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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
This book offers a fascinating glimpse of Anne Morrow Lindbergh's life.
Finished this book on Monday and on Tuesday, this was final jeopardy:
Here’s tonight’s Final Jeopardy answer and question for Tuesday, January 24, 2017:
Final Jeopardy! category: MEDALS & DECORATIONS
Final Jeopardy! clue/answer: Her husband won in 1927; in 1934 she was the 1st woman to win the Natl. Geog. Society’s Hubbard Medal for exploration
In 1934, Anne Morrow Lindbergh received the Hubbard Medal for her work as a radio operator and co-pilot to her husband on a pair of flights in 1931 and 1933, a trek that saw them explore five continents.
Prior to the US entry into World War II, though, Anne and her husband fell out of favor with many Americans, as Charles was seen as a pacifist Nazi sympathizer, as part of the non-interventionist group known as “America First”. Many of his speeches given under that “America First” banner before America entered World War II were regarded as anti-Semitic.
Very interesting timing...
Here’s tonight’s Final Jeopardy answer and question for Tuesday, January 24, 2017:
Final Jeopardy! category: MEDALS & DECORATIONS
Final Jeopardy! clue/answer: Her husband won in 1927; in 1934 she was the 1st woman to win the Natl. Geog. Society’s Hubbard Medal for exploration
In 1934, Anne Morrow Lindbergh received the Hubbard Medal for her work as a radio operator and co-pilot to her husband on a pair of flights in 1931 and 1933, a trek that saw them explore five continents.
Prior to the US entry into World War II, though, Anne and her husband fell out of favor with many Americans, as Charles was seen as a pacifist Nazi sympathizer, as part of the non-interventionist group known as “America First”. Many of his speeches given under that “America First” banner before America entered World War II were regarded as anti-Semitic.
Very interesting timing...
I'm going to have to sit on this for awhile. When I first learned about Charles Lindbergh, I thought he was amazing. I have been to where he took off for that famous flight and felt that I was standing in the middle of history.
I realize this is fiction. But some of this is true. It's not sitting well with me that the man was probably an asshole.
I realize this is fiction. But some of this is true. It's not sitting well with me that the man was probably an asshole.
i have wavered between 2- and 3-stars...so i guess it's a 2.5-star read. i didn't love it and i didn't hate it but i am bummed as i feel a crap-ton of potential was lost...or edited out? i found the afterword more personal and interesting that the novel and this book has made me want to find great biographies of anne morrow lindbergh and charles lindbergh. all the way through i felt anne's voice (our narrator) was too detached. i held faith that benjamin had done this for a reason...but it is not hugely evident to me. for a woman (morrow) who was, apparently, sensitive, smart, passionate and brave...these traits, while observed upon in the novel, were rarely noted in the character's voice. i tried to very much keep in mind the era this story covers, where the lives and expectations for women were very different than today...but morrow is built up as unconventional for the times by the author.
I didn't know a ton about Anne and Charles before I read this book. I would be interested to read some of Anne's diaries or a biography on them. I felt like Benjamin was a little rambly and cheesy so I skipped around a lot but the history was fascinating.
If I had not already read several other Lindberg memoirs, biographies and books on flight I might have found this one more interesting. It was good, just nothing new.
A book club selection. I normally am not into historical fiction, but this one grabbed me right away. I didn't know too much about the Lindberghs, other than the historical flight and a slight recollection of the "Lindbergh baby," so this opened my eyes to the many accomplishments of Anne Morrow Lindbergh. I put the book down when it was over, and did some research on her to see what was fact and what was fiction, and she blew me away. Hard to put down, once you get about 25% in. I read this over a weekend, and was brought right into the plane, the home, the heartbreak of Anne.
I went into The Aviator's Wife knowing very little about the Lindberghs. I knew of the name, and that it related to the beginnings of aviation. I was excited to discover an era I didn't know so well, a part of history I normally wouldn't have investigated on my own, and to be reading more from Melanie Benjamin, who's novel Alice I Have Been I had loved.
Anne's life was certainly unique and eventful, and I can see why the author picked her as the object of her new novel. I had no idea the Lindberghs had been such a fascination for the people at the time, with paparazzi and crazies following them everywhere. The kidnapping was a shock for me, and I immediately went to wikipedia to find out if this was truth, or an imagining of the author (I'll let those who know as little as I did discover it by themselves!)
Anne was definitely a character made of strengths and weaknesses (a positive point for me). Benjamin didn't gloss over some of Anne's less glorious traits, to a point where it was frustrating to read at times. From the beginning and almost to the end, Anne stands idly by her husband, nodding along everything he says or does because he's her husband, and of all men, he is Charles Lindbergh. I couldn't help but want to shake some sense into her. Anne does write books and end up living a more independent life towards the end, but it is a much smaller part of the novel.
Still, it would be hard not to feel for Anne, for despite her occasional passivity, she appears as a character with great sensibility. Benjamin's talent shines through Anne's emotional journey. She is such a contrast to her husband's cold attitude! Anne is a wife, yes, but she's also an aviator herself, a mother, a sister, an author. She's a complex woman, and as she struggles to define herself out of her husband's shadow, I was all the more intrigued by her. This had me planning on discovering more of her writing and life.
There were some aspects I enjoyed less of the book; mainly, I felt as if I was going through a list of events which didn't follow each other seamlessly. I understand the author's desire to follow these historical characters through some of the most important historical events; however, I sometimes felt as if these were forced into the story. Chapters jumped years, with Anne offering a little summary of what had happened in between, and it unsettled my reader's mind a little every time.
There is very little negative to be said about Melanie Benjamin's newest historical novel. Anne Lindbergh's life was a fascinating one, a tragic one, a complex one. Discovering these important historical figures through Benjamin's soft and sensitive prose made it an even greater reading experience. For readers who enjoy historical fiction which focuses more on the internal life of the characters than on the historical details, The Aviator's Wife is a perfect pick.
Anne's life was certainly unique and eventful, and I can see why the author picked her as the object of her new novel. I had no idea the Lindberghs had been such a fascination for the people at the time, with paparazzi and crazies following them everywhere. The kidnapping was a shock for me, and I immediately went to wikipedia to find out if this was truth, or an imagining of the author (I'll let those who know as little as I did discover it by themselves!)
Anne was definitely a character made of strengths and weaknesses (a positive point for me). Benjamin didn't gloss over some of Anne's less glorious traits, to a point where it was frustrating to read at times. From the beginning and almost to the end, Anne stands idly by her husband, nodding along everything he says or does because he's her husband, and of all men, he is Charles Lindbergh. I couldn't help but want to shake some sense into her. Anne does write books and end up living a more independent life towards the end, but it is a much smaller part of the novel.
Still, it would be hard not to feel for Anne, for despite her occasional passivity, she appears as a character with great sensibility. Benjamin's talent shines through Anne's emotional journey. She is such a contrast to her husband's cold attitude! Anne is a wife, yes, but she's also an aviator herself, a mother, a sister, an author. She's a complex woman, and as she struggles to define herself out of her husband's shadow, I was all the more intrigued by her. This had me planning on discovering more of her writing and life.
There were some aspects I enjoyed less of the book; mainly, I felt as if I was going through a list of events which didn't follow each other seamlessly. I understand the author's desire to follow these historical characters through some of the most important historical events; however, I sometimes felt as if these were forced into the story. Chapters jumped years, with Anne offering a little summary of what had happened in between, and it unsettled my reader's mind a little every time.
There is very little negative to be said about Melanie Benjamin's newest historical novel. Anne Lindbergh's life was a fascinating one, a tragic one, a complex one. Discovering these important historical figures through Benjamin's soft and sensitive prose made it an even greater reading experience. For readers who enjoy historical fiction which focuses more on the internal life of the characters than on the historical details, The Aviator's Wife is a perfect pick.
adventurous
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A great historical fiction novel that does exactly what good historical fiction should do--make me want to know more about the novel's main subject. My knowledge of the Lindbergh's was limited to what I learned about "Lucky Lindy" in school. wonderful story that has sparked my curiosity about these aviation pioneers!