“SHE HEARD A KNOCKING AND THEN A DOG BARKING” and in that instant Kathryn Lyons life changed to an unexpected struggle between happiness and reality. Anita Shreve’s fictional masterpiece The Pilot’s Wife is an emotional roller coaster filled with adventure, sadness, depression, and the perpetual question “how well can you really know somebody?”

Imagine lying asleep in a dream and waking up to a life where the unthinkable becomes reality. Kathryn Lyons woke up to devastating news of her husband dying in a plane crash. The next step she took was a step into the unthinkable; a step towards an emotional journey which led to a mystery of untold secrets about her husband’s covert life.

Kathryn Lyons was a school teacher who thought her life was as ordinary as anybody else’s. She had a beautiful fifteen year old daughter, Mattie, and a husband named Jack who was a pilot. Kathryn and Jack were married for many years, but it wasn’t until his unexpected death until she realized she knew nothing about him. While traveling through the emotional roller coaster of Jack’s untold life you really start to wonder “how well you can really know somebody.”

Kathryn Lyons was the reason I loved this book, the strength and courage shown throughout the story gave me a sense of happiness and reason. Kathryn Lyons had to battle a constant struggle with depression. Kathryn’s courage to go on and live her life knowing her husband had another life was extremely heartwarming. Throughout the whole story Kathryn stays strong, not only for herself, but mostly for her daughter. Mattie is a lot like Kathryn but didn’t’ seemed as involved. Mattie was caring, loving, and had a good relationship with her father which you could tell from events in the novel. Jack’s character made me feel anger and hatred. However, his character seemed as if it brought the novel to life. As the mystery with Jack started to unravel I began feeling exceedingly irritated with him because of all the unexpected events and actions that took place throughout the novel.

Anita Shreve is an intellectual writer. She writes her novels in a way that not only catches the reader’s attention, but also allows readers to feel the emotions that the characters are feeling. With the mixed emotions of anger, hatred, depression, happiness, and reality Shreve made The Pilot’s Wife an exceptionally intriguing novel.

Anita Shreve’s The Pilot’s Wife immediately caught my attention and left me unable to set the book down until the very last page. With the heartfelt journey taken throughout the story and Shreve’s intelligence The Pilot’s Wife is by far my favorite novel that I have ever read. It is most definitely a must read for everyone who loves a superb novel.