All He Ever Wanted by Anita Shreve

All He Ever Wanted by Anita Shreve - 310 pages

After I found out this was the prequel/sequel to Stella Bain, which I read earlier this year, I wanted to read this.  However, despite the vivid imagery and descriptions, it was not a great book.  Written from the husband's perspective, it details his obsession with two things and the lengths he will go to to get and keep them.  Namely, to court, marry, and be a husband to Etna Bliss and to become the dean of his college.  The story provided within Stella Bain fits into middle of the book's last section and shows how Etna dealt with the outcome of this book.

In my opinion, skip this book and just read Stella Bain if you are interested in the story line.  That book summarizes this one without the bore of this one.

The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve

The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve - 293 pages

In this novel, Kathryn Lyons has found out that her husband, Jack, a airline pilot, has just dies in a explosion, taking his passengers and crew with him.  In the first part of the book, we see how Kathryn, her daughter, and her grandmother (who raised Kathryn) deal with the tragedy.  Helping them deal with reporters and arrangements is Robert Hart, a person sent from the pilots union.  In the second part, we see Kathryn dealing with revelation after revelation that her husband was not all her claimed to be.  In fact, these experiences made her wonder if she really ever knew the man she married.

At points this book was heartbreaking.  At others, one wanted to know the next revelation in the string of discoveries.  I can see why it was made into a TV movie in the early 2000s, but I'm not sure I could bear to watch it or reread this book.  Bear in mind, I say the latter due to the emotional side of things, not the masterful writing.

Stella Bain by Anita Shreve

Stella Bain by Anita Shreve - 272 pages

Stella Bain is the persona adopted by the lead character after she is mysteriously found injured near the front in World War I.  All that is known about her is that she was serving as a nurse.  After more time spent working in a French medical camp, Stella finds her way to London to seek someone at the Admiralty--the building sparking the only memory she has of her previous life.  Once in London, she becomes a guest of Dr. August Bridge and his wife and he helps her regain her memory, a process finished when she finds an old friend at the Admiralty.

With her memory regained, Etna Bliss Van Tassel returns to her native United States in an effort to regain custody of her children.  In this part of the book, Shreve wrote a flashback to help readers understand hardships that led Etna leave America for Europe.  The combination of these two events define the rest of the book as a custody trial occurs.

The novel was a quick and interesting read.  As Etna was diagnosed with shell shock, we can gain a bit of an understanding to that state of mind in the first part of the book.  In the latter, Etna's drive to regain her children shows the fierce dedication of a mother.