Resistance by Anita Shreve

This novel is an interesting story of war, love, and courage. Claire Daussois is the wife of a resistance worker in Balgium. When an American plane crashes in her village, she and her husband take in the wounded pilot. Claire and the pilot end up falling in love and having an affair, but as this story takes place during World War II, of course their love is doomed.

What I love most about Shreve's novels is the level of excitement. Her books begin with amazing action and the story keeps building until the end, when she finished with a surprising twist. This story is no exception. While the love story is passionate and emotional, the realistic representation of the time period and the details that Shreve includes sets the tone of the story perfectly and transports the reader into the time of Nazi-occupied Europe.

Another great thing about this novel is the fact that Shreve switches perspectives between different characters so that we are able to understand all sides of the story. At no time is this confusing, since Shreve is quite clear through her developed characters and the flow of the story itself.

By the end of the story, we are sympathetic to the characters and their struggles, and while the ending may not be a fairy tale type ending, it makes sense, and Shreve wraps the story up perfectly.

The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens

This is the story of a woman named Mary Gooch. As the story opens, Mary is waiting for her husband to return home. When he doesn't return, she ends up going in search of him. Eventually, she receives a letter telling her that he has left, but has won a lottery and shared his winnings with her, providing her with money in their bank account. This allows Mary to go in search of him, and eventually she finds peace within herself.

The story itself is a simple one, but the way that Lansens creates her characters is really amazing. As a reader, I was dissapointed with Mary at first. Lansens spends a lot of time describing how overweight Mary is at first, and it wasn't until she overcomes her eating disorder that I realized that there was a reason that Lansens described her in such detail: she has a problem that she is aware of, but she seems powerless against it. It was interesting to watch how Mary develops as a character and overcomes her addiction to food.

Lansens is a wonderful author who has the ability to allow her stories to develop naturally. Mary's journey seems realistic and ending leaves you satisfied. While this is not my favorite of Lansesn's books, I did enjoy it.