Most everyone has read a version of The Spirit of
St. Louis by Charles Lindbergh. I read the autobiography while at school in
Murfreesboro, Tenn. Plenty of ladies
have read The Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh and quoted passages
in garden and civic clubs across Mississippi. Lindbergh the Pulitzer Prize
winner by A. Scott Berg is an extraordinary read.
My point? Lindbergh makes good reading and The
Aviator’s Wife by Melanie Benjamin is destined to be a book club darling. This
historical fiction gives readers an insight to what it might be like to be
married to one of the most famous characters of the 20th century. A
brilliant concept since we all want to get into that active brain of his and
roll around.
I was once asked who I looked up to as a young woman
pilot. Must be Amelia Earhart, right? My answer was short and sassy. No! She
got lost. My hero was Lindbergh from the start. I cannot imagine how I would
react if I saw him in person. Probably like the rubes in Benjamin’s book.
Even after it came to light that Lindberg supported Hitler
and his anti-sematic views, I still had a connection with the man. His achievements outweighed his wrongs like
the scandals of our times with baseball, football and basketball. I still saw
him in a god-like persona.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh makes me jealous, too. How
irrational is that statement? Not only did she become his wife, but she became
a pilot in the golden age of flight. Not many women can lay claim to flying
twin engine airplanes just because their husband needed a nap while in flight.
In Benjamin’s book, readers will get a real sense of
the married couple’s life. Lindbergh’s responsibilities are to fly the plane. Anne
must cook, clean and plan their cross Atlantic trips alongside him and at times
he is extremely demanding. Even the day after they wed, he gets out the charts
and explains to her that she will become a pilot. She is the only person he
trust.
It is the 1930s. Who does Anne have to admire other
than her husband? Amelia Earhart and Poncho Barnes would have been the most
famous, but she could not compare to these record and rule breakers. I doubt
they would have given her the time of day. Sometimes her loneliness seeps off
the pages and begins to fill your hands.
I treasure this book alongside those mentioned in
the first paragraph. To step inside Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s shoes is an
incredible experience, even if it is imagined.
2 comments:
I thought this was a marvelous novel and like you, I enjoyed A Gift from the Sea just as much. I have yet to read Scott Berg's bio of Lindbergh, but my husband says it's excellent.
I mentioned in my review that Lindbergh came to one of my grandparents' Christmas Eve gatherings. I have the autograph my mom received framed and hanging in our living room.
How cool is that?!? We have a children's book based on the time he landed in Mississippi at some farmers field. The man was a hero to so many people!
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