crabbygirl reviewed The stars are fire by Anita Shreve
Review of 'The stars are fire' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
otherwise know by it's other title: The Book is Crap. Lordy! it started off well, setting the scene for the large & famous fire thru Maine. the protagonist, Grace, is in a shaky marriage and the way in which she preps for the disaster (foolishly) and survives the flames (miraculously) were fascinating. even the aftermath was sufficiently serious, but then everything just clicks into place. no one she loves dies. the hubby is gone but she's happy about that. her mother shows up, has a place for them to stay, and then she finds her dead mother-in-law's mansion was untouched by flames and has a dreamy piano player squatting inside. she gets a job lickety-spilt (her mom to watch the kids), a car and a life and is somehow a modern 1990s woman (with the au-courant views on feminism, racism and lesbians) hubby/monster returns, craps over her new life and …
otherwise know by it's other title: The Book is Crap. Lordy! it started off well, setting the scene for the large & famous fire thru Maine. the protagonist, Grace, is in a shaky marriage and the way in which she preps for the disaster (foolishly) and survives the flames (miraculously) were fascinating. even the aftermath was sufficiently serious, but then everything just clicks into place. no one she loves dies. the hubby is gone but she's happy about that. her mother shows up, has a place for them to stay, and then she finds her dead mother-in-law's mansion was untouched by flames and has a dreamy piano player squatting inside. she gets a job lickety-spilt (her mom to watch the kids), a car and a life and is somehow a modern 1990s woman (with the au-courant views on feminism, racism and lesbians) hubby/monster returns, craps over her new life and she leaves him with the convenient wealth found in the mother-in-law's house. ridiculous! the choice of language was modern (you want me to wipe your ass the rest of your life?) meanwhile it's set at the end of the 40s. wasted opportunity to explore this real event and how the devastation impacted the community at large, and this family specifically.