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As only Anita Shreve can tell it!, Jui 5 2004
Par Un client
Once again Shreve outdoes herself. I was very impressed with the telling of this story, as such things are often expressed from the victim's view, and this time, we get to hear the oppressor's story. The first chapter was difficult to read, as the language is a step back into another generation. But by the end of the first couple of chapters, the pompous and pendantic narrative was downright mesmerizing. I caught a vision of Nicholas Van Tassel easily, both his physical attributes as well as his motivations and methods. One can understand and even sympathize with his controlling nature. By the end of the telling, I both despised and pitied him. This book is worth reading, worth sludging through the first couple of chapters to gain a feel for the language and rhythm of the story. I highly recommend this book to all Shreve fans, and anticipate the arrival of her newest in August 2004.
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An Excellent Book, Mars 8 2004
I struggled through the first chapter or two of this book, then it swept me up and I didn't put it down until I had finished. The language is old-fashioned and a little flowery yet works well to draw the reader in to the story. The story is told by a college professor looking back over his marriage which took place 30-odd years before. The old man feels the need to explain his marriage to his son who is about to become a father. Nicholas Van Tassel meets Etna Bliss when they both escape from the dining room of the local hotel which happens to be burning down around their ears. From the start Van Tassel is overwhelmed with longing for Etna. Even when they are married he never stops longing for her. While she becomes his wife, Etna never gives herself to her husband in any sense of the word. In many ways she remains a stranger to both him and to the reader. We only ever hear her husband's version of events, apart from a few letters he discovers. Etna is a woman of secrets and all is not revealed by the book. This is a good story that is beautifully written. I was fully absorbed by it and once it got going it was never dull. All the major characters are deserving of sympathy in their own way and I spent most of the book knowing it was knowing it was all going to end in tears but hoping it wouldn't. There is no simple happy ending to this book, although it isn't totally without hope, which felt very right. A happy ending would have been a cop-out.
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An Excellent Book, Mars 8 2004
I struggled through the first chapter or two of this book, then it swept me up and I didn't put it down until I had finished. The language is old-fashioned and a little flowery yet works well to draw the reader in to the story. The story is told by a college professor looking back over his marriage which took place 30-odd years before. The old man feels the need to explain his marriage to his son who is about to become a father. Nicholas Van Tassel meets Etna Bliss when they both escape from the dining room of the local hotel which happens to be burning down around their ears. From the start Van Tassel is overwhelmed with longing for Etna. Even when they are married he never stops longing for her. While she becomes his wife, Etna never gives herself to her husband in any sense of the word. In many ways she remains a stranger to both him and to the reader. We only ever hear her husband's version of events, apart from a few letters he discovers. Etna is a woman of secrets and all is not revealed by the book. This is a good story that is beautifully written. I was fully absorbed by it and once it got going it was never dull. All the major characters are deserving of sympathy in their own way and I spent most of the book knowing it was knowing it was all going to end in tears but hoping it wouldn't. There is no simple happy ending to this book, although it isn't totally without hope, which felt very right. A happy ending would have been a cop-out.
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Gripping and Unforgettable, Fév 25 2004
Anita Shreve simply does not write ordinary books. Even her lesser efforts tend to leave the reader gasping for air at the end--and "All He Ever Wanted," one of her best, in my opinion, is breathtaking in the same shocking way.Written entirely from the point of view of a stodgy male college professor circa 1900, this is the story of a passion so intense, so unlike the writer himself, that it is scarcely believable, especially when related in the stilted flowery language of the day. Nicholas Van Tassel, a rather ordinary pedantic with nothing particularly unusual about him, happens to be in a hotel restaurant when it catches fire. This single pivotal episode in his otherwise unremarkable life changes him forever--it is during the rescue effort that he encounters Miss Etna Bliss, and falls head over heels into a passion that borders on, indeed IS, an obsession. Hampered by the extreme rules of etiquette governing proper men and women of the day, Van Tassel nevertheless pursues Miss Bliss, finally persuading her to marry him despite her the fact that, as she honestly tells him, she does not love him. Love will come, thinks Van Tassel, hardly able to believe his luck in winning his prize. And that hope, that fantasy, that overwhelming obsession of his entire being, eventually destroys the narrator, his wife, and his entire family. Shreve stays in character completely and thoroughly, managing to evoke the failings of the man himself, the restrictions of the society in which he lives, and the hopelessness of his obsession without ever once betraying herself. It is safe to say that the author stays well in the background while letting Van Tassel tell his own tragic story. I consider this book a minor masterpiece. Shreve is an acquired taste, I know--but truly innovative and absolutely original in every book she writes. "All He Ever Wanted" is no exception.
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All He Ever Wanted - Outstanding, Fév 8 2004
Par Un client
Couldn't put it down. Evoked so many conflicting emotions. So well written and thought provoking. I really enjoyed this book.
Highly recommended!
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Shreve at her very best! One of my favorite books of 2003!, Janv. 15 2004
Like Fortune's Rocks and Sea Glass, All He Ever Wanted by Anita Shreve is a book filled with wonderful characters set against a historical background of social mores and traditions. And as she did in he previous historical novels, the author offers her readers a wonderful novel and one that left me wishing for another book by Anita Shreve.All He Ever Wanted begins during a fire when Nicholas Van Tassel, a professor at a small college in New Hampshire, spots a young woman and accompanies her home that evening. Almost immediately Nicholas becomes besotted with the woman Ms. Etna Bliss and begins courting her. From this point of the narrative, Shreve moves the scene to a time many years later as Nicholas recounts the story of his love for Etna on a train as he is bound for his sister's funeral in Florida. At this point Shreve becomes almost a modern day Edith Wharton as through Nicholas we come to learn about his views of society in the early 1900's through 1930. As readers, we watch as Nicholas becomes further obsessed with Etna, thwarts a rival for a competitive position at the college and eventually comes under scrutiny for a transgression he did many years before. And as these events are taking place we also watch as Nicholas' and Etna's relationship begins to spiral out of control and wonder how this will all be resolved. For in the end all Nicholas ever wanted is the love of Etna. I highly recommend this book to those readers who have enjoyed Anita Shreve in the past and for those who may want to read her for the first time. The author has a wonderful ability to put her readers right between the pages of the book. In addition the narrative evokes the language and society of the 1900's. Shreve has done an excellent job of describing these events from the point of view of a man deeply in love and this book makes for a very worthwhile read. I enjoyed it so much that I rated it among my ten top favorite reads for 2003.
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Bravura performance...a brilliant chamber piece..., Oct. 4 2003
Five stars for one of the best books to come my way in a long time, as good as, but different from, The Weight of Water, which I also loved. I, too, listened to the unabridged audio by Dennis Boutsikaris (who played the dastardly D.A. on "One Center Street.") When it was over, I wanted to jump to my feet and shout "Bravo!" as if Id just listened to an exquisite violin ensemble I never wanted to end. I thought the novel a daring and poignant exercise in feminist fiction, similar to "The Yellow Wallpaper." It's also an experiment in Victorian fiction, and Shreve has pulled it off. Congratulations to a writer who just gets better with each book. (I've only read three of her books and can't wait to get more...)
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Listen to this book, Aoû 28 2003
Par Un client
Dennis Boutsikaris' reading of this book is wonderful. Ms. Shreve's use of the language of the day (which may appear stilted in book form) and the portrayal of society at that time are both brought alive by Mr. Boutsikaris' acting skills. He portrays Professor Van Tassel as a believable character of his environment notwithstanding his stuffiness. The lengths to which the Professor goes to keep his wife are shocking no matter what era is depicted.
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Well written !, Aoû 17 2003
Unlike some other reviewers that have blasted this written piece, I found nothing but praise for Anita Shreve's book. Many a man today can learn a thing or two from Prof. Nicholas Van Tassel. His persistence & perseverance in getting something "that he wanted" in a bad way should be admired and complimented. Shreve does a great job in presenting the early 20th Century dating mannerisms that gentlemen were expected to undertake when interested in any particular lady. Many of these qualities I still adhered to myself personally as a somewhat romantic, old-fashioned gentleman.
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Nicholas story, Juil 12 2003
Author Anita Shreve weaves love, passion, family, secrets, and betrayal in her latest novel, ALL HE EVER WANTED. Shreve takes us into the world of college professor Nicholas Van Tassel and his companion Etna Bliss. When Nicholas meets Etna one evening after a fire in an area restaurant, Nicholas is immediately smitten. From that moment, lives are changed forever as Nicholas becomes obsessed with claiming the woman who ultimately becomes his sweetest joy and his darkest grief. Written in first person, Shreve brilliantly shares Nicholas' story allowing readers to see deep within a man who is pondering upon the memories of his past. ALL HE EVER WANTED is vivid and descriptive with rich imagery and well-developed characters. Shreve is an amazing author who delivers a compelling page-turner to the literary community. Reviewed by Kanika A. Wade
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
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Ce produit
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CDN$ 16.99 CDN$ 12.40
Habituellement expédié sous 3 à 5 semaines
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Accueil Amazon
