Rating: 
Summary: This story was a waste of my time
Review: This is the third book I have read by this author, and it will be the last. I was so disappointed in the way the story ended, and also confused, as some of the other reviewers mentioned. I liked the story very much, but the ending ruined the whole book. Overall, I was glad that I got this book at the library.
Rating: 
Summary: The Last Time They Met by Anita Shreve
Review: I loved the book, all the way through until the end. I feel betrayed by the author. Why portray characters so skillfully, show various relationships so artfully, drawing the reader in, then rip the rug out. I don't read to be miserable. I will avoid this author in the future. Of course the book is successful if your goal is to play a mean trick on the reader.
Rating:
Summary: It broke my heart
Review: While there were slow sections--especially in the beginning--I fell in love with the love story between Linda and Thomas, and wanted more about their past before Anita Shreve would give it to me. The ending absolutely shocked me. I immediately started back at the beginning to try to understand why I didn't pick up on it before. I can't get it out of my system. It broke my heart.
Rating: 
Summary: Pondering life
Review: So, I was reading this novel and thinking, "what's the big deal?" I had read about three of the author's novels before and found them to be well written with surprising plot twists. This one had me stumped but I kept on reading and I am glad I did. The story began to pick up and I began to care about the characters and we delved into their pasts. But it was the last page that blew me away. I read the page once, twice, read the first couple of chapters and just stared at the cover.
I immediately lent it to a friend, who like me found it a slow go to begin with. Finally she found what I found, a novel that made her sit and stare at the cover while trying to wrap her mind around what had just happened.
If you don't believe me, read it for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: I don't get it
Review: I finished this book over a week ago and the ending is still driving me nuts. Of course-I won't reveal it; but it really does make you re-think the whole book. I enjoyed the story up until the end-it is definitely a page turner. But that ending just about ruined it for me-as I'm still trying to make sense of it. A similar book that I enjoyed much more- that I highly recommend- is "Evening" by Susan Minot.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: Slow, boring and uniteresting. It never went anywhere. I held out until page 159 and then sold it used!
Rating:
Summary: Very Disappointed
Review: I have read most of Anita Shreve's book and was really looking forward to reading this one. I read the Amazon reviews first and even though they were so so, I decided to read it anyway. This book bored me to tears! The only reason I finished it is because I kept reading about the surprise ending. I couldn't wait to get to the end of the book and read what everyone was talking about. I thought if I made it to the end and liked what I read, then the 313 pages of agony would all be worth it. I was wrong! Do yourselves a favor and skip this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Poignant and Haunting
Review: I guess I would consider myself a sometimes-fan of Anita Shreve's work. I disliked the Pilot's Wife so much that I couldn't finish it, yet really enjoyed The Weight of Water, which is why I looked forward to reading The Last Time They Met, since I knew it was a kind of "prequel" to that previous book. I think the writing is very good, and Shreve has a way of evoking emotion that comes across very vividly, and lingers long after you've moved on to the next page. However, I found the "passion" between Linda and Thomas, the constantly obsessive I-can't-live-without-you stuff a bit over the top, and the Africa section with its emphasis on this was not my favorite section. And somehow, the writing about Africa didn't grab me the way that Barbara Kingsolver's did in Poisonwood Bible. The last section of the novel, set in Linda and Thomas' high school years, was my favorite part of the book, and the descriptions about Linda's inner emotional state at that time was very well done. I also agree with an earlier reviewer who felt that Linda's maturity through the years was obvious, yet Thomas seemed to remain the same self-absorbed, moping, angst-ridden person from age 17 through 52. I was feeling a bit ho-hum by the last few pages, waiting for the big "surprise" ending, and boy, did it jerk me awake and blow me away! It redeemed the whole novel for me--I thought it was brilliant. I find it odd that other reviewers found the ending confusing, since it fits precisely in with Thomas' morose attitude and approach to life. It seems quite plausible that someone like him who seems to enjoy suffering so much, should consciously and willfully continue to carry the emotional dead-weight of What Might Have Been or Should Have Been throughout his life. In retrospect, the ending makes the overbearing romantic obsession sections in Africa seem not as bad to me, since I now understand it from an entirely different perspective. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, just for the charged ending. It makes you think about the "infinite possibilities" in so many other lives way beyond the scope of this one book.
Rating:
Summary: Boring, confusing, and a waste of time...
Review: I think I may be the only person who didn't fall in love with The Pilot's Wife, but after my friend recommdended this book to me I thought I'd give Anita Shreve a second chance. Big mistake! My friend kept raving about the ending so I suffered through this aweful book until the past page, only to be even more disappointed. Shreve leaves the reader thinking "What just happened?" The whole book is confusing and a waste of time.
I recently saw Shreve read an excerpt from this book at a local Border's and she was putting me to sleep then too. Perhaps she modeled Linda after herself when, at the beginning of the book, the main character gets bored to death giving mandatory readings. If you have trouble sleeping at night, this may be the perfect remedy. Otherwise, do yourself a favor and pass on this book.
Rating:
Summary: Dull, Dull, Dull!!
Review: I made it past my 50 page limit on this book, only to feel that I was plodding along in quicksand.
I found this book very boring, a labor to read. That is not what reading should be all about! Even though I have heard that the ending is a "Surprise", to my own surprise I chose not to finish it. I may have to rely on someone who actually finished this book to tell me the ending because I will not subject myself to plodding through the rest.
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