The Pilot's Wife

Format:	Paperback 293 pages

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Synopsis

Who can guess what a woman will do when the unthinkable becomes her reality? From the bestselling author of THE WEIGHT OF WATER, this enormously gripping and powerfully wrought novel asks the questions we all have about ourselves and definitively places Anita Shreve among the ranks of the best novelists writing today. Being married to a pilot has taught Kathryn Lyons to be ready for emergencies, but nothing has prepared her for the late-night knock on her door and the news of her husband's fatal crash. As Kathryn struggles through her grief, she is forced to confront disturbing rumours about the man she loved and the life that she took for granted. Torn between her impulse to protect her husband's memory and her desire to know the truth, Kathryn sets off to find out if she ever really knew the man who was her husband. In her determination to test the truth of her marriage, she faces shocking revelations about the secrets a man can keep and the actions a woman is willing to take.

Book details

Published
18/11/1999

Publisher
Abacus

ISBN
9780349110851

Publisher and industry reviews

Jacket review

'Brilliantly captures the sense of a person succumbing to the shock of an emotional tidal wave' Lynne Truss, THE TIMES; 'A gripping analysis of how even the closest bonds never permit us to know another person entirely' OBSERVER; 'Shreve's prose is astonishing; this is a powerful story, beautifully written' SUNDAY TIMES

UK Kirkus review

Kathryn Lyons is a lucky woman, with a job she enjoys, comfortable New England home, bright daughter and strong marriage. Husband Jack is a long-haul airline pilot. Like any pilot's wife, Kathryn is aware not only of blank spaces, but also the risky nature of his job; so when the knock-on-the-door arrives, she stiffens her emotional muscles to face the consequences. But even she could not foresee the spreading ripples of damage and grief when the unrelenting glare of publicity pierces Jack's 'shadowed corners', to expose things Kathryn and 14-year-old Mattie never dreamed of. A heart-stopping story, beautifully crafted, beautifully written; highly recommended. Shreve's The Weight of Water was shortlisted for the 1998 Orange Prize for Fiction. (Kirkus UK)