Rescue: A Novel (edition 2011)

Audio. Okay captured my attention, but not the best I've ever listened to. A light read for those times when that's necessary. ( )

I just finished reading Rescue by Anita Shreve, and although a quick read, I don't think that I will remember much about the novel an hour from now. The characters weren't particularly likable and the story-line needed much more plot development. For the most part, every sentence was written with the same format..."Webster said..." "Webster did..." "Webster thought..."; it was quite distracting. It was a story that didn't live up to its potential. ( )

I could not get attached to this book. I just didn't click with the characters and have other things I want to read more. I did not finish it, but will maybe return to it at some other time. ( )

I first heard of Anita Shreve when one of her books was chosen during the early days of the Oprah book club. I found her books different, and that was a good thing. Different writing and interesting plots used to be her hallmark.

This book hit those marks, but was a little too shallow and brief to be truly interesting. The characters' motivations were never fleshed out. The plot was a bit thin. I'd still give another of her books a try, but hopefully one that had a little more time to percolate.

( )

A deeply moving tale of family and love. ( )

A rookie paramedic pulls a young woman alive from her totaled car, a first rescue that begins a lifelong tangle of love and wreckage. Sheila Arsenault is a gorgeous enigma--streetwise and tough-talking, with haunted eyes, fierce desires, and a never-look-back determination. Peter Webster, as straight an arrow as they come, falls for her instantly and entirely. Soon Sheila and Peter are embroiled in an intense love affair, married, and parents to a baby daughter. Like the crash that brought them together, it all happened so fast. Eighteen years later, Sheila is long gone and Peter is raising their daughter, Rowan, alone. But Rowan is veering dangerously off track, and for the first time in their ordered existence together, Webster fears for her future. His work shows him daily every danger the world contains, how wrong everything can go in a second. All the love a father can give a daughter is suddenly not enough.
Sheila's sudden return may be a godsend--or it may be exactly the wrong moment for a lifetime of questions and anger and longing to surface anew. What tore a young family apart? Is there even worse damage ahead? ( )

Rescue is a book about a man named Webster and his life as an EMT. The beginning is in the present with him and his 17 year old daughter. The second part is 18 year earlier. This is when you learn all about how Webster became a father.

Webster is an EMT and him and his partner get a call. The call is for a single automobile accident. The woman involved in the accident is drunk and Webster is drawn to her. He thinks about her and follows up on how she is after the incident. The woman is named Sheila. She is an alcoholic but Webster is blinded by love.

I found the story interesting but at the same time parts of it bothered me. After Webster and Sheila are married and their daughter Rowan is born, Sheila starts drinking again. Webster gets Sheila to go to AA and thinks things will be fine. One day Webster and his partner get a call and when they arrive the accident involves Sheila, drunk and with Rowan in the car. Sheila will go to jail because this is her second DUI. I didn't like the fact that the cops, and his friends let him know and that they let her leave before they are going to pick her up. I know that it was that way so that the story would be the way it was. I just felt that if that happened in real life the husband would be accused of letting the criminal escape and would be sent to jail too.

That was the only thing I didn't like. I recommend reading the book and forming your own views of the story. ( )

Some of the Shreve magic is still there - she can capture an emotion - but more than a hint of laziness in the structure, plotting, continuity, pacing. ( )

This was a book about a family that lives through manycises nad comes through them. ir t is about a family whose mother is an alcoholic and nearly kills her daughter in a car accident. She is sent away by her husband who fraers for his young daughter. In the end the mother returns to help the daughter and dad through a rough time. ( )

Not as good as some of her others. The plot was not what I had expected it to be. Kept thinking that it would pick up, but it did not. Still a decent read, but not something I could not wait to read! ( )

Good

The story is set in a small town called Hartstone, a town where everyone knows each other. Webster works as an EMT and one night on duty he meets Shelia, a drunk driver who has totaled her car on the side on the 42.

I instantly loved Webster; he’s straight as an arrow, lived in Hartsone all his life, and has no dreams to move away to a bigger city. He falls blindly in love with Shelia, who isn’t a particularly likeable character. I found it hard to stay interested in the characters lives as they weren’t well developed or explored. Shelia drinks too much but we never really find out why. I would like to have found out more about Shelia, about why she drinks, more about her past, and the reasons why their love affair blossomed in the first place. Why did Webster fall for this stranger?

I enjoyed reading about Webster’s life before and after Shelia left. He is an extremely likeable guy. He is a hard worker, he loves Shelia, and he adores his daughter. The relationship between him and Rowan seems real but again, it’s not well developed. We never really get to understand why Rowan is acting out.

Overall it was a nice read, it has romance, it certainly has some exciting, fast paced scenes and I would recommend reading this book purely for Webster :) Rating: 3/5

Two Words: Interesting but Weak

This is a simple book; it definitely shows a father's concern and love for his daughter no matter what she does.

I found it odd, though, that the author uses the father's last name throughout most of the book, using it as his first name.

The language was undesirable at times.

Also, it seemed that the author 'forgot' in the story that Rowan, the 17 year old daughter, was "in danger of failing English and Calculus" And later in the book, after a swimming accident and apparent head injury, the author recalls that Rowan was failing two classes.... yet she graduates. So the author just 'sticks in the plot' that 'while in the hospital, Webster and Sheila' (his estranged wife) 'managed to get Rowan to complete two take-home finals'. "His daughter finished them with ease."
Rowan is both Webster's AND Sheila's daughter, I don't believe that a person with a head injury would be able to finish the "two take-home finals" with ease.

I was mildly disappointed with the simplicity of the book. ( )

Peter Webster is an EMT. One night, he runs across a drunk driver who has smashed her car into a tree. Webster finds himself drawn to this woman and he begins to visit her and help her. Before he knows it, he has a child with her and marries her. The woman, Sheila, soon abandons her husband and young daughter.

Fast forward to present day and we find Webster trying to deal with his teenage daughter, now deeply troubled. Webster reconnect with Sheila in an attempt to save his daughter.

You know what you get with Anita Shreve. She will not let you down with this book. ( )

I don't read a ton of non-fantasy, but this book definitely held me. I wanted to know what happened, and I wanted it to be all right. Finally, in the end, there was hope for it to be all right. It kept me excited and interested- I think I'll be looking for more of her books. ( )

The story of Webster, a paramedic/emergency medical technician, who falls in love with an alcoholic, sends her away to save her from going to jail for DUI, raises their daughter Rowan alone and then after his daughter begins to drink, has a major accident, reunites with his wife to "rescue" his daughter. While the plot is predictable, the coverage of Webster's work and thinking holds your interest and I found this book highly enjoyable. ( )

This was a good story for a summer read. Even if it did seem a bit LifeTimie movie to this old,jaded reader! The characters were well drawn even if I did dislike Sheila. I kept picturing the actress who plays the mother on current AMC series, The Killing as her!
While reading the book this week I stood behind two very dapper young men who had rescue on golf shirts they were wearing from my town. Funny,I had never given these people a thought before. This book made me aware of the difficult and necessary job these people do. ( )

If you like Anita Shreve, like I do, skip this one. A well-intentioned but controlling father is surprised that his teenage daughter is troubled by not knowing anything about her mother, who dad turned away 15 years ago because of her alcoholism and irresponsible behavior towards the toddler daughter. Dad is a boring, nice guy, dedicated to his daughter and his job as a paramedic. Mother, self-centered when drunk, is only a little less annoying when sober. Daughter is normal kid, gets drunk a couple times and dad freaks out, which of course alienates them further and then daughter has a very serious alcohol related accident which, naturally, reunites the whole family. Predictable, happy ending. ( )

Typical Anita Shreve. I enjoyed it and it held my interest. Not great literature. The story of Webster, his daughter Rowan and his alcoholic ex wife. Daughter begins to drink, has major accident, survives, graduates high school and at the end he seems to get back with his wife. ( )

With an EMT as the main character, the emergency medical scenes provide a fascinating backdrop to the story of intense romance gone awry, the difficulties of single-fathering, and small town relationships. ( )

Pretty good. Does not meet the standard of her early books.

Rescue is by Anita Shreve. May I just say that I definitely picked the right book to kick off the new year? No one would argue that Anita Shreve is an excellent writer, but that said, this is one of the best books that she has ever written. It's about the circumstances under which a man and a woman meet, and then follows their lives after that point. The writing is very spare and beautiful. The story is wonderful. I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone. ( )

Quick read about an EMT and his relationship with a daughter he raises alone. Peter Webster and his daughter, Sloan, go thru teenage years, a harrowing escape from death and the problem of the misssing mother. ( )

Alcoholic mom. EMT dad. Bad accident. Mom leaves, Single dad. Teen daughter. Bad accident. Close call. Reunited? Happy ending. Chick lit. ( )

Shreve's newest is short and has just enough action to hold the attention of the reader, but if it was any longer that might not have been the case. Her somewhat predictable love affair of two people that shouldn't be together, comes across as slightly bland. Perhaps it's due to the unlike-ability of Sheila, the main female character? Shreve can, and has done so much better. Another so-so effort and that's all. ( )