Book Review #40

All He Ever Wanted: A Novel by Anita Shreve

I'm starting to think Anita Shreve cannot dissapoint. Here the setting is early 1900s New England and our narrator is Nicholas Van Tassel, a pedantic man who prides himself on his conduct.

As professor at a small university at first Nicholas appears too dull a character to labor 300 pages over. Yet he develops an obsession with a local woman, Etna and must possess her. What follows is an intricate web of deceit and an explosive conclusion.

General consensus: Enthralling. Made me speak like an early 1900s New Englander for days. Also recommend Shreve's Sea Glass.