Rescue by Anita Shreve
Rescue. Finished audio 6-13-14, rating 3/5, fiction, pub. 2010
Unabridged audio read by Dennis Holland. 7.5 hours.
A rookie paramedic pulls a young woman alive from her totaled car, a first rescue that begins a lifelong tangle of love and wreckage. Sheila Arsenault is a gorgeous enigma–streetwise and tough-talking, with haunted eyes, fierce desires, and a never-look-back determination. Peter Webster, as straight an arrow as they come, falls for her instantly and entirely. Soon Sheila and Peter are embroiled in an intense love affair, married, and parents to a baby daughter. Like the crash that brought them together, it all happened so fast.
from Goodreads
I consider myself an Anita Shreve fan even though this is only the fifth book I’ve read by her. She has a way of making her characters so real and relatable that she draws you in no matter the story. I was missing a little bit of that in this one. Webster was easy to like as the good, always-able-to-count on guy. I mean he made his life’s work rescuing people so you know he has a heart of gold, but Sheila as his first rescued soul is not as easy to understand. And what you do understand isn’t necessarily good. Sheila has some demons and a husband and newborn daughter are not going to make them go away. When the going gets tough, so does Webster and he ends up raising his daughter alone and I was rooting for them to make a new, happy life together.
The story itself was safe, boring, depressing? It was solid but nothing new here, just a few characters who I never really understood together and the hope of a better life for their daughter.
So, this didn’t totally work for me, but it was good and I’m still looking forward to reading all of Shreve’s other books 🙂
I checked the audio out of the library and thought Dennis Holland did a great narration.
Share this:
16 Comments »
Leave a Reply
-
What Jane Austen heroine are you?
I consider myself a Shreve fan, too, even though her books are hit or miss for me.
I have only read one book by her so far, but I loved her writing. It is too bad this one wasn’t better. I don’t like it when I can’t understand the attraction between two characters. Hopefully the next Shreve book you read will be better.
I like Shreve, too, but have never tried one of her books on audio. My favorite it probably Fortune’s Rocks.
I have that one on my shelf 🙂
I’ve enjoyed a few of her books. This was a 3 out of 5 stars for me.
I have yet to read one of her books. I have the Pilot’s Wife sitting in my storage in Utah 😉 What’s your favorite so far?
LOL, probably The Pilot’s Wife 🙂
I’m sorry you didn’t love this one. I enjoyed reading your review. I read The Pilot’s Wife by Shreve and enjoyed it.
That was my favorite so far too.
I am a big A. Shreve fan as well, and this wasn’t her best IMO. I loved her earliest books the best.
I like that I’ve read so few that I have lots more Shreve to read!
This was just ok for me. I listened to it a couple of years ago.
Looks like even Shreve fans didn’t love this one.
I wasn’t crazy about this one. Perhaps I’m spoiled by her earlier works, which IMHO are much better. Eden Close and The Weight of Water are two favorites that stand out for me.
I loved those two as well. And The Pilot’s Wfie 🙂
I’ve heard this isn’t her best one. I’ve read all of Shreve’s novels except the most recent few. If you haven’t read Stella Bain yet, Serena and I are hosting a readalong on War Through the Generations every Friday in August. And if you have read it already, I hope you’ll stop by the discussion anyway. 😉