THE BOOK FAIR
READ AND FULFILL YOUR LIFE
Anita Shreve
THE
WEIGHT of WATER
Author: Anita Shreve
Published: 1997
Genre: Novel
Cover: Paperback
Pages: 246
Review:
“The Weight of Water,”, one of Shreve’s best novels, covers two events, one hundred years apart told concurrently, of tragedy, horror and death, on Smuttynose Ilse, Maine.
In the present day story, Jean, a magazine writer accepts an assignment to photograph the Isle of Shoals, in Maine, the scene of horrific murders committed a century before. Jean, her husband, who is a poet and professor, and their young daughter, travel by yacht to Maine, along with her brother-in-law and his girlfriend.
In the parallel story, young immigrants from Norway arrive on Smuttynose. The young woman, Maren married her husband John, not out of love, but out of fear of spinsterhood. Maren suffers from loneliness and the endless cold. As family members emigrate from Norway, Maren and John welcome them into their tiny home.
Jean feels the yacht confining and restrictive and resents the attention her husband receives from his brother’s girlfriend. Maren, stifled, resents her older sister and beautiful, sister-in-law who reside in her home.
The tightly woven, beautifully written novel of two stories involves parallels of love, jealousy, loneliness and anguish. Recommended.
Strange Fits
of Passion
Author: Anita Shreve
Published: 1991
Genre: Novel
Cover: Paperback
Pages: 342
Review:
“Strange Fits of Passion”, relates the story of Maureen English, a young wife battered by her husband, and her struggle to survive. The story is presented through alternate voices.
Harrold English is young, established, handsome, smart, successful, and violent. Maureen meets Harrold on her first day at the newspaper, the "Times", where she is newly employed. He is attracted to her and invites her out to dinner, already assuming she will go. Maureen is attracted to his glamour, his strength and his success.
The abuse begins before they marry; jealousy, control, a slap. But Maureen believes this will end once they are married. The abuse however, does not end with marriage nuptials, but worsens. Harrold controls her moods, her speech, her dress, whether or not she is hungry, needing only her anticipation of his anger.
Later, they have a child together, a baby girl. In public, they pretend the perfect family. In private, their life is far from ideal. After a particularly severe beating, Maureen waits for Harrold to pass out, then quickly packs a bag for herself and Caroline, and taking cash from Harrold’s wallet, she disappears into the night with Caroline.
A fast paced thriller of a story, intelligent, and well written with personable characters.
Stella Bain
Author: Anita Shreve
Published: 2013
Genre: Novel
Cover: Paperback
Pages: 261
Review:
The story of Stella Bain opens in 1916. A young woman serves as an ambulance driver and British nurse’s aide, on the coast of France during WW 1. After being hit by enemy fire, she suffers injuries and amnesia. Constructing bits and pieces of separated memories together, the injured woman alights on the name Stella Bain, knows she is American by her accent and clings to an unclear memory that she must travel to England to learn more of who she is.
In London, Stella meets Lily and Dr. August Bridge who offer her a place to stay. Dr Bridge suggests he help Stella with medical her issues as well as her problem of amnesia, which he finds intriguing. As Stella struggles to remember her past, the story moves back in time to 1915, then slowly progresses through the years as more of Stella’s past comes to light.
When Stella recovers important pieces of her memory, she travels across the seas to the United States to confront the woman of her past.
Intriguing story, well dined characters, fast moving plot, with descriptive, historical detail..
Resistance
Author: Anita Shreve
Published: 2013
Genre: Novel
Cover: Paperback
Pages: 261
The story of a love affair that develops between a downed American pilot, and a woman in the Belgian Resistance during the final months of WW II. After a military bombing mission goes awry, an American aircraft crew crashes near the village of Delahaut, Belguim. The Belgian Resistance movement quickly aids the wounded pilot and secrets him in the village.
Descriptive passages depict the brutality of German soldiers, the fear of betrayal by traitors, the lack of food, the deprivations civilians endure, and the longing for the war’s end in the small village, along with a sensitive, passionate love story.