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The Pilot's Wife
by
Anita Shreve
When Kathryn Lyon's husband, Jack, a pilot, is killed in a plane crash, she must deal with her grief while simultaneously discovering that her husband was not the loyal man she thought.
Paperback, 293 pages
Published
by Little Brown and Company
(first published 1998)
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This was an airport "argh, I need something to read on a 4 hour flight" impulse buy. Since everything at the airport shop seemed to be on Oprah's list, there was no avoiding it. I don't know what is more annoying about this book, the supposed idylic settinig of New England, or the preposterous misunderstanding of the IRA. The whole thing is implausible, unless the protaginist is a major idiot... Oh, maybe that is not that big of an assumption.
Shreve did a good job capturing the main character's grief and confusion, but the book just didn't hold my interest. It was kind of boring in the first two thirds, and then when the main character travelled to England and discovered the "twists," it just seemed kind of silly.
I was also annoyed by the main character falling in love with the union rep. I get that people bond under intense circumstances, but I hate that falling in love seems to be the go to literary reaction. There are other ways...more
I was also annoyed by the main character falling in love with the union rep. I get that people bond under intense circumstances, but I hate that falling in love seems to be the go to literary reaction. There are other ways...more
This could be a quick read but is sometimes painful & I would have to put it down until I could read and savor a passage or two at a better time. I often read during lunch break at work & some books simply aren't meant to be read in an office setting - this is one of them. Kathryn, the pilot's wife, is so well written - you not only feel what she feels, you eventually know what she will feel before it is written for you. No doubt this is because I could be the pilot's wife; I could live...more
An airliner explodes over the Atlantic, and at home the wife of the pilot is left to pick up her own life, as well as deal with the implications that her husband may have caused the disaster. This book didn't grab me on many levels, and by the end, I felt a bit hostile towards it. The big revelations that are unearthed seem a bit preposterous and convenient, and the fact that her husband has personal secrets from his wife... well, you could have seen that coming. I didn't feel emotionally involv...more
I don't understand what all the hype was about with this book. I think Shreve's writing is pretty good - no complaints there - but the pace of this book is all over the place. It's very slow to start, to the point where I wanted to just give up on it, and then the last 2-3 chapters rush to wrap eeverything up into a neat package. The plot was pretty good, a bit "Lifetime movie" for my tastes, but decent enough. If the pace had been a bit more consistent, I probably would have given this 3 stars....more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Another bomb from Shreve. Her husband had a secret life...blah blah blah. She can't confront her grief and betrayal over finding this out, because he is dead. Then the usual fairy-tale ending for books of this genre...while Kathryn is grief-stricken, unkempt and unshowered and at her blubbery worst, a gorgeous guy is right there to fall madly in love with her! Yes, this happens *all* the time!
So...it's probably quite obvious that I'm back at work. I was averaging a book a week and now, three weeks have passed with no new reviews. A few people have even contacted me (which I loved) about what I was reading now. Sorry folks, the whole having to get up early to teach the children how to read is interrupting my own leisurely reading time. I'm hoping once the haze of the beginning lifts, I'll be able to get back into a better reading routing. For now, once or twice a month is probably our...more
I wasn't too impressed with this book. Nothing really happened for the first 250 pages, and considering the book is only 300 pages, that's saying something. Though not very interesting, I thought Shreve did a good job capturing and exploring the wife's grief. However, I thought the book was way too predictable. (view spoiler)...more
Dec 01, 2008
Kelly
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
pilot's wives, wives in general, women
I really liked this book more than I thought I would. The reviews I had read (on Amazon, I think) all seemed disappointed and felt that Shreve ended the book prematurely. In this case, I think it was a perfectly fine place to end it. You can guess how the story would continue after all is said and done. You know there might end up being a friendship. You know there probably will be a relationship. Since you know what will probably happen, it's okay.
I actually found myself bored in the beginning...more
I actually found myself bored in the beginning...more
Jul 22, 2008
Julie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
oprah-s-book-club
This is my third Anita Shreve book and I am not sure if I am going to read any more of them. For the most part I enjoy her writing and her stories, but the endings are sometimes unbearable. Anyway, this book was another Oprah book. It was pretty short and I got through it very quickly. Plot summary: The wife of a pilot learns that her husband's plane has gone down and that he is dead. While dealing with all the initial shock as well as dealing with the grief of their 15 year old daughter, she le...more
This is the second Anita Shreve book I've read. I like how the author writes and describes the scenes and emotions. The flaskbacks of her early family life were partically good. Her tone impresses me, although Sea Glass seemed to flow a little better. I was hooked in the beginning and I felt Kathryn's pain. That half of the book I felt was written well but when Shreve attempts the different plot twists during the second half of the book, I lost interest. Which is sad, because those plot twists a...more
This was chick-lit in disguise. I feel dirty and tricked.
Although I probably am being harsh by giving it two stars, I don't really see too many good things about this book. The bits where Kathryn are at her house are far too dragged out. Shreve relies only on the 'feel' sensory to explain what her character is going through, rather than the 'show'. The important parts where things could have been really interesting--such as the funeral or the first Christmas without Jack--are glossed over and ba...more
Although I probably am being harsh by giving it two stars, I don't really see too many good things about this book. The bits where Kathryn are at her house are far too dragged out. Shreve relies only on the 'feel' sensory to explain what her character is going through, rather than the 'show'. The important parts where things could have been really interesting--such as the funeral or the first Christmas without Jack--are glossed over and ba...more
The Pilot's Wife in a nutshell: Jack Lyons, a commercial pilot, is flying a plane when it explodes. The book follows the grieving process of his widow, as she tries to figure out what happened in that plane. The overriding question in the book is "How well can we ever really know someone else?"
There wasn't anything really wrong with the book, it was just overly gray for my taste. I don't think the sun shines in the entire book. It was solidly written though, and it did keep me turning pages. I d...more
There wasn't anything really wrong with the book, it was just overly gray for my taste. I don't think the sun shines in the entire book. It was solidly written though, and it did keep me turning pages. I d...more
Jul 13, 2008
Kateri
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
No one!!!
Shelves:
new-fiction
I have no idea how I ended up owning this book, but I decided it would be a quick read on the plane. It was quick... but every second of the three hours was painful. The book suffered from multiple personalities. The first half was all grieving (fitting for a self help book), the second half attempted to bring in some more mystery and intrigue. Unfortunately the mystery involved was the "pilot" having an affair,,, which comes as no surprise to anyone who has worked in the airline industry. The l...more
Amazing book, there are many twists and turns that keep you interested and on your toes. I love the author's writing style. Again, this I read in two evenings; so you know it was good!
I thought this book was OK but thats about as good as it was. There was something lacking from this which stopped it being an excellent novel, which I think it had the potential to be. The climax of the novel was short lived and not therefore didnt develop the plot as much as it should done and it really was a long time coming. I also think the use of 'she' throughout made me quite detatched from the characters meaning I didnt really feel any emotion in relation to their plight which I really sh...more
I got a great book from my friend, Kathran for Christmas, and I just finished reading it... The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve.
Shreve is a great writer... I love her language and use of words. I'm such a lover of language and the ways in which it can be swirled and whirled and encircle your mind making you want to read the same sentence over and over. Shreve is excellent at this task.
She makes you think. And I like thinking.
Right from the second page of the book she sets the essence of the whole b...more
Shreve is a great writer... I love her language and use of words. I'm such a lover of language and the ways in which it can be swirled and whirled and encircle your mind making you want to read the same sentence over and over. Shreve is excellent at this task.
She makes you think. And I like thinking.
Right from the second page of the book she sets the essence of the whole b...more
Anita Shreve wrote The Pilot's Wife in 1998. It was given to me by a dear neighbor in early 2005. My neighbor told me I needed to read it and it would explain alot about relationships. Well, I settled down with a hot cup of tea and began to read th wonderful story of a young woman being awoken to something none of us want to experience ever- being informed her husband was killed while flying a commercial plane by Ireland. The reader experences all the shock, guilt, anger, faith, and realization...more
Dear Elise,
You asked your goodreads friends to be less lazy. Be warned this book review will contain no less than three (Quite possibly more!) grammatical errors,scoldin', unbridled opinionatin' and spoilers. This is a very bad book, (Bad BOOK! BAD,BAD BOOK!) with a fairly intriguing premise. It is about a pilot's wife. I know, Elise, you are shocked! His plane crashes and it is about the unraveling of how and why his plane crashed. It is not at all a thriller which makes the introduction of a p...more
You asked your goodreads friends to be less lazy. Be warned this book review will contain no less than three (Quite possibly more!) grammatical errors,scoldin', unbridled opinionatin' and spoilers. This is a very bad book, (Bad BOOK! BAD,BAD BOOK!) with a fairly intriguing premise. It is about a pilot's wife. I know, Elise, you are shocked! His plane crashes and it is about the unraveling of how and why his plane crashed. It is not at all a thriller which makes the introduction of a p...more
I'm sitting on the fence when it comes to how I felt about this book. On the one hand I was very much into the story and its unfolding. I started and finished it over a three day period, which is a quick turnaround for me. It was written to feel like a mystery and we were along for the investigation as pieces started to reveal themselves.
However, the revelation was so obvious so as to be almost insulting to the reader. It was so easy - and pathetic - to see what was coming. But this was not even...more
However, the revelation was so obvious so as to be almost insulting to the reader. It was so easy - and pathetic - to see what was coming. But this was not even...more
I'm one of those people who bring too many books with them on vacation.
This year, we rented a villa in Italy -- and in the fine print on the website, there was a proud boast of bookshelves overflowing with reading material. Intrigued by the possibilities of random bookshelf browsing, I travelled light on books . . . and lived to regret it. Except for some thrillers (not my thing), nearly ALL of the books were written in Italian. This Anita Shreve book was one of the few exceptions. All of which...more
This year, we rented a villa in Italy -- and in the fine print on the website, there was a proud boast of bookshelves overflowing with reading material. Intrigued by the possibilities of random bookshelf browsing, I travelled light on books . . . and lived to regret it. Except for some thrillers (not my thing), nearly ALL of the books were written in Italian. This Anita Shreve book was one of the few exceptions. All of which...more
Jun 17, 2012
Frances Kelly
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
owned,
selected-by-cce
I liked this book, and so did most of my book discussion group. We found it rather gut-wrenching and not entirely credible, although I guess these things do happen. It is an interesting enough study of what happens when the difficult work of mourning is complicated by being clouded with a very painful revelation. Yet, somehow, I never really got "lost" in it - I was always at least somewhat aware that I was reading a book. I can't give a book four or five stars unless I experience a pretty signi...more
The methodic and careful unfolding of Kathryn Lyons grief over the death of her husband, a pilot for Vision airlines who died in a fiery explosion over Ireland, was authentic. I felt her grief as the process for Katheryn was articulately told in third person. The course of the story was largely predictable, but no less griping in its telling. The author successfully made me care about Kathryn, her feelings, and what happened to her and her daughter. I think I might have changed the ending slight...more
I tried to love this book, really I did. Because, you know, it's Anita Shreve and isn't her work supposed to be brilliant? But...it was just kind of boring. The plot wasn't all that bad, I suppose (so...not all that good, either.) In general, I happen to like books that are slower-paced; more character-driven. Great character can really carry a book. So the fact that a story may not have a rip-roaring plot is rarely reason for me to pan it, as long as the characters keep me intrigued.
...which di...more
...which di...more
This is a story of love, family dedication, and betrayal. Kathryn experiences some of the stages of grief over the death of her husband, Jack: shock, denial, guilt, reflection. Her loneliness is lessened to some degee by the presence of the pilot's union rep, Robert. Although I liked the book, I feel that there are gaps and inconsistencies in the plot. For instance, Kathryn never seems to be as angry as I think she should have been by Jack's infidelity and the discovery of his other family. Why...more
I just loved this book. It took me through such a range of emotions. When I first started reading, there wasn't much info on Jack to where you could really feel like you knew him, but still I was so sad for Kathryn for losing her husband. As time went on and I got to know more about him through the flash backs, I was so sad for him that he had died. I kept thinking ahead to how the book would end, but it totally twisted in the way I didn't expect. I suddenly hated Jack. I hated a fictional chara...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I avoided this book for years because it had the "Oprah's Book Club" label on it. I typically don't like Oprah's Book Club books - or maybe I just don't want to be a lemming who mindlessly follows Oprah. Anyway. Like a lot of Oprah books this one is emotionally heavy. I felt like the flap copy gave away too much of the plot, which annoyed me. However, there were many things about this novel that I found refreshing - or refreshing compared to the muck I've been slogging through. First, the charac...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oprah's Book Club...: The Pilot's Wife | 7 | 40 | Apr 09, 2013 01:59am | |
| Ending | 6 | 188 | Dec 31, 2012 02:16pm | |
| Molly Vs. Samantha | 3 | 50 | Aug 11, 2008 07:39pm |
Anita Shreve grew up in Dedham, Massachusetts (just outside Boston), the eldest of three daughters. Early literary influences include having read Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton when she was a junior in high school (a short novel she still claims as one of her favorites) and everything Eugene O'Neill ever wrote while she was a senior (to which she attributes a somewhat dark streak in her own work). A...more
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“To leave, after all, was not the same as being left.”
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“Sometimes, she thought, courage was simply a matter of putting one foot in front of another and not stopping.”
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Oct 18, 2008 11:53am