This is a book that Oprah once chose for her esteemed book club, which would normally make me resist it with every bone in my body. I am not one to want to follow the crowd when it comes to reading...
However, my book club selected this book, and I read it from cover to cover. It was depressing, yes, just as any Oprah book usually is, and just as Anita Shreve usually is, but the style and language were easy to read and really engaging. Through a combination of "here-and-now" chapters and brief flashback chapters, a woman discovers that her recently deceased husband (a pilot) was leading a double life. Worse yet, she never even SUSPECTED a problem. This raises all sorts of philosophical questions about trust and secrecy and sharing in a relationship. It also reminds us how important it is to really communicate.
Maybe I'm sentimental because I'm pregnant, but I would recommend this. It's a good summer read, since it goes so quick, but I wouldn't recommend reading it while on a plane. The pilot dies in an explosion over the Atlantic. Not really something you want to tuck into at 30,000 feet.
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I should note that cathy sent me an email saying that Shreve is very predictable. And I do agree with this, as did my book club.
I think Shreve main goal was not to surprise, but rather to "enlighten." I can't say it was enlightening either... I considered it pretty fluffy. Just quick and entertaining.
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