Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: I had read The Pilot's Wife and loved it from start to finish. I began this book with the same expectations and found that the book was very slow to begin. I admit it took me a long time to read it, but when I finished it I was so amazed. I loved it more and more as I read on. I was so disappointed when it ended. If you find it hard starting, stick with it. This book was exceptional.
Rating: 
Summary: Haunted by this story...
Review: My introduction to Anita Shreve was "The Pilot's Wife" which I devoured on a transcontinental flight. I was very close to dropping "The Last Time They Met" because I was not in the mood for a story where the characters suffered such tremendous loss. I became totally absorbed with Linda and Thomas in Africa and kept looking forward to the explanations of the "accident", "Magdalene" and how they met in high school. I was blown away by the ending...not suspecting a thing. When looking for a quick and engaging story, look no further than "The Last Time They Met".
Rating:
Summary: An Emotional Experience
Review: How will this book make you feel? Ms. Shreve beguiles at so many levels. I bought my copy at an airport bookstore. I finished it a few days later, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. There was so much in the text to take in, to savor, and to ponder. Looking back on it, I think of Ms Shreve's writing as a metaphor for the book itself; imagine what is and what could be. Her words caused my imagination to shift into overdrive. Her description of African images, tastes, and smells were particularly vivid. Throughout the book I occasionally stopped for a moment to visualize what I was feeling, or to write something down in the margin.You've read sacrcastic reviewers say a particularly disappointing book has inspired them take up writing? Well, I think I'll keep my day job. How did she manage to say so much in so little space? I thought the stream of consciousness technique leaving out the quotation marks was effective for this story. And I'm thinking to myself, as a man, as I'm reading her description of Thomas's reaction to the African Linda, whoa, she's got the thoughts which cross the mind of an aroused male down perfectly. Ms. Shreve won't get all the stars she deserves on this one. Like other talented, creative and honest artists, much of her audience can be expected to miss the points. There were passages that made you think on every page and in every chapter, let alone the big one at the very end, which, as Ms Shreve says in the afterward, "stood the book on its ear." For example, some will groan about all the misery suffered by the characters. But how else could she set you up, despite (or because of?) all the suffering and imperfection (and I might add, infidelity), to finally, at the end of the book, hit you with the overwhelming, precious, and unique treasure which is the lives of these two, or any two people. Some readers will no doubt be disappointed by the ending. I hope like me, you will go out and buy the book for the enjoyment of the beautiful writing; that is to say, the journey to the ending, not necessarily for the ending itself. A great piece of fiction. Thank you.
Rating: 
Summary: Avid Shreve reader but disappointed by this book
Review: I have in the past loved Anita Shreve's books and have looked forward to setting aside time to read her books because they usually are hard to put down. Not so, this time. I was able to put the book down - pick it up the next day - which is rare for me. The book left me confused - I'm not sure what the ending was all about. Was the story true or something that could have happened and never did. I did not like the author's style - starting with the ending of the story and going to the beginning of it. I was hoping that the last chapter, or chapters, would bring one back to the present but of course that was not the case. This is a book I would only recommend so that I could discuss what it was truly trying to say. I think that Shreve writes well and only because of this I give it a three star rating.
Rating:
Summary: Page turner
Review: I had to balance out the review written by the only other person to review this book so far. This story about a love affair that can't seem to get anywhere despite multiple opportunities kept my attention from beginning to end. I loved the way the story moved backwards in time, and found that only in two places was I a bit confused about the timeline, confusion that was cleared up within a couple of pages. The shock ending killed me, not because I felt it didn't work, but because I was hoping for a happy ending. The skill the author most impressed me with was her ability to write about these characters at whatever age they were in the book sections. What I mean is that when she portrayed them at 17, they sounded 17. At 26, then at 52, they came across as older, wiser, different....REAL. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and intend to check out more of Shreve's work next time I hit the bookstore.
Rating:
Summary: Clever, clever lady
Review: This book is so cleverly written. Ms. Shreve's method of beginning with a character in her 50's, and then jumping back through her life was captivating. I had to read the end twice to make sure I understood what happened. I would highly reccommend this book if you enjoy the unpredictable.
Rating:
Summary: Good, until I reached the end
Review: I enjoyed this and found it to be an entertaining read. However, when I read the last page, I was dissapointed. I wanted to go back and re-read it to make sure I "got it". It was a dissapointment after such build up. That said, I would reccomend it to others. And I will probably more of Shreve's work.
Rating: 
Summary: Ultimately a Waste of Time
Review: I can understand the dichotomy of opinions about this book, and throughout the reading process my own preceptions sifted from being wrapped up in Shreve's talented prose, and enthralled at her depictions (especially of Kenya), to ultimately being very disappointed. The book is essentially a three part story of an over-powering, but doomed, love affair between two talented writers who meet at a literary festival in Toronto in their 50's. The first part of the novel takes place at the festival, the middle section goes back to their adventures in Kenya decades earlier, and the ending brings us back to their adolescence in Massachussets. So why all the hubbub? Well I won't give away the ending, most of you who have read several of the reviews here can probably read between the lines and figure it out anyway but I won't be the one to spoil it. Suffice to say that at least to me, after reading the last page of the novel and racing toward this "big surprise ending" much touted by the press, I was struck with the feeling that the entire novel was a skillfully-worded waste of time, a trick played upon the unsuspecting reader that forces the novel to ultimately crumble upon itself. I am not always a fan of net tidy endings, I love to be surprised and blown away by an ending that makes sense within the confines of the rest of the book. Charles Palliser's "The Unburied" was such a book. Patrick McGrath's books are seldom tied up in a bundle. A reviewer above from Nashville pointed out how Cold Mountain ended in agonizing fashion, but brilliantly, and I agree. But here, recognizing as I do that all characters in novels are merely figment's of an author's imagination anyway, the thing just doesn't hold up. You put down the book at the end and say "what have I been reading for a week?" So anyway, see for yourself if you dare, enjoy the depths of the passion between Linda and Thomas at various times in their lives (which sometimes struck this reader as a little overblown and "Harlequin Romance-esque), and when you are done come back to these reviews and let us know how you feel. I bet you feel cheated.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: Shreve really shocked me! I have read "The Pilots Wife" and was expecting the same style. The story is intriguing, but I felt angry with the characters at times(until the end, of course). I enjoyed the entire book-each part was written in a way that fit the place in life that each was set. I will definitely read more of Shreve's books and recommend this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Shreve's best made worst by bad reading
Review: It's very rare that I stop listening to a book two-thirds of the way through, especially by an author whose previous works I have enjoyed tremendously, but I'm throwing in the towel on this one. It has become a complete waste of time and I don't care what happens (or happened) to Linda and Thomas. Ms. Cooke's read is one of the worst that I have heard in a long time. Her soft voice often sounds like she was reading with a big smile even in some of the most dramatic moments. She hardly changes voices for different characters but most annoying is her frequent inflection on the wrong word in a sentence, changing its entire meaning. Perhaps I would have enjoyed the book more if I had read it, but I'm not sure. One of the things I've always loved about Shreve's other work is her ability to make her characters' feelings seem very real and I didn't find this here. Thomas's language is often so stilted it's laughable. Everything feels contrived. My suggestion is to take a pass on this one and try Fortune's Rocks or The Pilot's Wife.
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