I
could hardly write the alphabet when I had my first brush with the Lindbergh
name. My parents took my sister and me in the back seat of a 1949 two door, navy
blue Ford and headed to the drive-in with hopes we would go to sleep so they
could see the movie “The Spirit of St. Louis”. My sister was out quickly, but I
was hanging over the seat until somewhere near the point that the fly started
bothering Jimmy Stewart in the cockpit!
When
I was old enough to read everything in sight, I noticed the Anne Morrow
Lindbergh memoirs on my Granny’s special shelf. I tried them but thought they
made horrid reading. (I was in a stage of hating anything written in first
person and these books were so old!) Then when Gran died, I carted these books
home. I was a young wife and mother to a three year old at the time; I hoped I
might like them more at that stage of my life or would find something on the
pages that connected me to my Gran.
When
I began to read, I was fascinated with the history and the personal achievements
of the Lindberghs. I also wept with sorrow when I read about the Lindbergh baby
kidnapping. I connected the dots and saw that Gran was about the same age as
Anne Morrow Lindbergh with a baby of her own; she must have felt a connection
with another mother's heart.
So
then I began reading anything and everything Lindbergh. I read memoirs, biographies, and
books by Reeve Lindbergh, the baby of the family. I gazed at the authentic
Spirit of St. Louis hanging in the Smithsonian. I even gasped out loud when the
more recent books revealed some imperfections in the personality of famous
aviator, Lucky Lindy.
So
when the new novel came out titled The
Aviator’s Wife, I was prepared to not like it. I had no plans to read
fiction, made up stories, when I had read so much thrilling Lindbergh non-fiction.
Then I made a stop at the book store for something, and I found myself face to
face with the book. It was the book’s cover that gave me pause. The retro
clothes and nose of a prop plane in soft shades of mauve and brown…well, I
decided to give the book a chance.
I
was about a third of the way through the book when I ran smack into a shocking
chapter. Hum. Was this stuff made up?
Did the author create this out of thin air for plot enhancement? I could not
stand it. I got up, walked to the computer and wrote the author asking what she
based the scene on, where did she find the material, or did she just use poetic
license to juice up the story? Author Melanie Benjamin wrote back in just a
couple of hours with a full explanation and indeed, there was basis for what
she put in the novel. She hoped I would keep reading. I did and I am glad.
While
I was familiar with the Lindbergh story, Melanie Benjamin gave me a nice review
of their life and added some new angles that were food for thought. She wrote
about a marriage, a special one to be sure, but one that has all the highs and
lows of any marriage. She writes the novel from Anne’s point of view and shows
us the stages Anne went through as a woman, wife, and mother …ones many a wife
can related to in their own lives today.
You
can’t read this book and not care deeply for the characters, and to be honest,
feeling at some points like you would like to shake them. Ms. Benjamin made
these real people even more “real” on the page. They breathe in this novel!
Ms.,
Benjamin adds at the end of the novel an author’s note that explains how and
why she wrote the book. I enjoyed these few brief pages so much and appreciated
the lines she left me for further thought at the end of a great story. Here she
comments, “…I was more interested in the emotion, the personal drama, than I
was in giving a history lesson.”
Younger
readers might remember Charles Lindbergh for his solo flight in 1927, but they
probably won’t remember the accomplished flyer and writer Anne was. On pages of
The Aviator’s Wife, they can meet
these people and see their place in history, but also experience the drama of
their lives as Benjamin intended.
I
have already pulled AML’s book Gifts from
the Sea for another reading, the fourth in my life so far. I intend to be
on the lookout for Melanie Benjamin’s work, both older books and newer ones
too. The Aviator’s Wife is a good
read for writers, flyers, wives, mothers…ah, well it is perfect for all
readers!
*******
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7 comments:
Hi Claudia: I feel like you. Don't read much fiction. But The Aviator's Wife sounds good. I like a good action book now and then. Thanks for the thumbs up. Susan
I like a story that I can relate to. I have recently purchased three books, and I can't seem to get into any of them, try as I may. I almost always read fifty pages before I recycle the book. I must read on. Thanks for the info on this book.
I've heard of this book - but didn't realize the connection. I'll def. look for it after I finish J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy (I haven't read any of Harry Potter series, by choice, but am REALLY enjoying this book).
I, too, re-read Gifts from the Sea frequently.....
I enjoyed your book review. I also really like the cover of The Aviator's Wife. The woman in her "adventure outfit" makes me want to read the pages in side. Her safari outfit reminds me very much of Karen Blixen/Isak Dineson in Out of Africa; another book I like so much.
That's my gal! What's going on here Ms. Benjamin? I love that you communicated with the author while reading her work.
Usually I give books away when I have read them but some slip by and I'm always tempted to read them again and they are not alway the same book so it does matter at what time in your life you read a book.
Merle.....
Thanks for this, Claudia. I knew nothing of Anne Lindbergh, but this sounds like a fascinating read.
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