I normally love books written by Anita Shreve, so I expected a lot more when I started reading this book. It’s about a man who becomes obsessed with a woman he meets after escaping from a fire. He’s so besotted with her that he convinces her to marry him even though he knows she doesn’t love him. I found it very slow at the beginning. For at least 100 pages, I just wanted to walk away from the book. I finally became somewhat interested in the book but was very disappointed with the character development. I couldn't sympathize with any of the characters. The husband and narrator was particularly annoying to me. He's such a pathetic, depressed and selfish man. I wouldn’t recommend this book for Anita Shreve’s fans. Her other books are so much better.