The bookcase on the landing has many books upon it that I would have bought and read back in the 80s and 90s. Susan Sallis, Erica James, Katie Fforde and Anita Shreve. All female writers I notice. At that time my reading habits were very different. I was teaching full time and had 4 young children so when my head eventually hit the pillow at night I was out of it straight away. I remember the pleasure of each summer gradually building up a satisfying pile of new books, ready to enjoy during the school holidays when at least there would be no marking to do.
I was curious to find out whether these books still worked for me. Did they deserve their place on my hard pressed bookshelves? There was obviously only one way to find out. I started with works by Anita Shreve.
She was an American writer who died just a few years ago and won many international prizes for her novels. She lived in New England and indeed based her stories in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts (obviously someone who believed that writers should write about what they know, just like Jane Austen!) I have read several stories now: The Last Time They Met, Bodysurfing, The Weight of Water, all worth reading but the one that sticks in my mind is: The Pilot’s Wife.
Picture this: a New England beach house. The wife waves her husband goodbye as he drives to the airport. He is due to pilot a large passenger plane to London Heathrow. This is his job; he has done it many times before. This time though is different. The plane crashes into the sea, near the west coast of Ireland and all lives are lost, all lives including the pilot. This is not a spoiler as it happens within the first couple of pages and the story itself is about what happens afterwards.
Anita Shreve is a very competent writer, handling the plot deftly and always making the reader want to know what comes next. Just over halfway through the book you feel there has been a resolution, we now know about Jack’s life (the pilot) but any experienced reader will be feeling a little uncomfortable. This is too soon. There are too many pages still to go. Indeed there is much more to come, shocks, surprises, for the reader and Jack’s wife. The Pilot’s Wife is a very good read.
Frequently when I finish a book I have enjoyed, I look and see if a film has been made of it. Often this is a mistake and I find, not surprisingly, that the book is infinitely better and I’m wasting my time with the film.
However, this time that was not so. There is a film of this book with the same title (not always the case) and I enjoyed watching it. I love the New England scenery and the characters did not jar with the pictures I had made of them in my mind.
So, I think the Anita Shreve books will keep their places on the bookshelf and I might even buy a couple more. I will see about the other authors in time.