The Pilot's Wife

Oprah's Book Club Edition

Fiction - Audiobook
304 Pages
Reviewed on 01/19/2014
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Katelyn Hensel for Readers' Favorite

A poignant story that at times became too painful to read, The Pilot's Wife is more than a drama - it's a mystery, a love story, a hate story, and so much more. Kathryn knows what to expect when men come knocking on her door late at night. Her husband Jack's death hits her like a wall, but that is nothing compared to the second blow of a hinted-at second life. Still wounded by his death and struggling to find herself and the truth, Kathryn sets off to find out who her husband really was. In a very well written novel, Shreve helps you feel every nuance of Kathryn's emotional journey, and the imagery was stark and beautiful.

One of the biggest elements of the book was kind of a bleak cynicism about other people. It seems so easy for Jack to lead a separate life and to have possibly committed suicide and killed a ton of people. While the writing was detailed and beautiful in itself, the feeling and tone at the end is one of sadness. Anita Shreve really knows how to emote through her language.

Not sure if this is a criticism or praise, but you can definitely tell that this is an Anita Shreve book. She has a style, a flavor, and almost a formula that she sticks to and doesn't usually alter. Listening to the audio book was an unexpected surprise, as the narrator gave a very colorful and expressive detailing of the text. I enjoyed the cant and character changes very well and found that I fell into the story much more than usual with an Anita Shreve book.