Rating: Summary: Beautiful Love Story Review: This is a beautiful love story...but is it really? The twist at the end of the book turns everything you have just read upside down and makes you question the entire book.I enjoyed reading the book in reverse chronological order, though I did find it a bit confusing in the beginning. A lot of references are being made that you can't put together until the second and third sections of the book. This is the first time that I've read a book written in this style of sequencing and I enjoyed the piecing together of the puzzle. I enjoyed the touching love story and complicated relationship between the two lovers.
Rating: Summary: Back to the Future with Anita Shreve Review: I've read all the reviews that praise this book, and all that lambast it as a total waste of time. Truthfully, my own opinion lies somewhere in the middle. This was my first Anita Shreve novel and I was disenchanted by her unsympathetic characters, disjointed writing, and annoying use of italics. On the other hand, I did enjoy the story of first love, true love. If everyone has a soul mate, then surely Thomas Janes was that to Linda Fallon and vice versa. Perhaps no love is quite like that first great love that totally engulfs you and colors all your relationships after that. Linda and Thomas seemed to be proof that marriage to others, bearing children with another, and enjoying a highly successful career could not diminish the love they shared in high school. They both knew their love was one that would fill a lifetime with joy and devotion. Perhaps the best thing I can say about this novel is that Anita Shreve did a masterful job of building suspense to reach the chilling and shocking conclusion. Only because she had aroused my curiosity could I muddle through this often boring story to find out what happened to Linda and Thomas. Would they be together again? Would their horrible secret from high school ever be revealed? And what exactly did Thomas do at the writers convention in Toronto that set tongues wagging? It was often hard to follow them as the writer took us backwards in time, but I was glad I stayed around for the last page and the split second that changed everything.
Rating: Summary: Not My Favorite Review: I have read most of Anita Shreve's books and this was the least engaging. I loved the fact that she used a character introduced in another book, but I wanted a strongly plot. Rather than the flashbacks to the time they first met becoming context for the current story, the flashbacks were the only part of the book with any depth. Anita typically gives the reader such interesting stories with twists and turns that keep you quickly turning pages, this book was much gentlier, far less engaging.
Rating: Summary: confusing, sometimes boring Review: Having read THE PILOTS WIFE, I was so anxious to read this book,but I will probably never read another Anita shreve book again. I was disappointed, and confused, going back over, reading and re-reading page after page. Perhaps, if she had dated the beginning of each chapter, when she changed times and locations, it would, at the least, helped the flow of the book.There are very few book that I would say"I wish I had never read" but I wish I had never started THE LAST TIME THEY MET.
Rating: Summary: Kudos to Shreve!! Review: Anita Shreve must be glowing!!She is the author of an excellently written story. That it has caused such passionate and contrasting reviews only confirms that she wrote a thought provoking novel. Dime-store novels do not engage readers in this manner. In my humble opinion, the story and its ending were wonderful.
Rating: Summary: intelligent and thought provoking Review: Yes, you do need to "think" as you read this book. And what a treat that is! Anita Shreve has crafted an excellent story. I did not know that the male character was from a previous novel and now look forward to reading that book.
Rating: Summary: wow! Review: A very good read- I'd recommend it without reservation. Beautifully and intelligently written, a compelling story, exotic locales, and an ending that makes you think and think... What more could you want?
Rating: Summary: Confused in Auburn Review: I enjoyed the book, however the ending left me confused..Should I read the book over to understand the ending?....to understand the book?....I really don't want to read it again but would rather have someone explain it to me....(wish it had been in paperback) PS I started "The Weight of Water"...is this the same Thomas as in the book I just finished?
Rating: Summary: First Impressions Mean Everything Review: I have undoubtedly become an Anita Shreve addict, having read THE PILOT'S WIFE, THE WEIGHT OF WATER, and most recently THE LAST TIME THEY MET. Even though I don't consider Shreve's stories as powerful testaments of life's difficulties, I still enjoy her exploration of the language of love, of how it can motivate and how it can change one forever. In her newest novel -THE LAST TIME THEY MET - Shreve explores love once again, demonstrating the damaging effects of an all too potent love affair. Upon introduction, Linda Fallon is a woman who likes the simplicity of things. She takes comfort in an outfit that is accessible to any situation: a white blouse, a navy skirt; doesn't mind that her bed is used for slumber and nothing else. She is a widower who revels in the happier moments of her marriage, a mother with two grown children who have dismissed her guidance. Alone, Linda Fallon considers herself destined to live her remaining years without any romantic complexity. But - to the enjoyment of the reader - the past does makes its way to the surface and ultimately, Linda finds herself carried upon great waves of emotion that she has kept stilled for years. A writer, Linda Fallon spends her time promoting her poems. This is how she is introduced, in preparation for a function in which she must speak about her published work. It is there that she is reacquainted with an old love, another poet whose own works are immeasurably popular. She is in the company of Mr. Thomas Janes (a character first introduced in THE WEIGHT OF WATER), and in the resurfacing of old desires, Linda discovers there is much more to life than comfort in that which is simple. THE LAST TIME THEY MET does just that, going back furthur and further into the past to each time Linda and Thomas have met, to a torrid time in Africa, to their very first introduction in a New England schoolroom. This is how Shreve grabs one, knowing that there will be a curiousity to how such a powerful attraction came to be denied. I have to admit, the ending was not too surprising. If one has read THE WEIGHT OF WATER, there is a clue to the resolve of THE LAST TIME THEY MET. But I still give kudos to Anita Shreve, who decided to put a romantic twist on things, for in the brevity of love, there is a lifetime of devotion. This is a beautiful book.
Rating: Summary: One of the best books I've ever read Review: I finished this book 10 days ago, and I can't stop thinking about it. At first I was confused by the ending, but then I figured it out, and it was oh so powerful!! I don't want to pick up another book yet because I still want to think about this one. No other book has ever left me feeling this way. I am a fan of Shreve's and couldn't put down The Weight of Water, Fortune's Rocks and Eden Close. I did not have the same feeling while reading The Last Time they Met, but the ending rocked me. I urge you to delve into the psyche of Thomas Janes, one of the main characters. Comparitively speaking, The Pilot's Wife did nothing for me.
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