Finished Mo 3/26/17 Two days before I left for Arizona for a five day visit to Elsie's House. This is a hardback novel that Janny lent to me. I loved the book and will read more by this author. I have THE PILOT'S WIFE and I plan to read this soon.
ALL HE EVER WANTED perfectly captures the zeitgeist of the early 20th century as seen through the eyes of a very morally flawed show.
A one-sided love story between Nicholas Van Tassel and Etna Bliss. He is a mid-level professor at a backwater college in rural Thrupp, New Hampshire. She lived in Exeter, New Hampshire, but her father died, so she's with her uncle, his wife, and a niece.
Narrator is unreliable because of his pomposity and antiquated outlook; racist and male chauvinist.
One evening while while Van Tassel was dining at the Thrupp Hotel, a fire breaks out. Just before the chaos, he notices Etna, and this begins a lifelong obsession.
She agrees to marry him, but claims that she can never love him. They stay together for nearly fifteen years; two kids, Clara and Nicodemus.
Phillip Asher- A visiting professor. His brother, Sam, was the love of Etna's life. Both were engaged to other people, and Etna was emotionally devastated when Sam rejected her. This story is told through letters and Van Tassel's deductions. You never know exactly what happened by the individuals involved.
Etna has inherited a painting which she sold and bought a home in a nearby village. She just uses this place to read, sew, and write poetry. When Van Tassel learns of this place, he is incensed. This effectively marks the end of the relationship.
Phillip becomes a friend of Etna's and visits her at the house. Van Tassel sees them and assumes the worst. He gets Clara to lie to the authorities and claims that Phillip had molested her. This causes Phillip to lose his job at the college and he leaves the town.
We learn that Etna has left and moved to London where she lives the rest of her life with Sam, her long lost lover. We never learn of the details.
Novel happens in 1899 and 1914; it's told by Nicholas as a flashback from 1933 while on a train trip to his sister's funeral in Florida.
the book's page at wikipedia-
https://www.amazon.com/All-He-Ever-Wanted-Novel/dp/0316735736
the author's page at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_Shreve
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