Riding a train south many years later, he unwinds his memories of the years that followed and struggles to understand the mystery his life became on that night. This is no ordinary tale of obsession. All He Ever Wanted is a story about different kinds of love, different ideas of what love is, and how lives can be strained to breaking over those differences. It is a powerful exploration of the music and silences of family life, the unhinging forces of desire, the wrenching power of secrets unrevealed, and the bewildering territories of betrayal and loss. Written with the maturity, beauty, intelligence, and grace that are Anita Shreve’s hallmarks, All He Ever Wanted is a story that powerfully conjures another time and place, peopled by unforgettable characters as real as the emotions that bring them together.