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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
3.5 stars. This was the audio version and I did not care for the reader; a bit too emotive at times. Interesting historical fiction account of the Lindberghs. I knew little about Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Author's notes at the end explaining how she approached the book were good.
I preferred reading the book over listening to the audio version, which I felt was narrated very slowly. This historical novel made me want to learn more about the Lindbergh family.
Fascinating Story
I felt drawn in right away. This author does a fine work of depicting complexity of character, outlining historical events without being dry and leaving your heart aching.
I felt drawn in right away. This author does a fine work of depicting complexity of character, outlining historical events without being dry and leaving your heart aching.
Really liked this book. The character development almost caught me off guard when i recognized at the end of the book, right along with her, how much she had changed and grown.
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. Going into this book I didn't know much about the Lindbergh's beyond Charles' amazing flight. Told from the point of view of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, there was enough solid historical fact in this book to make it interesting, but also a good storyline to make the story flow and read like a good novel. As any good book should do, this one made me think, ask more questions, and want to find out more. Looking forward to reading Gifts from the Sea and Spirit of St. Louis.
Like many people, I adored "Gift from the Sea." In fact, we even had a reading from it at our wedding. I suspect that once you've read "the original" that it can be hard to admire an imitator. And at first I didn't much admire this book. But it grew on me, and I came to appreciate that the author managed to maintain some of the reticence of the subject, and appeared to express accurately her feelings.
This is the fictional account of aviator Charles Lindbergh and his wife Anne Morrow. Anne was the shy sister-- socially awkward and quiet-- when she meet Charles Lindbergh at a family party. In the story, she is shocked to discover that Lindbergh is interested in her, rather than her sister Elizabeth (the sickly yet pretty one that was socially in demand). After a rather sedate courtship, Lindbergh and Anne were married in May 1929.
Soon she is Lindbergh's partner, learning everything she can about flying and soon sharing the workload on the worldwide flights together. Yet this was the 30s, and Anne was simply seen as the wife of Charles Lindbergh, despite her personal accomplishments.
In 1930, their first son Charles Jr. was born. And, of course, that little baby was quite famously kidnapped for ransom at 20 months of age. Probably the most famous kidnapping in history. (His body was found months later about 4 miles from his home. It is speculated that the kidnapper dropped him when the ladder broke as he carried Charles Jr. down, and the infant died.)
The author outlined her goal in a note at the end of the book:
"...I wanted to make Anne the heroine of her own story, finally-- as in memory (both her written accounts and the public's perception), she is far too often overshadowed by the dominant personality that is Charles Lindbergh. (p. 336)"
I think this book succeeded on that point. You find yourself frustrated with the lack of acknowledgement of her accomplishments, since she did some pretty amazing things.
My final word: The book isn't poorly written, isn't horribly boring or filled with drivel. It simply wasn't very exciting, nor did I find it very interesting. I didn't find myself hanging on the book's every word, wondering what would happen next. In fact, it was so forgettable that I didn't think I had finished it, since I couldn't remember anything about the ending. So I picked it up to finish it, and found I recognized everything I was reading, and realized I'd finished this book a month or so ago, and totally forgot it. I thought Lindbergh was really unlikable. I just don't get the public's love affair with him. He was sympathetic to Hitler, and yet they loved him. He could do no wrong. I found some of the dialogue to be unrealistic. This is one of those books that I would have been happy to have never read, even though I like Melanie Benjamin's writing well enough.
challenging
informative
tense
medium-paced
What I DID like: Until I read this book, I didn't know how little I knew about the Lindberghs: flight across the ocean, kidnapping of their baby, and "Gifts from the Sea." I love learning history through novels... Not just about specific people but also the atmosphere of the times. The author of this novel did a great job at painting their story in their time.
What I did NOT like: I found that I didn't like Charles and Ann. In fact, I disliked them. I don't want to put any spoilers in here, so I won't go into detail. I had never idolized them, so I wasn't disappointed, but I was surprised by how not hero-like they both were. Not feeling sympathetic toward the lead characters made it very difficult to enjoy the book as a whole.
What I did NOT like: I found that I didn't like Charles and Ann. In fact, I disliked them. I don't want to put any spoilers in here, so I won't go into detail. I had never idolized them, so I wasn't disappointed, but I was surprised by how not hero-like they both were. Not feeling sympathetic toward the lead characters made it very difficult to enjoy the book as a whole.