Rating: 
Summary: This is definitely one to pick up!
Review: I thouroughly enjoyed reading this story, actually, i finished this one in record time, I just could not put it down. I really liked the style used by Ms. Shreve in this book. This is the second book I have read by her, and intend to read more.
Rating: 
Summary: Strange Fits of Passion
Review: I started reading Anita Shreve as her name caught my eye, my sisters name is alsoAnita with a very similar last name. Strange Fits of Passion was a great book. A real page turner. Ms. Shrive makes you feel like you really become familiar with her characters and cheer them on. I started reading this on a Friday evening and finished the next day. Couldn't put it down..........
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: This book was so emotional and gripping. The author's style is so interesting that you feel you are actuallly talking to the people in the story! This is the second book I have read by Ms. Shreve and loved them both.
Rating:
Summary: Another engrossing read by Anita Shreve
Review: STRANGE FITS OF PASSION is a moving and troubling look at domestic abuse in the 1970's. As usual, Ms. Shreve's writing is insightful, with a lyrical rhythm that captures the speech cadences and thoughts of the characters of St. Hilaire and paints a clear picture of the New England surroundings. Ms. Shreve's choice to tell the story through eyewitness accounts of the characters, as well as the notes of Maureen English allows the reader to draw their own conclusions as to what the true underlying story is. Ms. Shreve is a talented writer, and as always I look forward to reading each of her books.
Rating: 
Summary: addendum to last review (also mine)
Review: I'm glad someone has found my review helpful. There was too much vagueness and obscurity surrounding this plot. While in the 1970s, there were few resources for battered wives (as they were then known) and i myself spent many frustrating nights on the phone with women who were afraid for their lives and had nowhere to refer them, let alone do anything concrete to help them out of their problems, the author seemed to me to get lost on the way to deciding what she wanted to say. I'd like to recommend Anna Quindlen's Black and Blue or even Sleeping With the Enemy (forgot author name) for more realistic plots. Even a lightweight author like Belva Plain did a good job of showing the effects of domestic violence on families in Whispers. This story line (in life) is not and should not be romanticized or shrouded in description of weather, nature, countryside, etc. If you are on the run, with children especially, I doubt you are concerned with these things. Shreve is a skilled writer, but she needs to get out more into the real world--she kind of reminds me of her heroine in The Pilot's Wife when she discovers what is really going on under her nose. Again i dont judge all her books by this one.
Rating:
Summary: slow moving, improbable and cluttered
Review: This is one of the few books I was not able to finish. The author is capable of very good writing; I really enjoyed The Pilot's Wife. However, this book moved so sluggishly with so many unnecessary incidents and characters that I got impatient. The gimmick of using another person writing a magazine article AND a flashback is confusing and renders the story far less effective than if the main character (Maureen) had told it straight herself. The multiple points of view of minor characters add to the confusion, as well as the main character's use of a different name. I do know about domestic violence, first hand, through friends who have survived it, and as a crisis-line counselor for several years. I found it unlikely that the character would conveniently begin an affair within a few days of running away with no plans, after escaping an abusive husband who was likely to be jealous and paranoid. I think the author could have done a much better job of addressing the issues. This book should have had me on the edge of my seat and I was so bored by it I skipped to the predictable end. In fairness to the author, this was written about nine years ago. I would try her again on the strength of The Pilot's Wife.
Rating:
Summary: the best book I've ever read
Review: I have been reading Anita Shreve's books since "Eden Close," long before she got co-opted by Oprah fans. All of her books are excellent, but this one is the best. I can still remember exactly where I was when I first read it, turning page after page so hungrily that I thought I would never feel alive again. I have read it every six months since that first read and recommended it to innumerable friends, all of whom agree: it is unforgettable. Unfortunately, I loaned my hardcover to a friend who moved away, and with the book currently out of print, I'm still kicking myself! Take my word for it. Buy this book and never loan it out to ANYONE.
Rating:
Summary: Waiting impatiently for Ms. Shreve's next book!
Review: I just discovered Anita Shreve's books 2 weeks ago. Since then I have read four of them! I loved them all. I am about to begin reading "Eden Close"and I expect it will be as wonderful as all the others. I can't wait for her next novel. Each one is like a special treat I give to myself.
Rating:
Summary: A "movie of the week" subject, told in a different style.
Review: The way the story is presented in "Strange Fits of Passion" is unusual and interesting. Shreve writes of Maureen English, alias Mary Amesbury, who is a victim of domestic violence, in an almost detached manner. Maureen/Mary has finally had enough, takes her 6-month-old daughter and a few hundred dollars in cash, and flees to a small town in northern Maine, where she lives for 6-7 weeks, until her abusive husband finds her. Each chapter is told from a different point-of-view, usually Mary's, but also that of the reporter who is writing an article on Mary, as well as that of the townspeople who live in Maine. The tale starts when Mary first meets her husband and ends after he finds her and their daughter hiding in the Maine cottage. "Strange Fits of Passion" takes place in 1970/1971, when spousal abuse was little known and rarely discussed.Shreve's detached manner in writing the story is, I think, deliberate and is what makes the story interesting. This is not one of those cheesy "woman in jeopardy" stories, but is more a study of the effects of abuse on the victim and how she is viewed by others (and herself). There is some suspense, as we are told from the beginning that "something awful" happened the night that Mary was found by her husband, although it's not hard to figure most of what happened as the tale unfolds. Overall, "Strange Fit of Passion" is a tragedy presented in a nonjudgmental way, and one that lets the reader make up his/her own mind when it comes to the guilt or innocence and circumstances involved in the abusive relationship.
Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: I have liked all of Anita Shreve's novels. If you are looking for a book that will be a nice easy and entertaining read during a vacation - like lets saying laying on a beach somewhere then this book or one of Anita's novels is for you. They all about love and violence. You want to know who did the crime but also will the love affair last or not.
|
