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    Rescue: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Rescue: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Rescue: A Novel
    Audiobook7 hours

    Rescue: A Novel

    Written by Anita Shreve

    Narrated by Dennis Holland

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    A rookie paramedic pulls a young woman alive from her totaled car, a first rescue that begins a lifelong tangle of love and wreckage. Sheila Arsenault is a gorgeous enigma--streetwise and tough-talking, with haunted eyes, fierce desires, and a never-look-back determination. Peter Webster, as straight an arrow as they come, falls for her instantly and entirely. Soon Sheila and Peter are embroiled in an intense love affair, married, and parents to a baby daughter. Like the crash that brought them together, it all happened so fast. Can you ever really save another person? Eighteen years later, Sheila is long gone and Peter is raising their daughter, Rowan, alone. But Rowan is veering dangerously off track, and for the first time in their ordered existence together, Webster fears for her future. His work shows him daily every danger the world contains, how wrong everything can go in a second. All the love a father can give a daughter is suddenly not enough. Sheila's sudden return may be a godsend--or it may be exactly the wrong moment for a lifetime of questions and anger and longing to surface anew. What tore a young family apart? Is there even worse damage ahead? The questions lifted up in Anita Shreve's utterly enthralling new novel are deep and lasting, and this is a novel that could only have been written by a master of the human heart.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHachette Audio
    Release dateNov 30, 2010
    ISBN9781607886730
    Unavailable
    Rescue: A Novel
    Author

    Anita Shreve

    Anita Shreve was a high school teacher and a freelance magazine journalist before writing fiction full time. She was the author of over fifteen novels as well as the international bestseller The Pilot’s Wife, and The Weight of the Water, a finalist for the Orange Prize. Shreve taught writing at Amherst College and lived in Massachusetts.

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    Reviews for Rescue

    3.5/5

    48 ratings46 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 2/5
      Audio. Okay captured my attention, but not the best I've ever listened to. A light read for those times when that's necessary.
    • 3/5
      I just finished reading Rescue by Anita Shreve, and although a quick read, I don't think that I will remember much about the novel an hour from now. The characters weren't particularly likable and the story-line needed much more plot development. For the most part, every sentence was written with the same format..."Webster said..." "Webster did..." "Webster thought..."; it was quite distracting. It was a story that didn't live up to its potential.
    • 2/5
      I could not get attached to this book. I just didn't click with the characters and have other things I want to read more. I did not finish it, but will maybe return to it at some other time.
    • 2/5
      I almost gave up reading this book 10 pages before the end-it was that monotonous. However,I kept reading, and am glad that I did because those last 10 pages were EASILY the best part. Cried like nobody's business. Not my favourite Sparks creation, but it definitely hit a soft spot (it is also based on very personal events from the author's real life, if that's a selling point at all for you).
    • 3/5
      A rookie paramedic pulls a young woman alive from her totaled car, a first rescue that begins a lifelong tangle of love and wreckage. Sheila Arsenault is a gorgeous enigma--streetwise and tough-talking, with haunted eyes, fierce desires, and a never-look-back determination. Peter Webster, as straight an arrow as they come, falls for her instantly and entirely. Soon Sheila and Peter are embroiled in an intense love affair, married, and parents to a baby daughter. Like the crash that brought them together, it all happened so fast. Eighteen years later, Sheila is long gone and Peter is raising their daughter, Rowan, alone. But Rowan is veering dangerously off track, and for the first time in their ordered existence together, Webster fears for her future. His work shows him daily every danger the world contains, how wrong everything can go in a second. All the love a father can give a daughter is suddenly not enough. Sheila's sudden return may be a godsend--or it may be exactly the wrong moment for a lifetime of questions and anger and longing to surface anew. What tore a young family apart? Is there even worse damage ahead?
    • 5/5
      Rescue is a book about a man named Webster and his life as an EMT. The beginning is in the present with him and his 17 year old daughter. The second part is 18 year earlier. This is when you learn all about how Webster became a father.Webster is an EMT and him and his partner get a call. The call is for a single automobile accident. The woman involved in the accident is drunk and Webster is drawn to her. He thinks about her and follows up on how she is after the incident. The woman is named Sheila. She is an alcoholic but Webster is blinded by love.I found the story interesting but at the same time parts of it bothered me. After Webster and Sheila are married and their daughter Rowan is born, Sheila starts drinking again. Webster gets Sheila to go to AA and thinks things will be fine. One day Webster and his partner get a call and when they arrive the accident involves Sheila, drunk and with Rowan in the car. Sheila will go to jail because this is her second DUI. I didn't like the fact that the cops, and his friends let him know and that they let her leave before they are going to pick her up. I know that it was that way so that the story would be the way it was. I just felt that if that happened in real life the husband would be accused of letting the criminal escape and would be sent to jail too.That was the only thing I didn't like. I recommend reading the book and forming your own views of the story.
    • 3/5
      This was a book about a family that lives through manycises nad comes through them. ir t is about a family whose mother is an alcoholic and nearly kills her daughter in a car accident. She is sent away by her husband who fraers for his young daughter. In the end the mother returns to help the daughter and dad through a rough time.
    • 3/5
      Not as good as some of her others. The plot was not what I had expected it to be. Kept thinking that it would pick up, but it did not. Still a decent read, but not something I could not wait to read!
    • 5/5
      Well, Nicholas Sparks always makes me cry—in a good way. This is a great tale. The human nature of people shows through in his writing. Nicholas Sparks has certain trademarks that always keep his readers coming back for his next creation: love, tragedy, a heart-tugging middle and an ending that leaves you satisfied. Denise, the main character, has a young son, Kyle. I instantly fell in love with this speaking impaired child, and loved the way Denise communicated with him. She is a single mom, who is in a car accident. When Taylor, a handsome firefighter happens by the accident site, the story really takes off. Taylor searches for Denise’s missing son, and refuses to give up until he is found. You think this is the ”rescue” the title implies, and it is—but then later you discover who is really the one who needs rescuing.A romance develops between Denise and Taylor, however, both are fighting demons of their pasts and struggle to make their relationship work. This story was one of those hard to put down books. When you think things are going to calm down...something unexpected happens—which is why I spent the wee hours of the morning reading it. It was well worth the lost sleep. I highly recommend this book. If I could give it 10 stars I would
    • 2/5
      This is a simple book; it definitely shows a father's concern and love for his daughter no matter what she does. I found it odd, though, that the author uses the father's last name throughout most of the book, using it as his first name.The language was undesirable at times.Also, it seemed that the author 'forgot' in the story that Rowan, the 17 year old daughter, was "in danger of failing English and Calculus" And later in the book, after a swimming accident and apparent head injury, the author recalls that Rowan was failing two classes.... yet she graduates. So the author just 'sticks in the plot' that 'while in the hospital, Webster and Sheila' (his estranged wife) 'managed to get Rowan to complete two take-home finals'. "His daughter finished them with ease." Rowan is both Webster's AND Sheila's daughter, I don't believe that a person with a head injury would be able to finish the "two take-home finals" with ease. I was mildly disappointed with the simplicity of the book.
    • 3/5
      Peter Webster is an EMT. One night, he runs across a drunk driver who has smashed her car into a tree. Webster finds himself drawn to this woman and he begins to visit her and help her. Before he knows it, he has a child with her and marries her. The woman, Sheila, soon abandons her husband and young daughter.Fast forward to present day and we find Webster trying to deal with his teenage daughter, now deeply troubled. Webster reconnect with Sheila in an attempt to save his daughter.You know what you get with Anita Shreve. She will not let you down with this book.
    • 3/5
      I don't read a ton of non-fantasy, but this book definitely held me. I wanted to know what happened, and I wanted it to be all right. Finally, in the end, there was hope for it to be all right. It kept me excited and interested- I think I'll be looking for more of her books.
    • 3/5
      This was a good story for a summer read. Even if it did seem a bit LifeTimie movie to this old,jaded reader! The characters were well drawn even if I did dislike Sheila. I kept picturing the actress who plays the mother on current AMC series, The Killing as her!While reading the book this week I stood behind two very dapper young men who had rescue on golf shirts they were wearing from my town. Funny,I had never given these people a thought before. This book made me aware of the difficult and necessary job these people do.
    • 3/5
      I'm a fan of Nicholas Sparks for heartwarming, redemptive love stories. This wasn't his strongest - it veered into sappy and lacked the emotional intelligence of many of his others. Still an easy read that is a step above many romantic novels
    • 2/5
      If you like Anita Shreve, like I do, skip this one. A well-intentioned but controlling father is surprised that his teenage daughter is troubled by not knowing anything about her mother, who dad turned away 15 years ago because of her alcoholism and irresponsible behavior towards the toddler daughter. Dad is a boring, nice guy, dedicated to his daughter and his job as a paramedic. Mother, self-centered when drunk, is only a little less annoying when sober. Daughter is normal kid, gets drunk a couple times and dad freaks out, which of course alienates them further and then daughter has a very serious alcohol related accident which, naturally, reunites the whole family. Predictable, happy ending.
    • 4/5
      With an EMT as the main character, the emergency medical scenes provide a fascinating backdrop to the story of intense romance gone awry, the difficulties of single-fathering, and small town relationships.
    • 3/5
      Quick read about an EMT and his relationship with a daughter he raises alone. Peter Webster and his daughter, Sloan, go thru teenage years, a harrowing escape from death and the problem of the misssing mother.
    • 5/5
      Alcoholic mom. EMT dad. Bad accident. Mom leaves, Single dad. Teen daughter. Bad accident. Close call. Reunited? Happy ending. Chick lit.
    • 3/5
      Shreve's newest is short and has just enough action to hold the attention of the reader, but if it was any longer that might not have been the case. Her somewhat predictable love affair of two people that shouldn't be together, comes across as slightly bland. Perhaps it's due to the unlike-ability of Sheila, the main female character? Shreve can, and has done so much better. Another so-so effort and that's all.
    • 3/5
      This is the story of a small town medic who falls for a woman who is bad...irresponsible and has a drinking problem. He marries her and they do have Rowan, a little girl. When Rowan is three, Shiela is in an accident, having been drunk and not having secured the carseat in properly. That is all it takes for Webster to send his wife packing, leaving him to raise Rowan alone.All goes well until the last semester of high school. Rowan begins drinking and, like teenagers do, starts acting irresponsible. Webster does seek out Shiela before this begins, just to find out what she is doing and where she is. She is in Boston, and dry for ten years. She is an artist. He choses not to tell Rowan.The night of her senior dance, Rowan drinks and dives into a quarry. Webster is on call when this happens. His daughter is helicoptered out with a traumatic brain injury and is unconscious. I will leave the rest to the reader.But this book would get five stars for escapism. However, I found the references to the different emergency scenarios depressing and the writing simplistic. I don't know of anyone, except a Shreve fan like myself, to whom I would recommend this book.
    • 4/5
      Even though the concepts of his novels may be a bit similar, this one is still an interesting page-turner you can't put down. I've always enjoyed reading his works, and this one's no disappointment even though parts are quite generic/predictable.Four out of five.
    • 2/5
      My favorite author - my least favorite book of hers. Didn't seem like she was even the author. Some of the use of language seemed overused and tiresome - didn't make any difference in the development of the characters.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed this book. It wasn't a knockout like Shreve's Light on Snow. It didn't grip me the way The Pilot's Wife did. But it moved along. The best part was reading about the main character's job---he's a paramedic. Those scenes were really interesting. I didn't care much about his daughter or wife, and not all that much about him, truth be told.
    • 3/5
      Peter Webster is a young, single man still living with his parents and in training to become a paramedic when he responds to a call for an automobile accident on a lonely stretch of highway. The minute Peter sees the young woman injured in the accident, he is drawn to her. Sheila is also a young woman with a mysterious past with no money and no job. Peter and Sheila begin to see each other and Peter falls hopelessly in love with her. Sheila appears to love Peter as well and after a night of passion, Sheila becomes pregnant. They marry and their daughter, Rowan is born. At first life seems blissful, but soon Sheila's past catches up with herTold over a span of 19 years, Rescue is a story of love, broken dreams and resurrection. Highly readable, the book is fast-paced and keeps the reader drawn in to the story until the very end. Having said that, the book didn't live up to my expectations for some reason. The characters weren't that compelling and I didn't really care about them. It was an enjoyable read, but not a "must read".
    • 3/5
      This was not one of Shreve's best, though the story delved into the same darkness and desolation that enters so many of her stories. But I found it hard to connect with the characters, something I don't usually experience in her novels.
    • 5/5
      Webster is a paramedic in small town Vermont when he becomes intrigued with Sheila, a beautiful redhead who in injured in a car crash while drunk. Quickly the two become involved with a pregnancy as the result. however Sheila has problems resulting in their separation so Webster is left to raise his baby daughter on his own. This is one of my favorite authors who always creates characters who feel like old friends or the people next door. I enjoyed it very much.
    • 5/5
      Enlightening rescue! The story of an EMT who rescues a drunk driving young woman with a sketchy past, from her car crash. He becomes bewitched by her and marries her because of an unexpected pregnancy. Circumstances then cause her to leave him and their child at an early age, only to reunite them in the child's teen years. The story offers several twists and turns which we become judge and jury for! Anita Shreve is the consummate storyteller. She never fails to provide the well-written, well-constructed, relavent novel to which her thousands of readers can relate. Her books are timeless. They are filled with grains of truth that surely 90% of her readers will understand on a profoundly personal level.In "Rescue," Ms Shreve offers up a cautionary tale, writing a moral story and a reminder to us that sometimes those who are our best equipped, and most professional "rescuers," are not always the ones capable of saving their own families in crisis.Characterization is strong and believable throughout, with people we love to champion, as well as those who will challenge our sense of right and wrong, and fairness. The characters are so well developed that the line between fantasy and reality come close to fading. Ms Shreve's book extolls the benefits and warns of the consequences of rash decisions made in youth. It's this flipside of the coin that contributes to the story and the meanings of "rescue." These questions of consequence, family problems and moral obligations should make this book hit home for nearly everyone.I highly recommend "Rescue," not only to fans of Anita Shreve, but also to those who want a contemporary novel with timeless, thought-provoking qualities...and, of course, beautiful writing.Deborah/TheBookishDame
    • 5/5
      This is the first book I've read by Anita Shreve and I'm ready for more!
    • 4/5
      I thought this book was pretty good. I always found myself wondering what was going to happen next. The beginning was very interesting and was a great attention grabber. It starts out in the middle of Denise's car accident and immediately I wanted to continue reading. This was when Denise met Taylor for the first time, which was very unconentional and I liked it. It proves a person can meet new people where ever they go. Anyway as the book moves on, Taylor and Denise get closer, but then Taylor starts ignoring Denise, causing there to be tension and conflict. But, by the end of the book Taylor and Denise have never been happier, which is why they got married. My favorite part of the book, was the unexpected part when I found out that Mitch died in the fire. This was also the saddest part, it brought me to tears, but I felf it was a good twist in such a predictable book. This then brings to the only negative I have for the book and that has to do with how the book was so predictable. I could predict how the book would right from the beginning. Man meets woman, they fall in love, something happens to make them grow apart, and because love always prevails, they end up back together in the end. Throughout the entire book, this is the only negative thing I found, the rest of the book I found pretty good. All in all, I felt this book was worth my time to read it and would most definetely reccomend this book to others!
    • 4/5
      Easy reading, nothing awful or terrible happens, hopeful ending. Perhaps not her best for its lack of depth but a good read.