Rating: 
Summary: A stunning ending...and wonderful story!
Review: I won't give away any of the plot devices that Anita uses. The story was so wonderful that I did go back to the beginning to make sure of what I had just read. This was a sort or but not qute a sequel to Weight of Water ( her best work to date with this one closely following.) You think you know the secret but I can assure you..you don't..and it's worth the wait to find out just what has happened to Thomas and his beloved Linda. Happy reading!!
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome. Can't get enought of her stuff.
Review: This book was wonderful. I recognized a character (Thomas) from "Weight of Water" right off. Although it doesn't mention that anywhere on the jacket cover, or in any review I've read yet. If you've read "Weight" you'll learn pretty quickly who "Linda" is in this book and her relevance in Thomas' life. Try it. You'll be right there with the characters, whether in Boston or Africa. You'll feel their love, pain, etc.
Rating: 
Summary: Dallas Revisited
Review: Remember the season of the old TV show Dallas that turned out to be just a dream? Remember how it seemed like a total cop out? Well, that's a good comparison to the ending of this book. I've read most of her other books and enjoyed all, except for Fortunes Rocks. Her latest has an engrossing story, though the timeline is confusing, and the dialogue a bit stilted. I stuck with it and felt she was back on track with this one. But then that ending! Why?
Rating:
Summary: anita shreve at her best
Review: I have read almost all of Anita Shreves books, and this by far is one of the best. After finishing it, I had to go back to the beginning and see what I might of missed. The ending was such a surprise. Even after reading "The Weight of Water" first, which has the same characters, I was hypnotized by this book.
Rating: 
Summary: I have never been so disappointed in an ending!
Review: So many of these reviews state that Anita Shreve writes too much about adultery. That is the least of this book's problems. In this novel, it wasn't just adultery per se. I can understand the dilemma Thomas and Linda were in: being in love, being separated and never stopping loving one another, then meeting up again years later while married to other people but still wanting (not just in the sexual sense) each other. I can totally understand this, because it really happens--I know from personal experience. It is tragic to know that just because of one decision years ago, you are not with the love of your life, and the other person feels the same way. Anyway, for this reason, I guess, the first and second parts of the book were gripping to me and completely held my attention. I was very distracted by the way spoken conversations were portrayed--not in quotations, but set apart in italics--but I overlooked that. I was worried that because it was going in reverse chronological order, I wouldn't find out if they stayed together when they were middle-aged. I let that slide too. I felt so for Thomas and Linda and the way their lives had unfolded and the tragedy they had endured, I actually cared about them as characters. I was bugged by the very obscure--too obscure--references the author made to the incidents that drove them apart in the past. The reader shouldn't have been kept in the dark for three-fourths of the book. Still, I plodded on, determined to see what happened. I cannot tell you how utterly (mad) I was at the end of this book!!! It was as if Anita Shreve said, "Oh, crap, I have to send this to the publisher tomorrow--I need an ending--okay, there it is!" (I don't want to give anything away to the poor saps who haven't read it yet.) What a contrived, lazy way to end the book that was. And I still didn't know what happened--was it Linda's future flashing before her eyes, or was this some poppycock that Thomas had imagined in his head? (Although some of it was true, considering the reference to his daughter.) There was no way to tell! I don't mind a book that leaves me thinking. But this was just ridiculous. I slogged my way through that convoluted story (and it was slow reading--she spends too much time on descriptions of things) and got no reward whatsoever at the end. I have never felt so cheated by a novel's ending.It just came out of nowhere! I read "The Pilot's Wife" and really enjoyed it, so I was looking forward to reading this book, especially since my best friend told me I would enjoy it due to the situational similarities. However, she was in the middle of the book also--she called me to apologize when we both finished it for even recommending it, due to the ending. Surely she can do better than this. And if anyone figures out what the heck actually happened, let me know!
Rating:
Summary: And your point is?
Review: I hate to start a book and not finish it but I just couldn't waste anymore of my time. I thoroughly enjoyed The Pilot's Wife and was looking forward to this book but it just dragged on and on with no point. I was so disinterested that I didn't even read the ending. This time around her writing was too flowery and way too descriptive.
Rating:
Summary: What was the point of this book?
Review: I gave it a try, but just couldn't get interested. Then I read the last few pages to see what bothered people about the ending. It doesn't make any sense to me. I would give it no stars, but that isn't on the scale.I could relate to "The Pilot's Wife", but not this book. I doubt if I'll read another of her books.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing and suspenseful - worth a read
Review: This was my first Anita Shreve novel, and she's got me hooked. The storytelling and craftsmanship of the novel was fantastic. Shreve leaves bits and pieces of details up to your imagination, all the while spinning an intriguing story. It's not until the last pages that you think you have the story figured out, only to encounter the novel's biggest surprise.
Rating: 
Summary: Insulting
Review: Anita Shreve is a fabulous write who takes oft done topics to a new level. I was however deeply disppointed with her latest effort. Shreve continually does a dis-service to the grand continent of Africa. For starters, she referred to it as a country instead of a continent. She then proceeds to talk about Kenya as though their culture encompasses that of all of Africa. Most insulting of all, is Shreve's portryal of African people and their homeland. I am not an African but having visited the continent, I know it to be far more than she describes; far more than that for which she gives credit. I do understand that Shreve was writing in context but it seemed to be the context of the expected, not that of the realistic. That said, the novel also lacks umph in its ending. It seemed rushed and the lack of explanation of it all, the lack of a why, was devastating. I gave the novel three stars for the quality of writing and not much else.
Rating:
Summary: The Last TimeThey Met
Review: This book is wonderful...you will drift into Thomas' and Linda's world in an instant. If only this type of passion existed in all of us. I applaud Anita Shreve's writing, it is magnificent and breathtaking. The character's thoughts are endearing and touch very close to home. We have all had that first true love...so sit back and enjoy.
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