BOOK LOOK: The Aviator's Wife

Melanie Benjamin takes on one of the greatest heroes of the twentieth century in her new book, "The Aviator's Wife." The story is told by Anne Morrow, soon to become Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Colonel Lindbergh is as handsome and boyish as the newsreels have shown him to be when Anne meets him. She is sure he will fall for her older sister, but to her surprise, he enjoys her quiet company and her willingness to chance an adventure. Though her life as an ambassador's daughter has prepared her for society, Anne is much more comfortable out of the spotlight. The same is true of Charles. The excesses of a celebrity-mad culture disturb them at every turn. Charles and Anne have to fly to find their peace, their time to feel united in a cause. Once they are on the ground, photographers and reporters make their lives a misery. If they aren't given an interview, they make things up. Benjamin ably handles the heartbreak of the loss of their first-born son, Charlie, when he is kidnapped. The fog of grief, the lack of privacy, and her husband's determination that he alone can solve the mystery contribute to the crisis in the household. Once the child's body is found, Charles instructs Anne that they must go on. They must not stop and grieve, for it will not bring him back. Lindbergh comes off as a highly discipline and yet naive man, one who loves airplanes and adventures. He is not someone to hand out compliments or try to feel another's pain. All the while, Anne continues at his side: co-piloting, writing, visiting foreign countries. The Lindbergh accused of being anti-Semitic and a Nazi sympathizer is someone she wishes she didn't know. He brings more trouble to the household. Anne continues to bear babies as her husband wishes, though the final pregnancy is a dangerous one. He is miles away when another horrible episode passes in Anne's life. She takes herself away to write, and in writing, she finds all that she has been missing. She discovers the strength in her. She knows she has been more than a good mother, rather she was an extraordinary mother. "The Aviator's Wife" is a thrilling book about famous people trying to live with the burdens of hero worship. It is not just America, but the whole world, that seems to be mad about Charles Lindbergh. Melanie Benjamin brings the story vividly to life. It is as if Anne Morrow sat down and told the story herself. With strong pacing and clear characters, the conflicts of a wife under her husband's thumb turn what might have been a fairy-tale marriage into a story of will, a story of power. Top-notch. "The Aviator's Wife" should be one of the best books of the coming year. Read in ARC from Amazon Vine