Book Review All He Ever Wanted by Anita Shreve
I have read every book Anita Shreve has written. Do you remember when Oprah had her book club and introduced the novel “The Pilot’s Wife?” That is when I discovered what a fantastic writer Anita Shreve was.
I was not disappointed by “All He Ever Wanted.” Shreve’s writing is beautiful and the story heartbreaking. It is the tale set in the 1890’s, the story of a man bent on possessing a woman he meets on the street. He gets his way, but the price he pays, a 14 year marriage to a woman who has never loved him, and the foolish things he does that finally drive her into the arms of the only man she had ever loved, helped to remind me that we cannot make someone love us.
The story is told in the voice of the man as he travels across country on a train to attend his sister’s funeral. He begins writing the story down, admitting to his delusions and his sins, to give to his son. But in the end he has gotten much too intimate and doesn’t feel the missive is for the eyes of a child. I was deeply moved by this book and won’t soon forget it.
