Rating: 
Summary: The Last Time They Met:
Review: This was the first time I've read Anita Shreve, and I found it to be a wonderful experience. I enjoy reading books that seem to take me away on a virtual vacation. Anita does this by bringing you into the moment without droning on about the details. Although I've never been to Africa I felt as though I had after finishing The Last Time They Met.The ending was superb, loved it! Very enjoyable and easy to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Quelle Déception
Review: What a disappointment! I expected Anita Shreve to "weave a web of suspense" and that this would be a novel that I could not put down. Instead I found the book a chore to read -- and I was only reading it to get to the end and be finished with it for good. The "twist" does not redeem a few hundred pages of overly flowery writing, and characters that are outrageously far-flung in their idealistic romance. What a waste of time!
Rating: 
Summary: Worth Your Time
Review: This book was hard to get into initially. I thought the whole opening hotel scene with Linda, and the subsequent writer's conference far too drawn out. But I kept with the book (it was my chosen vacation read) and am so glad I did. Anita Shreve writes in ways that is if not lean, then elegant. She weaves a story that works it's way into you. I found myself inexplicably drawn back into it. The book really picked up speed in the middle section, when Thomas and Linda were in Africa. It was beautifully written. It is still vividly in my mind. I hated to see that part end. Yes, the book was written in an unfamiliar style to me and there were times I had to backtrack to understand who said what and to figure exactly what was going on. But it was a bit of a mystery that unwound itself for me layer by intriguing layer. Other reviewers have written that the end is a disappointing gimmick. I do not agree. Yes, I was completely, totally shocked by it, never before have I been so taken aback, never before have I sat breathless and unbelieving at the close of a book. But I immediately began formulating who and how I would impress upon to read this book. I was stunned, yes, but at the same time, I wholly understood and accepted it. What is hard for me to understand is how someone who has ever truly been in love, not identify with what Thomas did? Who of us has ever not lay in bed and entertained thoughts of what if? After such a tragic occurrence, entertaining a lifetime of What Ifs doesn't seem so implausible. I thought this novel poignant and recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: The Best of Shreve YET
Review: I just read the final page of 'The Last Time They Met'.......and was sitting on my dock at the time with the sound of the water lapping at the pilings. I BURST INTO TEARS at the final words of this compelling page turner. For those that had trouble with the dialogue (all the italics) and who could actually put the book down without reading it from cover to cover.....I marvel at your inability to get caught up in the passion....the obsessive nature of this book. There were times when I thought Mz. Shreve had crawled into my brain or somehow been able to be privy to my own experiences in love and in life. Anita...thank you for a superb novel......you had me going till the very end. Now, of course, I have to read the book OVER again for clues.
Respectfully submitted:
Maureen Valley
Leesburg, Fla.
Rating:
Summary: ENDLESS LOVE WITH A TWIST
Review: I listened to this novel on tape so for me the twist at the end was so much more effective! I strongly recommend the audio format for an enhanced experience! Like other reviewers, I did have to rewind/review at times because of the flashback chronology. But I enjoyed the love story. The strong bond between Linda and Thomas still haunts me today. I think everyone can relate to a story about reconnecting with "the one that got away".
Rating:
Summary: Deus ex machina - not hardly
Review: Having worked through this to an ending that doesn't even deserve the label of "gimmick", I'd advise you to save your money. Perhaps literature should stir the emotions ... but I don't think it should stir anger at the author for being lazy and/or cutesy.
Rating:
Summary: Last Time We Met
Review: I have never been so disappointed or angry as I was when I read this book. The ending is very upseting. I don't understand why the book was written to end like it did. I felt totally let down and a waste of precious hours of my time.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing story line but .....
Review: This love story was so engrossing that I could not put it down. The chronological reversal of time was a little challenging so I did find myself flipping back to re-read certain sections. The ending however, though unexpected and thought-provoking, did not ring true to me.It seems that the existance of certain important people in Linda's life, whom I shall not name, made the ending gimmicky. These people had specific names, personalities and lives with Linda. The author's intent was valid but it seems to me that all the "bases were not covered" to justify the conclusion of the story.Still, I enjoyed the book & will probably speed-read it tomorrow for clues!
Rating:
Summary: Hoax, ruse or skillful ending ???
Review: Because Anita Shreve knows how to manipulate a plot worth reading, ( though the beginning is slow and italized dialogue a bit annoying ) I was compelled to read on. Moving backward through time, the author details Thomas and Linda's entranced relationship in Africa at age 27 and in Massachusetts when they were in high school. Once seduced by their love affair & absorbed by the mystery surrounding them..., suddenly the events of their lives shifts, the truth is known and the story ends...just like that!?%?/ Personally I felt cheated & did not appreciate such an abrupt, mock ending. Did Shreve, just not know where to go with her story line or maybe did she intentionally choose to be crafty by using a skillful ruse in order to put one over the reader???
Rating: 
Summary: Lovely plot, very slow
Review: I purchased this month several months ago. I was enticed by the back and front covers. The story of a couple meeting after many years sounded wonderful. Unfortunately, after forcing myself to read it for two months and only getting a third of the way through the book, I had to put it back on my shelf. Perhaps I will pick it up again, but not for awhile
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