The Pilot's Wife: A Novel

A great book with a tender Story and a 360 Degree Twist. A great read. Once you start you can't put it Down.!!

A woman meets a man who is almost 15 years older than her. She's 18 and he's 33. Kathryn and Jack. She's swept off her feet and they marry. He was an only child and both parents died when he was 9. Her parents died in a car accident when she was 21 but even before that, it was her grandmother who was the responsible one and who raised her. Ten years pass and there's inexplicable friction between Jack and Kathryn. They had one child at the beginning of their marriage and couldn't have more but Jack seemed okay with it. He's a pilot on international routes and has an odd schedule but even when he's home, he's distant to Kathryn. More years pass and their child, Mattie, is 15. Kathryn considers the marriage normal because, she thinks, doesn't every marriage lose its spark after so many years? Months have gone by without a physical relationship and her husband always seems under pressure, but with superficial explanations. He then prepares to leave for another flight. All seems normal. He had gotten tickets to a sports game to go with his daughter on his return and was reminding Kathryn about errands that had to be tended to in his absence. A few days later, she's awakened in the early morning hours by a man knocking on her door. He doesn't look dangerous and when she opens the door he confirms her name. He's from the Pilot union. There's been a tragic accident. Her husband's plane blew up over Ireland as it was departing the U.K. Over the next few weeks, she slowly finds out the real truth about her husband and what he's been hiding from her. Investigations are held, as the explosion appears to have been a suicide on the part of her husband and nothing seems to make sense anymore. Very interesting and as more of the mysteries are revealed, the book proceeds to open a window into the lives of normal people sucked into situations that make them do abnormal things.

It's a sad and intriguing story but the author strings along the reader for two thirds of the book before she formally introduces the conflict. The remaining portion goes by quickly so it almost feels like a race to reach "The End." I felt Shreve could have benefited from a better editor who would have encouraged her to cull down her lengthy, overly descriptive paragraphs detailing the minutia of a room, a person's clothing, the scenery, etc. I eventually started skipping those paragraphs in my pursuit for the next set of quotation marks -- my internal signal that I'm ready to wrap up this story. I read the Kindle version via the Kindle app on my iPad and found the formatting was a bit off. In most cases it was the lack of a carriage return (or whatever you want to call it on a computer keyboard) to break up the exchange of dialogue between characters. Sometimes I had to re-read some of those passages to ultimately decipher who said what.

The Pilot's Wife was a very engrossing novel with well-developed, realistic characters . The story itself was quite haunting and revolved around the tragic in-flight death of Kathryn Lyons' husband, Jack, who was supposedly piloting the plane, when it suddenly disappeared from the radar screen near the coast of Ireland. As his wife, Kathryn's journey is one of self discovery as she deals with the many stages of grief and is forced to confront the possibility that her husband of sixteen years may have been leading a double life. The questions that the author, Anita Shreve, raises time and time again are: how well do we REALLY know the person to whom we are married? ... and how are we ever to know what they are REALLY thinking and feeling? These are complex issues surrounding the mysterious and controversial disappearance of Jack's airliner. Compelled to learn everything she can about her husband and the tragic crash of his plane, Kathryn pushes herself to face all his dark secrets. This is a fast- paced, unforgettable novel with a poignant, yet satisfying, conclusion.

I will never forget this book. The day after I read it, Alaska Airlines crashed practically outside my window in the Pacific Ocean off the Channel Islands taking the lives of all passengers and flight crew. The county was in shock from the disaster. As the days went by, the newspapers began to profile the victims, their lives and their families. It was heartbreaking to see the family members trying to cope with the sudden loss of their loved ones. We couldn't help but wonder how they got through such an event, it was all so horrific. While I was touched by this book, it was obvious that the impact of the crash would force me to take a more dramatic view of the story. I couldn't help but wonder how the survivors were coping with such a shattering experience. Hopefully, none of survivors were having to discover that their loved ones were living a double life like the wife, Kathryn in the book finds out about her husband who was also the pilot of the plane. As Kathryn moves through the grieving process, events unfold to lay open the guarded secret her husband kept hidden from her all those years. Kathryn finds herself reevaluating everything about their life together. She reviews events, memories and feelings, trying to discover the signs and symptoms of the beginning of betrayal and the end of trust.

The novel is very well written and is full of suspense. I read the Swedish translation and found it very well translated without the usual missteps when using certain words. The translator did a good job using the correct word for most when a nuance in translation will make or brake the meaning of a story line. I reccommended the book in English to my husband and he ordered it for his Kindle. He could not put the book down until the end although I threatened to ruin it for him and telling him the ending a few times towards the end. I also reccommended it as a vacation read to a friend. I will hear from her in a few days. The book held the interest for both myself and my husband... in Swedish as well in English. Thank you - I will check for other titles by Anita Shreve, now that we know her style. Ulla

Many others have discussed the plot, so I will not repeat. Having experienced personally the discovery that my husband was having an affair, having him turn on me and say that I was being paranoid or unreasonable when I wondered why he was spending so much time on the computer, discovering that much of what I knew about him was a lie... Shreve captured the emotional shock, trauma, and confusion with incredible accuracy. She put words to many of the thoughts and feelings I experienced. Some reviewers have said the plot was weak... I didn't notice, as the emotions were so very real. Some say it was a slow read... not to me. I was captured by the process and resonated with the wife's journey. There is not room enough to list all the points where I said to myself, "Yes, that describes it perfectly." Suffice to say, I was fascinated at the truth of her descriptions. A very finely crafted, truthful portrayal of the betrayal and loss I felt. Brava!

Entertaining read. Did not want to put it down. A reader has to keep in mind that Shreve wrote this pre-September 11, 2001. I have read critics that have said getting a bomb on a plane couldn’t happen. Back then, it could have. I did not like that the wife was so naive about her husband’s travels and staying in touch with him while he was gone. I would read this again just to try and get a little more knowledge as to what was going on in the mind of the wife.

The story was enthralling. Don't want to give anything away, just to say that it is a mystery, and exceptionally well written.

Very good. Keeps you intereses until the end

Really enjoyed it. Some parts if the plot were easy to guess but some intriguing bits. She's a good story teller.

A gripping, heart-rending read. One is led to feel as she must have felt and I for one was drawn to and/or repelled by certain characters and characteristics. A book to keep.

Mir hat das Buch sehr gut gefallen. Ich habe Anita Shreve gerade erst für mich entdeckt und finde bisher alle Bücher von ihr sehr schön, jedes individuell auf seine Weise. Sie sind keineswegs "gleich". Was aber durchaus auffällt, ist die schöne Art zu schreiben und zu formulieren, die Anita Shreve für sich inne hält. Für Liebhaber der Englischen Sprache sicher immer eine Freude. Zum Plot bleibt zu sagen, dass es Wendungen gibt, mit denen man nicht rechnet, oder vielleicht doch mal kurz, aber eigentlich verwirft man diese Idee dann erstmal, bis irgendwann vielleicht doch das eintritt, was man vermutete, oder eben nicht. ;-) Das Ende hätte ich mir etwas ausführlicher gewünscht, aber so bleibt immerhin auch Raum für eigene Spekulationen. Das hat ja auch was.