December 28, 2010 / Leslie

Review: Rescue

Anita Shreve, Book Review, Giveaway, Women's Literature

Rescue
A Novel
by Anita Shreve

Genre: Women’s Literature
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publish Date: November 30, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 288 pages
Rating: 4 of 5

Peter Webster, a young EMT trainee, rescues a woman from a terrible car accident. Sheila Arsenault is young and beautiful and troubled. She is running away from her problems and was drunk when she crashed her car.

Peter was instantly attracted to Sheila. He visited her after the accident to see if she was alright and even though he knew it was probably not something he should do he continued to see her. It wasn’t long before they became involved in a passionate love affair and Sheila became pregnant. Soon they were married and raising a baby, but Sheila’s drinking and destructive ways did not end. Peter could not trust her with the baby, Rowan, and so he told her she had to leave.

Fast forward to the present and Peter is raising a rebellious teenager on his own. He was so busy working to earn enough to provide a good life for Rowan he didn’t notice she had changed from a sweet young girl to an angry teenager. A teenager that is now drinking, engaging in risky behavior and making Peter second guess his decision to raise her by himself.

As in all her books, Anita Shreve makes us think. This time it’s about family and choices, honesty and consequences. Peter and Sheila seemed all wrong for each other. As I read I kept asking what, other than the physical affair, does he see in her. Perhaps as an EMT trained to help people he thought he could ‘save’ her. But I found it odd that later, when she continues to have problems and needs his help and support, he abruptly gives up rather than try and convince her to go into rehab. He sacrificed his marriage for what he thought would be best for his daughter.

The book was very readable; quick and easy, the type of story you could breeze through in one sitting. It wrapped up quickly; not a bad ending but I was wanting a little more. While I liked the book it was not my favorite Anita Shreve novel. And that’s not a criticism, because she has too many great books to compare it to. Perhaps it was the subject matter that I didn’t find as interesting as some of her other books. In the end it was a little too “Lifetime TV” for me. However, I think many fans will thoroughly enjoy this one and it would make a great book club selection with many discussion possibilities.

Source: Book provided by the publisher for review.
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GIVEAWAY [Closed]
If you would like to win my copy of the book, a gently read ARC, leave a comment telling me which Anita Shreve book is your favorite or if this will be the first one you read. (If you’re curious, my favorite is still Eden Close, her first book.)

Contest is open to US and Canada addresses only, enter by January 14th. Be sure to include your email address. The winner will have 48 hours to reply.
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Congratulations to the winner, Judy H.