Anita Shreve was one of the fortunate living writers (pre James Frey) to have her book picked by Oprah to be in the Oprah book club. Although not an avid book club member, I have from time to time, picked up an Oprah book club book. A few years ago I read The Pilot’s Wife. Shreve has a way of writing that is different and fresh. Her voice is detached and strangely unemotional considering her choice of plots. The Pilot’s wife is about a woman who experiences crushing grief after her husband unexpectedly dies in a plane crash. After reading that book, I have had a hard time resisting Anita Shreve novels. It’s not that I love them, it’s that they are so readable. I start and before I know it, I’m halfway through and I have to finish it. Very satisfying.

Body Surfing is set in the same house as The Pilot’s Wife. The owners bought the house from the pilot’s widow (as she is called in the book). The main character is a young woman of 29 who is both divorced and a widow. The novel starts shortly after she lost her first husband. She is working for the family who owns the house, as a tutor to their daughter. She meets the girl’s two brothers and the plot moves forward from there. One thing about an Anita Shreve novel, there are rarely ever truly happy endings. If you’re expecting something sappy, pick up an Erica James novel. She usually ends things  on a upbeat.

Body Surfing

Anita Shreve. Little, Brown and Company 2007, Hardcover, 304 pages, $0.01