The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information

Ahimsa · 02-20-2007, 06:38 AM

Hi all :0) We are starting a new book this week...The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve. If you are interested in reading along, let me know!!

ccgirl · 02-21-2007, 05:08 AM

I'll be getting to the library today or tomorrow, then I'm good to go!

ccgirl · 02-22-2007, 04:39 AM

I'm about 50 pages in. So far, so good.

Ahimsa · 02-22-2007, 04:55 AM

Yeah!! Very good! I'm about that far also. Very different style from Mystic River...but I am liking it! I like how it started out right away with the man coming to her house.

ccgirl · 02-22-2007, 07:18 PM

I really like her style and I could picture being there, in that house. Maybe because it's New England,huh?

Ahimsa · 02-22-2007, 07:38 PM

I think it's interesting that the house they buy is in Fortune's Rocks....which is the title and scene of another one of her books - the first one i read actually (which is very good by the way). She seems very tied into the ocean/New England in her writings

ccgirl · 02-24-2007, 05:03 AM

First off, let me just say that I'm enjoying this book alot. I believe I will go out and get more of her books.

The descriptive paragraphs about the homes, locations, etc. are almost my favorite part of this book. I can SEE those places. Maybe it helps that I'm from the general area, but I think they're wonderful.

Ahimsa, if you've not gone further than me (if you have don't tell me the answer) what do you think is up with Jack's mother in the nursing home? Hmmm, curious.

Ahimsa · 02-24-2007, 09:48 AM

So I only have a few pages left in the book - and I have a few questions to stick out there...we can talk about them more at length when we're both finished. I don't think she elaborates enough about 3 things...Jacks' mother, dropping the ring in the ocean, and the whole deal with whatever they are smuggling on the airplanes????? I think she brushed over them a little too quickly. The act of dropping your wedding ring in the ocean needs a little more elaboration. Very good book though, I finished it in 2 or 3 days. And I LOVE her descriptive writing. You should read Fortune's Rocks....it was the first Anita Shreve book I read and I absolutely loved it. It got passed around to every female in my family in one summer...we all just blew through it. Lemme know how you're doing with the book!!.....

ccgirl · 02-24-2007, 11:06 AM

I have to admit, the whole smuggling thing I just couldn't get into. I was to stunned about Jack's other life. As far as dropping the wedding ring into the ocean, after all she heard and saw, I can see it. So many unanswered questions. As far as Jack's mother, I think that was just to frustrate and devastate Kathryn even more. Like she said in the end, who was the real wife? The one who knew or didnt? The one who knew his past (mother) or the one who didn't? It didn't even happen to me and all the unanswered questions haunted me.

Ahimsa · 02-24-2007, 01:04 PM

Lots of unanswered questions - but maybe you're right, that was the whole point - Kathryn had SO many unanswered questions, it probably would have taken another 500 pages to describe everything that Jack was hiding. I was amazed about how DIFFERENT his lives were - the whole going to church thing?! He was "devout" in London???? Weird. Kathryn thought he couldn't stand to be in a room with smokers - and his other wife smoked!? How strange. I found some good "discussion questions" we can chat about...

• When Kathryn throws her wedding ring into the ocean, she thinks to herself: To be relieved of love is to give up a terrible burden. Do you agree?

• Do you think The Pilot's Wife would make a good film? If so, why? Who would you cast as the major characters in the film version? Why?

ayla zaire · 02-24-2007, 02:04 PM

i read it.....i felt the same way, ccgirl......anita shreve's books are like that......haunting is a good word...

ccgirl · 02-24-2007, 02:12 PM

In Katherine's case, what she thought upon throwing the ring in the ocean was, I think, the only way she could deal with it. It's one thing to be a cheater, but he was a whole other person with a whole other life. So, to be relieved of THAT love, not all love, was something she had to do.

As far as making it into a movie, I was thinking before you even asked it, that it might. I love movies that use a lot of flashback sequences, and this one would have plenty.

Ahimsa · 02-24-2007, 03:22 PM

While being relieved of Jack's love is lifting a burden for her, as the end of the book shows, there are ALWAYS going to be moments in her life that bring back sharp memories of her life with Jack, and she will never really be able to let go of that...But I do feel that she got major closure dropping her wedding ring into the ocean.

As far as a movie, I think it would be a great one...I love the flashbacks too. Wasn't there a Harrison Ford movie that sort of dealed with the same thing???? Only his wife and her "other" man both died in the crash. Can't remember what it was called though.....RANDOM HEARTS...that's what it was. I had to look it up. Have you seen that???? It was really good.

ccgirl · 02-25-2007, 05:16 AM

No, I haven't, but when I was at the grocery store yesterday I went tothe book section to find another Anita Shreve book and nothing. I guess it's a grocery store, and pickings are slim, but GRRRR!

I was trying to picture myself as Kathryn, because I've been married for19 years. Couldn't do it. It goes beyond anything my mind is capable of even thinking. I don't know if I could ever trust any man again after getting that screwed by someone you thought you knew. Remember when she said it never crossed her mind that Jack would cheat? That's how I think of my husband. If I ever found out he did something like that, I feel like I could curl into a ball and never get up.

Ahimsa · 02-25-2007, 06:41 AM

I think the Weight of Water looks good too...another one of her books. I have never been married so I don't think I can get AS close to imagining those horrible feelings of betrayal, but I feel the same way about my boyfriend. UNimaginable.

It's your turn to pick a new book :0)

ccgirl · 02-26-2007, 12:26 PM

I'm thinking. Give me a day. I want to come up with a good choice.

ccgirl · 02-27-2007, 04:06 PM

OK Ahimsa, I think it's just us. I found a book today at the library. It looks good, and the first page caught my attention.

It's called "Let the Northern Lights Erase your Name" by Vendela Vida.

Let me know if you'd be interested.

Ahimsa · 02-27-2007, 07:43 PM

Sounds like a wonderful book!! I will drop by the library on my way home from work tomorrow and see if they have it there...I'll let ya know!

Ahimsa · 02-28-2007, 12:59 PM

I went to the library and they have the book but it's on the hold shelf for someone - so it probably won't be ready to read anytime soon. maybe i will check another library, or just go buy it at the bookstore. I got 3 other books at the library while i was there thought :0) Hee hee....

ccgirl · 02-28-2007, 02:26 PM

Yeah, I did too. Just in case. I can't go a day without one.

Let me know when you get it so we can start simultaneously.

Ahimsa · 03-02-2007, 04:57 AM

I've worked late the past couple days and now it's snowing like CRAZY...so I still can't get to the darn bookstore today...I will try for tomorrow though. Hope your weather is better than ours!!! BBrrrrr.....

ccgirl · 03-02-2007, 04:10 PM

We missed the snow. Massive rain though. Just let me know when you're good to go and we'll change the thread name!

Ahimsa · 03-03-2007, 07:12 AM

Going to Borders today.... :0)

Ahimsa · 03-06-2007, 07:25 PM

Let The Northern Lights Erase Your Name....

It's due back at the library on the 22nd of this month...so hopefully someone will finish it sooner and I can snatch it up quick!!! I'll keep ya posted. Meanwhile, if you wanna do a quick read, let me know :0)

ccgirl · 03-07-2007, 03:53 AM

I've got an idea for a quick read. I read it years ago and remember very little. It's called "A Dog Year" by Jon Katz. I know I loved it, but my memory sucks so it would be like reading it for the first time. Let me know.

02-20-2007, 06:38 AM	#1 (permalink)
Ahimsa Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Mountain West Posts: 96	The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve Hi all :0) We are starting a new book this week...The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve. If you are interested in reading along, let me know!!

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02-21-2007, 05:08 AM	#2 (permalink)
ccgirl Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Harwich, MA Posts: 2,744	I'll be getting to the library today or tomorrow, then I'm good to go!

02-22-2007, 04:39 AM	#3 (permalink)
ccgirl Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Harwich, MA Posts: 2,744	I'm about 50 pages in. So far, so good.

02-22-2007, 04:55 AM	#4 (permalink)
Ahimsa Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Mountain West Posts: 96	Yeah!! Very good! I'm about that far also. Very different style from Mystic River...but I am liking it! I like how it started out right away with the man coming to her house.

02-22-2007, 07:18 PM	#5 (permalink)
ccgirl Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Harwich, MA Posts: 2,744	I really like her style and I could picture being there, in that house. Maybe because it's New England,huh?

02-22-2007, 07:38 PM	#6 (permalink)
Ahimsa Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Mountain West Posts: 96	I think it's interesting that the house they buy is in Fortune's Rocks....which is the title and scene of another one of her books - the first one i read actually (which is very good by the way). She seems very tied into the ocean/New England in her writings

02-24-2007, 05:03 AM	#7 (permalink)
ccgirl Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Harwich, MA Posts: 2,744	First off, let me just say that I'm enjoying this book alot. I believe I will go out and get more of her books. The descriptive paragraphs about the homes, locations, etc. are almost my favorite part of this book. I can SEE those places. Maybe it helps that I'm from the general area, but I think they're wonderful. Ahimsa, if you've not gone further than me (if you have don't tell me the answer) what do you think is up with Jack's mother in the nursing home? Hmmm, curious.

02-24-2007, 09:48 AM	#8 (permalink)
Ahimsa Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Mountain West Posts: 96	So I only have a few pages left in the book - and I have a few questions to stick out there...we can talk about them more at length when we're both finished. I don't think she elaborates enough about 3 things...Jacks' mother, dropping the ring in the ocean, and the whole deal with whatever they are smuggling on the airplanes????? I think she brushed over them a little too quickly. The act of dropping your wedding ring in the ocean needs a little more elaboration. Very good book though, I finished it in 2 or 3 days. And I LOVE her descriptive writing. You should read Fortune's Rocks....it was the first Anita Shreve book I read and I absolutely loved it. It got passed around to every female in my family in one summer...we all just blew through it. Lemme know how you're doing with the book!!.....

02-24-2007, 11:06 AM	#9 (permalink)
ccgirl Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Harwich, MA Posts: 2,744	I have to admit, the whole smuggling thing I just couldn't get into. I was to stunned about Jack's other life. As far as dropping the wedding ring into the ocean, after all she heard and saw, I can see it. So many unanswered questions. As far as Jack's mother, I think that was just to frustrate and devastate Kathryn even more. Like she said in the end, who was the real wife? The one who knew or didnt? The one who knew his past (mother) or the one who didn't? It didn't even happen to me and all the unanswered questions haunted me.

02-24-2007, 01:04 PM	#10 (permalink)
Ahimsa Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Mountain West Posts: 96	Lots of unanswered questions - but maybe you're right, that was the whole point - Kathryn had SO many unanswered questions, it probably would have taken another 500 pages to describe everything that Jack was hiding. I was amazed about how DIFFERENT his lives were - the whole going to church thing?! He was "devout" in London???? Weird. Kathryn thought he couldn't stand to be in a room with smokers - and his other wife smoked!? How strange. I found some good "discussion questions" we can chat about... • When Kathryn throws her wedding ring into the ocean, she thinks to herself: To be relieved of love is to give up a terrible burden. Do you agree? • Do you think The Pilot's Wife would make a good film? If so, why? Who would you cast as the major characters in the film version? Why?

02-24-2007, 02:04 PM	#11 (permalink)
ayla zaire Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: pass the bon bons Posts: 2,363	i read it.....i felt the same way, ccgirl......anita shreve's books are like that......haunting is a good word...

02-24-2007, 02:12 PM	#12 (permalink)
ccgirl Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Harwich, MA Posts: 2,744	In Katherine's case, what she thought upon throwing the ring in the ocean was, I think, the only way she could deal with it. It's one thing to be a cheater, but he was a whole other person with a whole other life. So, to be relieved of THAT love, not all love, was something she had to do. As far as making it into a movie, I was thinking before you even asked it, that it might. I love movies that use a lot of flashback sequences, and this one would have plenty.

02-24-2007, 03:22 PM	#13 (permalink)
Ahimsa Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Mountain West Posts: 96	While being relieved of Jack's love is lifting a burden for her, as the end of the book shows, there are ALWAYS going to be moments in her life that bring back sharp memories of her life with Jack, and she will never really be able to let go of that...But I do feel that she got major closure dropping her wedding ring into the ocean. As far as a movie, I think it would be a great one...I love the flashbacks too. Wasn't there a Harrison Ford movie that sort of dealed with the same thing???? Only his wife and her "other" man both died in the crash. Can't remember what it was called though.....RANDOM HEARTS...that's what it was. I had to look it up. Have you seen that???? It was really good.

02-25-2007, 05:16 AM	#14 (permalink)
ccgirl Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Harwich, MA Posts: 2,744	No, I haven't, but when I was at the grocery store yesterday I went tothe book section to find another Anita Shreve book and nothing. I guess it's a grocery store, and pickings are slim, but GRRRR! I was trying to picture myself as Kathryn, because I've been married for19 years. Couldn't do it. It goes beyond anything my mind is capable of even thinking. I don't know if I could ever trust any man again after getting that screwed by someone you thought you knew. Remember when she said it never crossed her mind that Jack would cheat? That's how I think of my husband. If I ever found out he did something like that, I feel like I could curl into a ball and never get up.

02-25-2007, 06:41 AM	#15 (permalink)
Ahimsa Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Mountain West Posts: 96	I think the Weight of Water looks good too...another one of her books. I have never been married so I don't think I can get AS close to imagining those horrible feelings of betrayal, but I feel the same way about my boyfriend. UNimaginable. It's your turn to pick a new book :0)

02-26-2007, 12:26 PM	#16 (permalink)
ccgirl Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Harwich, MA Posts: 2,744	I'm thinking. Give me a day. I want to come up with a good choice.

02-27-2007, 04:06 PM	#17 (permalink)
ccgirl Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Harwich, MA Posts: 2,744	OK Ahimsa, I think it's just us. I found a book today at the library. It looks good, and the first page caught my attention. It's called "Let the Northern Lights Erase your Name" by Vendela Vida. Let me know if you'd be interested.

02-27-2007, 07:43 PM	#18 (permalink)
Ahimsa Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Mountain West Posts: 96	Sounds like a wonderful book!! I will drop by the library on my way home from work tomorrow and see if they have it there...I'll let ya know!

02-28-2007, 12:59 PM	#19 (permalink)
Ahimsa Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Mountain West Posts: 96	I went to the library and they have the book but it's on the hold shelf for someone - so it probably won't be ready to read anytime soon. maybe i will check another library, or just go buy it at the bookstore. I got 3 other books at the library while i was there thought :0) Hee hee....

02-28-2007, 02:26 PM	#20 (permalink)
ccgirl Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Harwich, MA Posts: 2,744	Yeah, I did too. Just in case. I can't go a day without one. Let me know when you get it so we can start simultaneously.

03-02-2007, 04:57 AM	#21 (permalink)
Ahimsa Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Mountain West Posts: 96	I've worked late the past couple days and now it's snowing like CRAZY...so I still can't get to the darn bookstore today...I will try for tomorrow though. Hope your weather is better than ours!!! BBrrrrr.....

03-02-2007, 04:10 PM	#22 (permalink)
ccgirl Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Harwich, MA Posts: 2,744	We missed the snow. Massive rain though. Just let me know when you're good to go and we'll change the thread name!

03-03-2007, 07:12 AM	#23 (permalink)
Ahimsa Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Mountain West Posts: 96	Going to Borders today.... :0)

03-06-2007, 07:25 PM	#24 (permalink)
Ahimsa Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Mountain West Posts: 96	Let The Northern Lights Erase Your Name.... It's due back at the library on the 22nd of this month...so hopefully someone will finish it sooner and I can snatch it up quick!!! I'll keep ya posted. Meanwhile, if you wanna do a quick read, let me know :0)

03-07-2007, 03:53 AM	#25 (permalink)
ccgirl Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Harwich, MA Posts: 2,744	I've got an idea for a quick read. I read it years ago and remember very little. It's called "A Dog Year" by Jon Katz. I know I loved it, but my memory sucks so it would be like reading it for the first time. Let me know.

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