Rating: 
Summary: Read this before Weight of Water
Review: Although this is the most recent of Shreve's books, I recommend reading it BEFORE her earlier WEIGHT OF WATER. The same main character (Thomas Janes) has his life examined in each book, but I think the impact of the powerful ending of THE LAST TIME WE MET would be diluted if you read WofW first.
Rating: 
Summary: The Ending Will Astound You
Review: This is the story of an ill fated romance told backwards. It begins with an encounter between Thomas and Linda at a writer's conference. They haven't seen each other in 20 plus years. The fire of love is rekindled. The book then moves to their adulterous romance at age 27 which came to a tragic end, and then their teenage love at age 17. Despite the passage of years they are soul mates and each time they encounter each other they are inexorably drawn to each other. But the story we think we are reading isn't quite what we thought. In the end everything we thought we have come to understand about their lives is shaken. The poignant ending stunned me. It will make you weep.
Rating: 
Summary: The Last Time They Met -- Repetitive
Review: I find that Anita Shreve knows how to write about two things -- grievance, and adultery. Shreve's creativity is limited in my opinion. The Last Time They Met was very similar to the Weight of Water, so similar in fact, that I thought they could have been sequels. Also, it seems that she enjoys reuniting people from the past in her stories. In order to keep interest, authors need to learn to put other ideas into play in their novels. Next time, Shreve should choose another topic all together.
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Summary: I couldn't put it down........
Review: I have read all of Anita Shreve's books and this is one of my favorties. However, it is confusing at the end and I plan to read it again. Although it is unnecessary to read the book twice, I am very much into the lives of Linda and Thomas and I'm not ready to leave them. Anita Shreve's words are so beautifully written and easy to identify with that I kept a pencil with me and underlined many of the phrases. It is one of the best books I have read!
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Summary: Elegant writing but not up to Anita Shreve's par
Review: The Last Time They Met has so much going for it--elegant writing, a rich storyline much of which is set in a magnificent African landscape--that I was left high and dry at the ending. I truly felt that Shreve just didn't quite know how to wrap up the story and chose a Hollywood kind of manipulation to end it. Aside from that, I thought it a wonderful idea for Shreve to go into further depth with a character--Thomas Janes--we had met in an earlier Shreve novel (The Weight of Water, a near flawless book). I hope Shreve continues to expand on her "family of characters" in more books. My other thought was that the correspondence between Thomas and Linda in Africa, although beautifully written, was not credible, as the letters sounded like they were composed in the same style by the same person (yes, by Shreve), and not by two different individuals with different writing styles. I have read all of Shreve's books, and although this was better than her most disappointing novel, Fortune's Rocks, to me it still could not shine as much as all of the previous books written before Fortune's Rocks.
Rating: 
Summary: Please, Anita, you can do better than this!
Review: While Anita Shreve's prose is always haunting and lyrical, her use of a manipulative plot device leaves one not breathless, but infuriated. I have been a fan of Shreve's for years, and when she is good, no one does it better. This book, however, is a huge disappointment. Perhaps she is being rushed to press. Perhaps she simply underestimates her audience. Whatever the reason, this reader was both and annoyed and irritated with Ms. Shreve for so hackneyed and trite an ending!
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Summary: Plot twists revealed....
Review: I loved this book, then bought "Weight of Water." Although I ultimately enjoyed "Water," I was distracted by the fact I knew the book's tragic ending because I read "The Last Time They Met." Then I realized with horror that "Water" also reveals the surprise ending to "Last Time." In retrospect, these books compliment another, but if you've read one, it takes away the shock value of the other. I would recommend reading "Last Time" first, since the ending left me breathless and if I had known what was coming, it would have destroyed the whole book....there is still much to gain from "Water" even if you know what happens to Thomas and Jean.....
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Summary: CONFUSED
Review: THIS BOOK KEPT ME INTERESTED THE ENTIRE TIME BUT THE ENDING THREW ME OFF. I JUST DO NOT GET IT!
Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable
Review: Anita Shreve is one of the most prolific authors of our time. How she manages to keep up her professorial work at Amherst College while simultaneously weaving these masterful tales is amazing to me. I began reading her works thanks to Oprah's book club pick of "Pilot's Wife." I have now read all of her books but "Resistance." I couldn't wait to read "The Last Time They Met." I was not disappointed. I was hooked from the first page and could not put it down. I read and re-read the ending. Only Shreve could concoct this beautifully written story. I can't wait to read "Resistance." I love all of her work and my entire group of friends is now reading her as well!
Rating: 
Summary: Better ways to get this story
Review: If you want to read about the anguish of adultery, try Anna Karenina. If you want to read about Africa, try Out of Africa. If you want star crossed teenaged lovers, try Romeo and Juliet. If you want a twist ending, rent The Sixth Sense. Put all that together and you'll still come out ahead over buying or reading this book. It's got great themes, they've just all been done,,,,and way better I might add.
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