The Aviator's Wife

A Novel

By: Melanie Benjamin

Narrated by: Lorna Raver

Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

In the spirit of Loving Frank and The Paris Wife, acclaimed novelist Melanie Benjamin pulls back the curtain on the marriage of one of America’s most extraordinary couples: Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

For much of her life, Anne Morrow, the shy daughter of the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, has stood in the shadows of those around her, including her millionaire father and vibrant older sister, who often steals the spotlight. Then Anne, a college senior with hidden literary aspirations, travels to Mexico City to spend Christmas with her family. There she meets Colonel Charles Lindbergh, fresh off his celebrated 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic. Enthralled by Charles’s assurance and fame, Anne is certain the celebrated aviator has scarcely noticed her. But she is wrong.

Charles sees in Anne a kindred spirit, a fellow adventurer, and her world will be changed forever. The two marry in a headline-making wedding. Hounded by adoring crowds and hunted by an insatiable press, Charles shields himself and his new bride from prying eyes, leaving Anne to feel her life falling back into the shadows. In the years that follow, despite her own major achievements - she becomes the first licensed female glider pilot in the United States - Anne is viewed merely as the aviator’s wife. The fairy-tale life she once longed for will bring heartbreak and hardships, ultimately pushing her to reconcile her need for love and her desire for independence, and to embrace, at last, life’s infinite possibilities for change and happiness.

Drawing on the rich history of the twentieth century - from the late twenties to the mid-sixties - and featuring cameos from such notable characters as Joseph Kennedy and Amelia Earhart, The Aviator’s Wife is a vividly imagined novel of a complicated marriage - revealing both its dizzying highs and its devastating lows. With stunning power and grace, Melanie Benjamin provides new insight into what made this remarkable relationship endure.

©2013 Melanie Benjamin (P)2013 Random House Audio

An engaging, informative read.

Loved the book. I will be researching Anne Morrow Lindbergh years from now. I am glad to learn about this incredible, pioneering woman.

Good Book Bad Reader

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The book was fascinating, but the reader was atrocious

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked the character of Anne's mother, wise, and unflappable.

What didn’t you like about Lorna Raver’s performance?

Her voice was just gravely and not right.

wonderfully engaging book.

I have always, for 50+ years enjoyed reading and re reading gift from the sea...so consequently loved getting to.know her life even better.

The narrator!

How could the performance have been better?

I'm only into this book a couple of hours but the narrator is driving me crazy! As another reviewer stated, Ann is supposed to be a young woman in her 20's and this woman sounds like she is definitely more mature than that. Her reading is slow and pedantic and when she portrays a male voice it reminds me of Jughead in an Archie comic. Very nasally and whiny. May have to abandon.

great read!

enjoyed this book very much. as a historical fiction it will prompt the reader to search for further information of the lynberghs.

Great work of historical fiction

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, very interesting story and a whole other side to the Lindberghs

Who was your favorite character and why?

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

What about Lorna Raver’s performance did you like?

Performance was good, but think it would have been better if a man voiced the male parts.

If you could rename The Aviator's Wife, what would you call it?

Perfect name, wouldn't change it

Any additional comments?

You will like this if you like The Paris Wife

History comes to life

This book brings history to life – learned a lot about the family and their reasons for choosing to support Nazis, which was abhorant.

The first woman glider piolet

When I read the book on Coolidge there was a lot of information about the Morrow family and Charles Lindbergh so when I saw this book I grabbed it. I am glad I did! I remember reading Ann Morrow Lindbergh's books back in the 1950's and learning about them in school. This book provided far more insight and understand of the Lindbergh's than other books I have read about them. The book showed Ann coming into her own person and the changes in her life from the kidnapping and death of her first born son, the terrible hounding of them by the paparazzi. Ann went from a pampered rich girl to learning how to cook, and run a household of five children by herself. She has been lost in the shadow of Lindbergh she was his copilot, navigator and radio operator she had licenses in all this some being the first women do so. All his records he broke she was the copilot but did anyone notice her? It is about time she is know for more than her writings. She was the first women to fly a glider and to obtain a license. I enjoyed this book and they way it was told looking back at her life. Lorna Raver did a good job narrating the book.

Fictional bio about fascinating woman

Would you listen to The Aviator's Wife again? Why?

I think I would like to read the book rather than listen again. I felt that the narrator's voice was "too old" for the chapters that portrayed Ann in her younger years. It took away from the feeling of young love, infatuation, and love. I think the content of the book might "read" differently.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ann - of course. I read the excellent bio of Charles Lindbergh by Scott Berg so got the "male" perspective. She has always intrigued me.

Did Lorna Raver do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes with the exception of the above criticism.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Listening - made me want to reread/listen to "Gift from the Sea"

Good read, poor reader.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes, I would recommend this book just not as an audible.

If you’ve listened to books by Melanie Benjamin before, how does this one compare?

No.

What didn’t you like about Lorna Raver’s performance?

It was painful to listen to this reader.

Did The Aviator's Wife inspire you to do anything?

Look up on the internet articles related to the Lindbergs.

Any additional comments?

I wanted to stop listening to this book many times due to the reader but, wanted to finish the story.