and lots and lots of photos.
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The novelist is befuddled, for example, by a list of events Melania said occupied her time ahead of the 2020 global pandemic, which included her son's birthday, a trip to Oklahoma, the White House Easter Roll and one last item "as an afterthought": an official meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"To read Melania is to pass through the looking-glass," wrote Berry. "Trivial things are important. Important things barely register."
Interior design gets a lot of play — "there are six photos of the tennis pavilion" — less so than official initiatives: "Of her Be Best and campaign duties, there are four."
Berry finds a lack of the personal touch when it comes to excerpts relating to Melania Trump's late mother Amalija Knavs.
"Of her mother, “She adored the radiant sun, as its golden rays sun-kissed her skin,” etc etc," Berry quotes. "It feels like a sales pitch. Sometimes it is a sales pitch: her scuppered caviar-infused skin cream launch, which she 'hopes' will return to the market."
Another alarming choice: "Every break is marked by an M," Berry wrote. "Which is a bit jarring when you’ve just read about her mother’s passing."