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The Aviator Wife A Novel Melanie Benjamin Books

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The Aviator Wife A Novel Melanie Benjamin Books

This book is so sad. At times, it was almost too sad to keep reading. It is a fictionalized account of the life of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the painfully shy wife of the famous pilot Charles Lindbergh. Lauded as a hero for flying solo from New York to Paris in 1927, he was later vilified for his very public pro-German, anti-Jewish pronouncements in what was then billed as the "America First" movement. And even later, for we are a forgiving nation, he was once again lauded as a hero. Anne was truly the long-suffering wife. She devoted everything she had to Charles, and he returned that love and devotion with coldness and betrayal. Lindbergh shockingly led a double life with three German mistresses (two of whom were sisters) and with whom he together fathered seven children.

Author Melanie Benjamin deftly explores the private side of this very public couple, especially focusing on how much Anne actually did for Charles—even though she rarely received credit for it. She not only served as his only crew in the early years of flying, but also became an accomplished aviatrix in her own right. Oh, and she also had six children, one of whom was famously kidnapped and murdered at the age of 20 months, an event that had a tragic and everlasting emotional impact on her and their very troubled marriage.

But in the end, this is just a sad, sad tale because Charles is portrayed almost as a monster. How could Anne stay with him all those years? My heart breaks for her—and what could have been.


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The Aviator Wife A Novel Melanie Benjamin Books Reviews

Good book overall, I loved the quality of the writing and especially the way the author describes the experience of flying in a small plane. Anne's awareness of her own privilege was an interesting detail that added depth to her character, as well as the story arcs about a mental illness and a gay family member, both of which needed to be kept secret from her husband. It is refreshing to see Charles Lindbergh portrayed as a deeply flawed and unlikeable "man of his time" who did a few impressive things, rather than a hero who can do no wrong. Also very interesting to see Anne's slow progression from idolizing her husband for his accomplishments to realizing he was not only human, but a pretty bad example of one.

This is one of those rare books that hooks you right out of the gate with a combination of high quality writing and interesting details, but it slows down in the middle. There is an egregious amount of page space dedicated to Anne bumbling around and moping about the kidnapped baby. I removed a star because it was so aggravating to slog through 100 boring, redundant pages crying about the kidnapping for the entire middle of the book. I also found the ending unsatisfactory since Anne never gets any closure. The book as a whole fails to give a satisfying amount of detail about Charles's harem of young Aryan women in Nazi Germany. It is very subtly implied that he's a Nazi, I think it would have been a stronger book if the author handled that detail less delicately rather than dropping small details with as little description as possible (like that Aryan harem that's barely mentioned at all) and letting you make your own conclusions.
Depending on your level of familiarity with the Lindburgs, this book will evoke memories of the past, offer insight into the real complexities of this famous couple and their families, and share the wonders of flight before it was common or enclosed. Anyone who enjoys flying will enjoy this book. It is so interesting to see the un-celebrated accomplishments of the aviator's wife and the lasting impact his fame had on their family.
A fictionalized account of the life of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, "The Aviator's Wife" reads so much like a memoir that I turned to Wikipedia several times to determine where the history ends and the novel begins. Told from Anne's perspective, the book traces her life from her meeting with aviator Charles Lindbergh through her widowhood. It includes interesting imagined "first person" takes on the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh, Jr., and Lindbergh's admiration for German society in the lead up to World War II.

Despite following (generally) the historical timeline, the book remains a novel with Anne as the heroine, overwhelmed by the attentions of a famous hero as a young women and managing the demands of a controlling, often insensitive, husband during a long marriage. Although her motivations can sometimes seem a little vague and frustrating, author Benjamin creates a rich picture of a complex woman who evolves over time.
I agree with a comment I saw elsewhere - I never knew I could hate the characters so much while enjoying the writing. This book is very well written, it flows well, it gives good context, and it has a nice writing style. There are no jumps or gaps in character development or history and no grammatical errors or spelling mistakes.

However, I really grew to dislike both Anne and Charles Lindbergh. I never knew how much I could hate Charles Lindbergh and it was hard to deal with Anne sometimes. I know it was a different time and we tend to look at things through a modern lens, but it was hard for me to deal with a character that just swoons every time she looks at a guy who is verbally abusive and neglectful. I am glad she finally found her strength but overall I would not read this book again just because of the characters and their personality traits.
This book is so sad. At times, it was almost too sad to keep reading. It is a fictionalized account of the life of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the painfully shy wife of the famous pilot Charles Lindbergh. Lauded as a hero for flying solo from New York to Paris in 1927, he was later vilified for his very public pro-German, anti-Jewish pronouncements in what was then billed as the "America First" movement. And even later, for we are a forgiving nation, he was once again lauded as a hero. Anne was truly the long-suffering wife. She devoted everything she had to Charles, and he returned that love and devotion with coldness and betrayal. Lindbergh shockingly led a double life with three German mistresses (two of whom were sisters) and with whom he together fathered seven children.

Author Melanie Benjamin deftly explores the private side of this very public couple, especially focusing on how much Anne actually did for Charles—even though she rarely received credit for it. She not only served as his only crew in the early years of flying, but also became an accomplished aviatrix in her own right. Oh, and she also had six children, one of whom was famously kidnapped and murdered at the age of 20 months, an event that had a tragic and everlasting emotional impact on her and their very troubled marriage.

But in the end, this is just a sad, sad tale because Charles is portrayed almost as a monster. How could Anne stay with him all those years? My heart breaks for her—and what could have been.