The Pilot's Wife : A Novel

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Summary: After her pilot husband's death, wife learns of his adultery
Review: Two years ago a friend gave me a copy of Resistance; I thought it was beautifully written and eagerly read Eden Close (obviously a first novel) and Weight of Water which I also enjoyed. After a few pages of Pilot's Wife, I couldn't believe it was the same author. As one reviewer commented, it seemed like a creative writing 101 reject. Given the fast one pulled on Katheryn, I wondered if Shreve was pulling a fast one, and publishing someone else's work under her name. I did find the book a page turner, but it is possible to read it and get the whole story, just skimming through it. Her writing was very weak and I hated her unending need to explain everything: "She had on clean clothes-jeans and a navy sweater, ragg socks, a pair of leather boots. Her hair was all wet.." blah blah blah; who cares?I found her "metaphors" trite, amateurish, predictable. How could this writing come from the same author as Resistance?Although the plot was predictable, it kept me interested enough to finish the book. Despite working full time, I was able to get through this book in three evenings. There's not much here folks, just a very successful book, that doesn't deserve all the attention. Read Resistance and Wt. of H20.

Rating:
Summary: A predictable disappointment
Review: I have enjoyed many of Oprah's selections, but can't figure out why she picked this one. The plot is interesting, and the theme -- how we never know how well we REALLY know someone -- is compelling. However, the characters are stock and shallow, and the story winds down to a predictable conclusion. Save your money and look elsewhere for a good read!

Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly engaging. I couldn't put it down.
Review: Even though I knew how it would end, I still couldn't put it down. I love the way the story unfolds, how she believes her husband to faithful and devoted and then finds out he has a whole other family in London, the supposed suicide, the hint of a romance yet to come. Entirely fiction but also entirely possible. It's a good light read.

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Summary: seemed written primarly to be made into a movie
Review: I was very disappointed in this one...especially since I usually agree with Oprahs suggestions. It read like a screenplay and I kept imagining the actors in the movie (I KNOW it will be a movie, just has to be)-Michelle Pfeiffer as the wife and Kevin Costner as the inspector. Just a big bummer, and no big surprise ending either...You know what's coming, you only wish it didn't take so long to get there.

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Summary: Probably a good "stuck in the airport" read
Review: Sorry if I'm a bit dense but I found the last page confusing. If the pilot is dead and wife #2 is in jail, then to whom is Kathryn speaking when she calls to ask about the children? Please email with any answers or thoughts. Poorly written and predictable.

Rating:
Summary: good story, bad ending
Review: From the first page I was wrapped up into the lives of the characters in the book. I enjoyed the story line and felt a great amount of compassion for Kathryn, however her reaction to the entire situation was a bit dull and disconnected. Overall, I enjoyed the book all the way through but the end could totally be rewritten for the sake of the book in general. If the ending would have been more satisfying and understandable to the reader, I personally would have given it 4 or 5 stars.

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Summary: Nothing new here
Review: Several reviewers said "make a movie" of this. They already have - every Jaclyn Smith made-for-TV movie is like this. The poor, innocent, naive, deceived wife whose husband has a double life, another wife. I can't remember the names of these trite movies but I knew when I read the book, I had "seen" the story before. I won't give up on Shreve, but this was not her best effort. The question of how well we know our spouse is still a good one - who really knows anyone? I have made it my life's work to get to know the people in my life as much as I can without invading their personal boundaries and privacy. I have known my parents for 50 years and they still shock and surprise me with new events or past history that I didn't know. My husband of 25 years reveals little snippets of himself just when I least expect it. While this story revealed a REALLY BIGGG secret, I think the point made is very true. When I hear other women say they KNOW their husbands would never be unfaithful and then I see their husbands with other women, I wonder who is fooling who? Was Kathryn naive and trusting? Was her husband a split personality? Yes and yes, in all likelihood. Was it an interesting story - not very.

Rating:
Summary: Nicely written, however, somewhat predictable
Review: The book tended to drag on in the first 7 or 8 chapters. It was a good book, but I expected much more based on Oprah's raving about the book. Its an old premise with the only surprise being the two children fathered by the pilot. I truely expected the other woman, and even the marriage, however, children never entered my mind. I found the wife to be niave and totally unbelievable that she did not know there were problems in the marriage. In one breath she describes his turning away from her, and his tyrades, while in the next breath the marraige was great--GET REAL. The book was enjoyable for leisurely reading.

Rating:
Summary: BORING, BORING, BORING...
Review: It really bothered me that I spent the money to buy this book. You find out by reading the book's jacket that the husband dies, so what. Three quarters of the way through the book we don't know much else. We read about the wife's dealing with death, how can that excite anyone. The characters are boring, not developed and the ending I thought was just a last minute idea the author had to try to pull the book together.

Rating:
Summary: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Review: Would have been a great short in woman's magazine. Don't waste your time or money...