Giveaway and Review: A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve

Anita Shreve is one of my favorite authors. I have enjoyed reading all of her books for the past ten years or so after discovering her by reading The Pilot’s Wife. She writes riveting tales about relationships in emotional turmoil. Some of her books are set in modern day, while others are compelling historical fiction. I was very happy to receive a review copy of her latest book, A Change in Altitude from Miriam at Hachette Publishing.

A Change in Altitude ranks as one of my all time favorite Anita Shreve novels. I’ll admit, I didn’t like the last few novels as well as her earlier works, but this novel is a tour de force. Margaret and Patrick are a young married couple that has relocated to Kenya for Patrick’s research and work as a doctor. The two are invited by their landlords (a British couple) to join them and a Dutch couple on a hike of Mount Kenya. The hike does not go as planned with disastrous consequences. Afterwards Margaret struggles to find herself and to try to piece back together her marriage when trust has been lost.

My favorite character in this novel was Kenya itself. Shreve once lived in Africa and used it as a local in her novel The Last Time They Met. Learning about the culture and beauty of the country made this a very compelling read. I also liked the details of the hike itself. I can’t imagine just deciding to climb a mountain without any sort of physical preparation, especially after reading Three Cups of Tea. It was very interesting reading about the physical and emotional aspects of the climb.

I really liked the growth of Margaret throughout the novel. The struggle that she goes through was intriguing. I don’t want to give away the ending, but it is a standard Shreve type of ending that has left me pondering.

If you would like to read more Shreve, I highly recommend The Weight of Water and Fortune’s Rocks besides this book. I love all of her novels, but I would pick these as my absolute favorites.

My favorite quote from this novel, "Not for the first time, Margaret reflected that it was impossible to know the truth about the marriage of another couple."

Giveaway Details:

Now for the details you are really looking for . . . Miriam at Hachette Book Group has been kind enough to offer one copy of A Change in Altitude as a giveaway. If you would like to enter this contest do any of the following:

1. Leave a comment on this post. You must include an email address in at least one of your comments. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner. (1 entry)

2. Blog about this giveaway or post about it on your sidebar. Leave a separate comment with a link to your post. (1 entry)

3. Become a follower or leave a comment that you already are a follower of this blog. (1 entry)

There are three ways to enter, but you must LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT for each one or they will not count.I will be using random.org to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is only open to US and Canadian residents (Sorry!). No P.O. Boxes.

The deadline for entry is midnight, Friday October 23rd. Good luck!