Book Review: Anita Shreve's The Pilot's Wife

One Sunday, I commented to Mama that it must be very hard to be married because you'd have to live with the highs and lows of it and for people like me who prefer peace and stability in the home, all that erratic emotional rollercoaster can be very unnerving!  Anyway, as I had that question in mind, I was starting to read this book, Anita Shreve's The Pilot's Wife and it kinda started real slow, but interestingly, halfway through it, I did find the answer to my query!  I won't elaborate on it here since my interpretation might be different to yours.  As the book ends, the story takes some sharp twists and turns and I thought that the 'peaceful' relationship this couple had was actually just a mirage - and that the central character here was in the middle of a maelstrom she herself had no idea was already setting dire events in motion.

Book Review: ‘The Weight of Water’ by Anita Shreve

This book has two parallel time frames happening simultaneously, one is the present, the other, 100 years ago, with everything happening in the same place - a place which is desolate, cold, and forbidding but has easy access to the riches of the sea.


What made me read on? What happened 100 years ago is the more interesting part of the story. I guess, it’s just me. My curiosity as to how people lived before has always been high and a good part of the book describes an America, during the time when immigrants from Europe were arriving, searching for a better life in the New World.


Interesting tidbits in the book: The book will also transport you to Norway and will present to you the ‘before’ section of the book and why the main characters had to make that fateful voyage to a land which will be the setting of the greatest tragedy in their lives.


The Pacing: Since the writer had to write the way people then used to speak, a good portion of the book is written in very polite, very formal English. I always find the pacing of the first 30 pages of any of her books a bit slow, but just like a wave, it pushes you through a fascinating denouement.


The Best Part: The ending - and there are two - one in the present and one in the past!! The present ending is a tearjerker. The past ending is a bit shocking because I too was caught offguard by it. That’s why I was so happy and contented when I finished the book I love it when books throw me off the scent. But don’t be fooled - tragedies abound in this book – so this read will not exactly put a smile on your face.

Book Review: ‘Resistance’ by Anita Shreve

A plane crash. A small village in Belgium. Lots of brave people. Some traitors to thwart their plans.


The low points: I kinda tuned out in the first 30 pages. I guess the discussions about planes and what the pilot and his crew were feeling didn’t quite interest me.


What made me continue reading? Things start to get interesting after the plane crash. Will the boy really save the pilot? How about the others? What happened to them? Did Nazis even have a presence in small villages in Belgium at that time?


The best bits: Forbidden love. Nothing like it to make you continue reading. Up to you to find out to which characters it happens to and why it’s a queasy kind of love, the type that feels right but would still make you squirm at your seat.


What impressed me most? The bravery of the people, as described in the book, at a very dark period of their history. There’s a lot of death and treachery in the book – this is after all, set in World War II. There are some Jewish characters but the main focus of the book are the brave Belgian Resistance fighters of this tiny village. Bravo!!