Rating: 
Summary: selfish love
Review: I listened to All He Ever Wanted unabridged on audiocassette. It is wonderfully read and kept me entranced for days. I think the book would be a hard plow despite the great issues and concept unearthed by Shreve.
The book is classic Anita Sherve and really makes one think about love and relationships. After reading/listening to several of Shreve's novels, I can't help but think she has first-hand knowledge of affairs, lost love, passionate indiscretion, and unattainable relationship expectations.
If we were all to strive for the prefect marital union of unending sexual attraction, full compatibility and satisfaction-everyone would be divorced, or would be searching until 45 for the perfect mate. I'm sure it can be had, but some of it is a matter of location and logistics. The mantra of "I just want to be happy" is childish. For married couples with children, the responsibility is greater than one's own fulfillment. In none of Sherve's novels does this comes to fore. Children are left in the wake, though she does address some of the damage of such decisions in this novel.
I understand the emotions played in the novel. It is a great book and had me thinking for days. I'd love to talk more about the plot and the sad lead characters, but do not wish to spoil it for the readers. If anyone would like to chat about this novel, I can be reached at miklos@knology.net.
Rating:
Summary: Poignant
Review: The story is one of heartfelt unrequited love, and as such is painful yet mesmerising. The text is written insightfully and with honesty. There are no sugary coated endings. For anyone who has experienced the pain of intense love which is not reciprocated the book will touch raw and deep nerves. Very moving.
Rating: 
Summary: "The Bargains of Unrequited Passion"
Review: This is an odd, sad story. It starts slowly as we get to know the narrator, Professor Nicholas Van Tassel, and learn to appreciate his highbrow language and pompous attitude toward all things provincial. He's finicky, cerebral, anti-Semitic, anti-exercise, and I didn't visualize him as being particularly good-looking. It's therefore painful to witness his obsession with the beautiful Edna Bliss, who he eventually persuades to marry him, and eventually drives away. Edna isn't particularly likable either. She's secretive, selfish and rigid.
Nevertheless, for reasons I'm still sorting out through this review, I was deeply engrossed in both story and character. I can't help but believe that this is because ALL HE EVER WANTED is the product of a master. Anita Shreve's attention to detail, her seemingly flawless creation of time, place and character, makes this book well worth reading. As she narrates the story through Professor Van Tassel, we get to know him well and learn to appreciate his honesty. This is primarily a story of obsession and the bargains of unrequited love. I highly recommend.
From the author of: I'm Living Your Dream Life and The Things I Wish I'd Said, McKenna Publishing Group.
Rating: 
Summary: Can you make someone love you?
Review: No, and to try is not to truly love them. Remember the old story about the butterfly. This is a book I began with excitement as I have been on a feminist literature kick, and this being written from the male's point of view added a nice twist. I like Shreve's work in general, but I soon grew tired of the narrative voice in this work. I continued to read out of loyalty to the author. I grew increasingly unhappy as the novel went on--and maybe that was her intention. Overall, I just didn't like it.
Rating:
Summary: A tale about obsession
Review: As always, Anita Shreve does not disappoint her fans (like myself). In this novel, she presents us with questions about love versus obsession. I wondered throughout the novel why Van Tassel loves (or thinks he loves) Etna Bliss. Clearly, he objectifies her. She is a beautiful woman not emotionally available to him. It seems that this fact alone makes him want her more. What a dummy. I enjoyed this novel and I find it facinating to ponder questions about love like why we love who we love.
Rating:
Summary: Incredibly dreary and a protagonist you'll grow to hate
Review: Anita Shreve's "All He Ever Wanted" makes a promising start by capturing a stunning moment in time. College professor Nicholas Van Tassel is changed forever when he spots a beautiful young woman, Etna Bliss, in a city street during a hotel fire. He knows in an instant that this woman is indeed everything he ever wanted. And he will stop at nothing to meet her, know her, love her and possess her.
The novel, set in late Victorian New England, possesses the proper starched-shirt, tightly-corseted tone of the day. But underneath, Nicholas's passion for Etna (with a name like hers, she must be a volcano inside) consumes his every thought and action.
Unfortunately, it becomes apparent that Etna does not feel the same for the ambitious professor. She is trapped by her gender and lack of fortune, living among relatives who see her more as a personal servant that a woman of worth. As a result, she accepts Nicholas' proposal of marriage. She even confesses that she does not love him. No matter, Nicholas thinks. He's gotten what he wants.
This is where the novel takes a decided turn, or should I say, plunge, for the worse. You know with a sinking certainty that there is no possible way this story can end well and indeed, it does not.
The rest of the novel has a doomed flavor that only grows more gloomy. Etna and Nicholas settle into married life and have two children. The reader is made aware that while Etna dutifully submits to the demands of being a wife, she never grows to love Nicholas as he longs for her to. She throws herself into the role of mother, doting on her children. Little does Nicholas know that whilst doing her charitable work, she has secured a private retreat he knows nothing about.
The sudden appearance of Mr. Asher, the younger brother of Etna's former lover, sends everyone into a frenzy. He's also Nicholas's competitor in the race to become dean of the college. This is when things truly go downhill. Nicholas will stop at nothing to halt Mr. Asher, especially when he learns Asher has a connection with Etna. This part especially disturbed me and made any pity I had for Nicholas to evaporate completely. He thoroughly earns the dislike of his wife and children for acting in such a reprehensible manner to meet his selfish ends.
At the heart of it, Shreve is correct in that Nicholas "wanted" Etna. The problem is that he does not truly love her but the image he has created of her. He never concerns himself with her feelings or hopes, but only strives to fulfill his own selfish desires. And that is not love.
I read this book during a beach vacation and it thoroughly depressed me. Despite the intriguing premise, "All She Ever Wanted" is not worth the trouble.
Rating:
Summary: Strong characters, good plot twists
Review: I've read all of Shreve's novels and this one is near the top of my list. The heroine, Etna, is a powerful figure, but in the tradition of the period in which Shreve writes, Etna must keep her power undercover and hidden from her husband, a boorish professor at a local New England college. The source of Etna's power -- perhaps the very power itself -- is her ability to hold a part of herself back from her husband and family. She keeps secrets, both of fact and of feeling, so that her integrity as a person can't be breached by a husband who feels entitled to know and own her totally. I identified deeply with Etna's need to do this, as I believe many women will who have been married to men who at first seemed innocuous but after a few years of marriage are revealed to be unbearably possessive. In self defense, Etna must keep her true self contained and hidden from her husband's impulse toward emotional rape. While that may sound a bit strong, it seems very legitimate to me. I found the fact that Etna creates a personal studio space for herself -- and keeps it secret from her husband -- a natural response to his overwhelming intrusiveness. It's a testament to Shreve's ability to finely draw her characters that a reader such as myself can so thoroughly identify with the heroine's emotions, as well as feel stifled by a fictional character such as the husband. Overall, this is a very good novel with enough depth and action to entertain readers without being shallow.
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