Strange Fits of Passion: A Novel

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Summary: the best book to come along in along time
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book by Anita Shreve. I have never read a book by her before, but I know that she will become one of my favorite authors from now on. It was well-written, enlightening, haunting, moving, and a page-turner. Anyone looking for a tautly written novel with all the elements for success needs to read this novel!

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: I was totally engrossed in this book. I love to read, I read every night - but usually I am able to view a non-fiction book as a story and not get too emotionally involved. I woke up during the night in a cold sweat from this book. (That is how close you feel to the characters, they become part of your life). Somehow Anita Shreve manages to get into my head and stay there. I read "The Weight of Water" and "Resistance". Both were excellant also (especially "The Weight of Water"). I am now reading "Fortune's Rocks" and I can only say that Anita Shreve is my favorite author. I can't wait for more.

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Summary: Another hit for Shreve!
Review: Anita Shreve does it again with Strange Fits of Passion, a story in which the main character is a victim of violent physical abuse. Maureen English meets Harrold at her place of employment as a reporter in New York City. They immediately begin a relationship and marry within a year or so. Their relationship is characterized by heavy drinking and erotic sexual experimentations which all seem harmless for a time. Until the beatings begin. And they only get worse as time passes. Maureen becomes pregnant and has baby Caroline and, still, the violence continues, spurred on by inane jealousy, over-drinking or losses of temper. Once Maureen runs away only to return scared and ashamed. The second time she leaves, however, after a particularly bad scuffle, is for good. This time she drives with their baby to Northern New Enland where she knows noone and risks discovery less quickly. Yet she lives in the fear that he will eventually find her and, this time, she knows he will kill her. Told from the point of view of a reporter who later writes a book based on Maureen's story, the reader views letters Maureen has written that act as interviews, and later on, the newspaper article written on the basis of these interviews. Scary suspenseful, and emotionally demanding, Shreve has once again won my utmost respect and admiration as a modern novelist.

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Summary: Unique
Review: I have read some of the other reviews and they compare this novel to Black and Blue, well I have never read that novel, but I must say this one kept me in suspense about what was going to happen and what Maureen/Mary was going to do. I also found the way Shreve wrote this book to be somewhat intriguing. I thought the concept of writing the book, like the notes the journalist had recieved was quite interesting. All in all I found the book to be extremely addictive. As were the other four books of hers that I have read, although I know I am still missing two or three.

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Summary: Suspenseful and gripping
Review: Fans of Shreve's other novels, including The Pilot's Wife and The Weight of Water, will appreciate this earlier effort, which, like the others, combines mystery and marriage to create a suspenseful, intriguing story about trouble. Like Anna Quindlen's novel, Black and Blue, Strange Fits of Passion revolves around a young mother who has taken her child and fled an abusive husband to settle in a new community and begin life again under an assumed name. The similarities end there, however, as Shreve builds a more complex, thickly layered story that involves numerous points of view and dips in and out of the past without ever becoming confusing or dense. The novel begins with a magazine writer, Helen Scofield, traveling to a college dormitory to visit Caroline English, the daughter of writer Maureen English, a woman who, we soon learn, was imprisoned for murdering her allegedley abusive husband, Harrold, also a writer, many years earlier. Helen's visit is, ostensibly, to deliver to Caroline the letters and transcripts that she collected as she investigated the murder for an article she was writing. We read of the relationship between Maureen English and her husband from her own point of view--reports of the abuse she suffered, the life she led in the small Maine fishing village to which she fled, and, later, the details of the event that took her husband's life. Interspersed with her memories are the reports from various members of the fishing community she lived in--people who variously report on Maureen and her life there, and who hold her responsible for the crime to varying degrees. Finally, we read the article Helen wrote about Maureen English, her marriage, and her decision to kill her husband, and learn an entirely other lesson about what the truth is and what it means to tell the truth. This is a fascinating, engrossing story.

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Summary: Page Turner
Review: This novel was incredible. It was my second Anita Shreve novel, "Pilot's Wife" being the first. Although I was deeply disappointed in the "Pilot's Wife" and hesitant to buy this novel in light of my previous disappointment, I am glad that I took the risk. The book is very well written and I thoroughly enjoyed the writing technique style which was very unique and captivating. This book deals with the very important issue of domestic abuse and what progress has occurred in the law and societies view of domestic violence within the past 20 years. Definately worth the read.

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Summary: Fascinating story of spousal abuse and its aftermath.
Review: In "Strange Fits of Passion," Shreve describes a woman in great distress. Maureen and Harrold both write for a magazine in New York in the 1970's. They fall in love and marry. Maureen learns too late that Harrold becomes abusive and vicious, especially when he is drunk. Unfortunately, Harrold is often drunk. During her pregnancy and after she gives birth, Harrold's abuse intensifies. Maureen hides the fact that Harrold is physically and emotionally abusive from her family and friends. Maureen is ashamed and she blames herself for her husband's cruel behavior. Finally, after a particularly brutal incident, Maureen packs up her baby, Caroline, and winds up in a small town in Maine named St. Hilaire; she hopes to escape her huband's wrath and protect her baby. Shreve captures the ambiance of the rugged town and its colorful inhabitants beautifully. Shreve populates "Strange Fits of Passion" with interesting and memorable characters, including Jack Strout, a lobsterman with whom Maureen falls in love. The author uses clever literary devices to tell this moving story, and I could not put this book down until I found out what happens to Maureen. "Strange Fits of Passion" is a powerful and and emotionally involving novel that explores the complexities of human relationships.

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Summary: BREATHTAKING, BUT AN ABRUPT ENDING
Review: I thought this earlier of Shreve's novels eclipsed THE PILOT'S WIFE. I-who barely can make time to read-couldn't put it down. I was magically transported to the cabin in Maine, and I was almost afraid to turn the pages and be confronted with the horrors that Maureen/Mary had and was about to experience. But once again-much like in THE PILOT'S WIFE-I felt the ending was too abrupt, that Shreve tried to tie things up too quickly and neatly. Too go into such in-depth descriptions of people's psyches and their surroundings and then to sum it all up with no loose ends was quite disappointing.

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Summary: A well written book...
Review: I disagree with the reviewer further down on the list who felt the book's theme was not portrayed accurately by the author. I feel that the author, captured -- for lack of a better word --the range of emotions and the complexity of many victim experiences. And I disagree with the reviewer, and think that "Mary" would have noticed the scenery and details of the town. The beautifully descriptive prose did belong in this type of story. I believe Mary/Maureen craved the freedom to take in the actual raw beauty of a world she had for so long walked so numbly through...unable to enjoy or appreciate who she was in relation to the simple beauty of life. I did find that I was frustrated by the character, Helen, who was writing the article. I felt the summation chapter between Helen and Caroline was not answered with the depth and care the rest of the book showed. I felt that Mary's love for her daughter was not given the respect and attention it needed in the end. Otherwise, I thought the book was well written and I look forward to reading her other books.

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Summary: A compelling book
Review: I listened to this book on tape. I enjoyed the reading and the story. The reader does the Maine accents well and gives each character a recognizable voice. I like books that make the characters feel real, and make me feel like I could be reading a true story. It depicted the development and susquent conclusion of an abusive relationship as seen by the abuse survior and the community around her. The reader could be a voyuer into the relationship. I found it very provocative.