RaveThe New York Times Book ReviewStirring ... The real texture of these lives has long been missing from our understanding of the past. It is this texture that The American Daughters captures in strong prose ... Such lyricism is occasionally marred by clunky repetition ... In telling this important, neglected history with imagination-fueled research, The American Daughters offers an inspiring story of people who show a way forward with their perseverance, bravery and love.
Anita Shreve
RaveThe Washington PostShreve consistently creates complex characters and plots, often drawn from the historical record or from obscure headlines. She hands her characters a seemingly insurmountable problem or a dire situation, and tests them with oppressive social mores, menacing evil, buried secrets or catastrophic events — frequently, all of the above. Then she tells their stories in unobtrusively elegant prose ... Shreve knows a great deal about the human ability to resist despair, and this novel, like many of her others, shows how hard work and compassion are — sometimes — rewarded. It’s no spoiler to say that in The Stars Are Fire, stoicism, kindness and courage win the day over bitterness and cruelty.
Anita Shreve
RaveThe St. Louis Post-DispatchThe Stars Are Fire, her new novel, is set in Maine during the real-life disaster of 1947 when a severe drought caused a series of massive fires that burned out of control for 10 days ... The scenes of the disaster, of the townspeople trying to save what they can, are tense and vivid. But Shreve is more interested in tragedy’s aftermath, when Grace is sorely challenged ... Shreve builds suspense with small details: a cloud of dust in the wind, a pervert lurking at the seashore, strange noises upstairs. Like every lone woman, Grace is in a constant state of alert, and Shreve is very good at keeping a low level of dread running through her pages ... It’s no spoiler to say that in The Stars Are Fire, stoicism, kindness and courage win the day over bitterness and cruelty.
