the aviator's wife review

"The Aviator's Wife" by Melanie Benjamin is a phenomenal book.  I started reading this with minimal knowledge of Charles and Anne Lindbergh.  I knew he was the first to go over the Atlantic alone and I knew they had had a baby kidnapped.  I knew he was immensely famous because I watch "Pawn Stars".  I knew there was a huge conspiracy thing going on with the kidnapping because my late step-father-in-law believed he was the missing child.  Yeah, I said it.  However, I knew little else.  This novel centers on Anne.  She was a pilot in her own right.  She was his crew.  She raised 5 children by herself and lost a 6th one in the most cruel and public way possible.   She was no slouch.  At first I just wanted to slap her with her complete godlike worship of her husband.  Her whole world was him, to the point of even sacrificing her children.  Later, things start to change.  She changes.  She changes things.
The novel starts with her meeting Charles Lindbergh and ends with her "taking off" on her own after his death.  The character depth is amazing; the reader not only is invested in the characters, but starts to see through and live through the characters.  This is an amazing book.  I can see men or even die-hard Lucky Lindy lovers not liking it, but all women will.  I had not known Anne had written books.  I think I will read the one mentioned in the book.  Again, amazing, 5 stars. I received this book for free from Random House Publishing.