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Original poster

Views on Anita Shreve please

36 replies

MaKettle · 24/01/2013 22:36

I read a couple of her books about 15 years ago, and just picked up Testimony in the library today. Would it be fair to say that she's kind of a cross between Anita Brookner and Joanna Trollope? (But American, obv.)

OP posts:
anonymosity · 25/01/2013 04:23

I don't know about a cross - but I had to read one for work purposes (possible TV conversion from novel) and its romance for women really. Its sometimes fantastical / supernatural in a minor way. From a personal point of view, I didn't enjoy reading her, I felt cheated by her "surprise" endings that didn't sit with the rest of the tales. Sorry.

mimbleandlittlemy · 25/01/2013 12:24

I think it really depends on the particular book. She's quite variable - I liked Sea Glass, The Weight of Water, Light on Snow but not so much Eden Close and a few of the others I can't remember the titles for at all.

I haven't read one for a while though - I used to quite like them for lying by the pool and getting through in a day, which is how I used to think about Joanna Trollope too, come to think about it.

HormonalHousewife · 25/01/2013 12:29

I think read one and you have read them all.

Still it obviously works for her so why change a ££ winning formula ?

mimbleandlittlemy · 25/01/2013 15:31

Hormonal - I think you might have just hit the nail on the head of why I don't read them any more!

HousewifeFromHeaven · 25/01/2013 15:34

Mmm I've just finished one and have to say it wasn't a favourite. Fortune rocks. Not too keen on the subject either!

pinkpaperpiggy · 25/01/2013 15:42

I used to be a big fan and still love several of her novels but I think the recent ones are very formulaic and not as well written.

My favourites are Strange Fits of Passion, The Weight of Water and Eden Close.

I think there are similarities to Anita Brookner - the protaganist is often a disappointed woman.

I've tried a few Joanna Trollopes and couldn't get into them at all.

AnonymousBird · 25/01/2013 16:42

Not great! I read one in the summer - can't even remember what it was, which says it all. Absolutely no desire to bore myself bother again.

Weak.

domesticslattern · 25/01/2013 16:45

Y y, Hormonal has got it in one.
I loved The Pilot's Wife, then read Sea Glass- great too. Then I worked my way through most of the others from the library and they got pretty samey after a while. I don't bother with her new releases any more. Still, if you want to know what you're getting and you want something for on holiday or similar, worth a punt.

pinkpaperpiggy · 25/01/2013 16:51

I think they are formulaic in terms of type of happy ending and character types but you have to admit she does use a variety of setting etc.

The Pilots Wife vs Light on Snow vs Fortunes Rocks - all very different.

I think the earlier ones especially are worth a read if you are looking for something light for holidays or a bit of escapism.

WowOoo · 25/01/2013 16:55

I've never managed to get through to even halfway of any that I've tried.

Chandon · 25/01/2013 17:06

Oh, I think The Last Time they Met was truely amazing, her other books less so.

It starts off qute bring really, and gets better and quite dark and sad, it is one of my top reads. That last chapter and the twist in the tale, blew me away.

I like Joanna Trolope too, and Anita Brookner, but do nt think she is like either of them.

bigTillyMint · 25/01/2013 17:10

I think theat they are probably quite formulaic, but I have found them very readable - I got a set from the Book People and have read most of themBlush

DD (12 at the time and her bf too) also enjoyed Light on Snow.

Original poster
MaKettle · 25/01/2013 19:10

Thank you, that's what I thought. But am waiting for my husband to finish reading Bringing up The Bodies - quite why I thought it was a good idea to let him read it first - and don't mind a quick read.

OP posts:
RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 25/01/2013 20:06

I've read two and thought they were very boring. One was recommended by a friend and the other I read in desperation on holiday when I'd read all my own books and was reduced to reading what people had left in the apartments.

Bland and pointless, I thought.

But I actually think that most modern female authors are the same, sadly.

gailforce1 · 25/01/2013 21:02

I read Light on Snow which was ok and have Pilots Wife on my to read pile. Has anyone tried Sue Miller or Anne Tyler?

drjohnsonscat · 25/01/2013 21:21

Not great. I was naffed off by the twist in The Pilot's Wife which I thought was pretty crass and romanticised without any real understanding of the issues. Trying not to give away the plot but suffice to say it would be ok for those Americans who don't have any information or understanding about politics outside the US.

AmaDablam · 26/01/2013 19:16

I've read several of her books and I'd say they're a good "easy" read, if you're on holiday for example and want to get immersed without having to concentrate too hard. Agree with Chandon that The Last Time They Met is definitely a notch above the rest, although the twist at the end is definitely a bit "marmite"!

Gailforce I have read and enjoyed many of Anne Tyler's who I think is slightly superior to Anita Shreve. I also LOVE Helen Dunmore's novels, her books are far grittier and more gripping than either Shreve or Tyler, IMO.

Chandon · 27/01/2013 11:00

I Love most Anne Tyler books.

She has a gentle sense of humour, a sense of the absurd in everyday life, always slightly odd characters that do not fit in, but that you really care for.

Then again, my best friend thinks her books are dull. They are very much about characters and relationships, not a lot of action. Anyone who likes Brookner would like Tyler too, I reckon. It is a subtle pleasure.

Off to google helen dunmore!

mimbleandlittlemy · 27/01/2013 11:18

gailforce, Anne Tyler is a very different kettle of fish to Anita Shreve. I don't think Anita Shreve is ever going to win a Pullitzer prize. Tyler has an incredible deftness of touch and certainly isn't hovering on the borders of the Shreve/Trollope saga style. Well worth a go.

gailforce1 · 27/01/2013 11:25

Thanks mimbleandlittlemy, is there one of Tyler's books I should try first?

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 27/01/2013 11:39

Anne Tyler does nothing for me either, thb. Or Helen Dunmore. All dull.

Chandon · 27/01/2013 15:27

I really liked "back when we were grown ups", I liked Rebecca and the book has one of the best opening lines :" once upon a time there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person."

If this sounds appealing, you will like the book. If yo think WTF, leave it be!

awaynboilyurheid · 27/01/2013 21:20

Thought pilots wife not really great so havent read any more don't feel she had really a grasp of the subject

BaconAndAvocado · 27/01/2013 22:00

IMO her books have now become a bit tame and samey (tamey perhaps....)

Loved Fortune's Rock, Seaglass and The Pilot's Wife.

anonymosity · 28/01/2013 00:06

Also really enjoy Tyler and Dunmore. They're definitely not "mass appeal" fiction writers and their works are largely not plot driven - so not thrilling / overly romantic etc. Dumore is also a poet and you can see that in her work, its very lyrical. But both these writers qualify as "literature" and have won prizes accordingly. I do agree they are far more low key and probably don't appeal to everyone.