August 28, 2020

Looking Back - The Pilot's Wife

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.



The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve
Fortune Rocks #3
Fiction
1998 Little, Brown and Company
Read in November 1999
Rating: 4.5/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

A pilot's wife is taught to be prepared for the late-night knock at the door. But when Kathryn Lyons receives word that a plane flown by her husband, Jack, has exploded near the coast of Ireland, she confronts the unfathomable - one startling revelation at a time. Soon drawn into a maelstrom of publicity fueled by rumors that Jack led a secret life, Kathryn sets out to learn who her husband really was, whatever that knowledge might cost. Her search propels this taut, impassioned novel as it movingly explores the question, How well can we really know another person?

My Original Thoughts (1999):

Wonderful! I read it in 24 hours. Couldn't put it down. If I weren't working, I would have read it in a couple of hours. Heartbreaking. Not too predictable. Wonderful character development. I felt Kathryn's pain, disappointment and anger. I like Shreve's writing style and will read more of her books.

My Current Thoughts:

The Pilot's Wife is the first book that I read of Anita Shreve's and I was instantly a fan, going on to read several more of her novels over the coming decades. At the time, I didn't realize that the book was part of a trilogy and it was several more years before I read Fortune's Rocks and Sea Glass. It's been nearly a decade since I last read anything by this popular author, but I see that I have a copy of Testimony in my TBR bookcase, so I'll add it to my fall reading list. I also plan to spend a month re-reading some of my favorites and I may include The Pilot's Wife in my stack.
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14 comments:

  1. (Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea1:00 PM

    I can recall reading this one on the beach when it first came out, I've since read all her books (I think). I do miss her RIP.

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    1. Les in Oregon8:27 AM

      Diane, I haven't read very many of her more recent novels, but I sure did enjoy the earlier books. It's such a shame she is no longer with us.

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  2. jenclair5:40 AM

    Goodness, I'd forgotten about The Pilot's Wife and Sea Glass! I never read Fortune's Rocks, but maybe I should try to complete the trilogy.

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    1. Les in Oregon8:27 AM

      Jenclair, I don't remember much about Sea Glass, but I loved Fortune's Rocks. It's high on my list for rereading!

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  3. Deb Nance at Readerbuzz4:11 AM

    I remember finding Anita Shreve, too. I immediately (this was my old reading pattern) went to the library and looked for all her backlist and read them and loved them, and then I waited months and months (maybe a year) for her next book to come out. I read what I will call women's fiction, with women as the main characters, and stories related directly to my day-to-day experiences. Who else did I read then? I remember Ann Hood and Carol Shields and Anne Tyler.

    I will be very interested in hearing what you think about Anita Shreve's books now.

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    1. Les in Oregon9:45 AM

      Deb, I used to read that way too. Devouring the backlist of a newly found author. I read a lot of women's fiction back in the 90s, too. I'm going to guess that the last book of Shreve's that I read was Body Surfing. I read it in 2011 and gave it a fairly high rating, but I don't remember a thing about it! Also that year, I started reading Sea Glass, but didn't care enough to finish. We'll see how Testimony goes. :)

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  4. Kay10:34 AM

    I read Fortune's Rocks a long time ago and think I read read a couple more of her books. I do recall really liking Fortune's Rocks. I'm enjoying some rereading lately and also making my way through some series that I've been interested in.

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    1. Les in Oregon9:47 AM

      Kay, Fortune's Rocks was really good. It's in my re-read stacks for later this year.

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  5. Bellezza 12:48 PM

    I loved The Pilot’s Wife, too, when I first read it. I was totally taken aback by the premise for it was the first time that situation ever occurred to me. Now, I find novels returning to well done themes such as this one was, and they are not so effective. I didn’t realize this was part of a trilogy! I did read Fortune’s Rocks, but don’t remember it (clearly), and in fact none of her work struck me as forcibly as The Pilot’s Wife. (Like none of Scott Turow’s works have been as good as Presumed Innocent, in my opinion...)

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    1. Les in Oregon9:49 AM

      Meredith, Fortune's Rocks was very good, but I gave up on the third (Sea Glass) in the trilogy, not caring for the characters or plot. Ah, Presumed Innocent was such a great book (and movie)! Funny how some of these books are so vivid in my mind, while others leave absolutely no hint of memory.

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  6. Heather @ Random Redheaded Ramblings1:22 PM

    I read this years ago too, I had no idea it was part of a trilogy. I’ll maybe have a reread if I can find my copy!

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    1. Les in Oregon9:50 AM

      Heather, the first two (The Pilot's Wife and Fortune's Rocks) in the trilogy are very good, but Sea Glass was a bust.

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  7. Iliana2:53 PM

    I did read this one with a book club back in the day. I didn't realize it was part of a trilogy. It's been so long since I've read this author. Should check out the others!

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    1. Les in Oregon9:52 AM

      Iliana, I think her earlier books were better, but we'll see what I think after I read Testimony (which was published in 2008). She's been a hit-or-miss author for me.

      Delete

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