Book 6 - The Pilot's Wife

So, I'm pretty sure I started reading this book when I was fourteen or so.

image (via)

(I have no idea why this picture is so wee)

But honestly, I cannot remember if I really did.  That was a long time ago, and there have been a bunch of books since then, but for some reason I have this memory of picking this book up while baby-sitting and not getting interested in it at all.

Which is weird, because this book is very very gripping.  Anita Shreve knows how to sell her 'ish.  You know?  She can turn a phrase to keep you reading.  And I dig it.  I like a book that keeps me reading (dur - if you want a book that doesn't keep you reading read Catcher in the Rye, yawn).  

I read this for book club and I am curious to see what everyone else says about it, its the 2nd Anita Shreve book we've read in the past year (We read Testimony pretty recently) and I will say - they are two different books, but you can tell they are written by the same (albeit very talented) lady.  

Also, in the grand scheme of the three books I've read by her - nothing holds a candle to Fortune's Rock. I was super stoked that the house from Fortunes makes an appearance in this one.  It sounds like a gorgeous house - I would like to go to there (mmm, imaginary real estate porn).

Obviously, I don't want to give anything away - but this book made me second guess everything in my life.  Like Everything to the point where Boyfriend was like, "you need to remember that there is a difference between books and real life, although sometimes that difference is very, very small (and for the most part more attractive) - also this book did nothing for my complete and total irrational fear of flying.  So, that's great.

There is also some historical stuff that was touched on but not really discussed towards the end of the book and I think that maybe because of when it was written, there wasn't a ton of backstory (ie - when it was written, this particular thing was a whole bunch more prevalent) so I am left scrambling to the wikipedia and feeling like an uneducated loser.  So I'm just saying, maybe a little more context would not have hurt things.

Anyway.  Pilot's Wife is totally worth picking up at your local resale shop (I feel like I always see copies of it around) and reading.  It has some surprises in it that I wish were better explained, but left me feeling satisfied and made me feel better about reading it.  I feel like her books walk this very fine line between Chick Lit and just books about girls and boys and love - and this book for sure fell in the second category.  Despite the ending which almost tipped it back into the chick lit ocean.