Rating: 
Summary: A great one-two punch!
Review: I loved this book -- but strongly recommend that you read The Weight of Water first. There are a few slow spots at the beginning and you need to pay attention -- but it was a most satisfying read.Please don't be discouraged by some of the other reviews. After reading them, I nearly didn't buy/read this book, which would have been a shame.
Rating: 
Summary: Another disappointment
Review: I was disappointed with Anita Shreve's "The Pilots Wife"; however, I read an intriuging review of this book and my curiousity was peaked. Once again, I felt let down. I plodded on and on to what I thought was going to be some major revelation, only to be rewarded with a copout of an ending. I also found the dialog in italics to be extremely distracting.
Rating:
Summary: Misunderstood Greatness
Review: I hope Anita Shreve is not discouraged by her readers responses to her latest book, The Last Time They Met. This truly is a great book. It follows Thomas, a character from The Weight of Water, and Linda, his high school love, backwards through time. This is a true but deceptive love story. It is ultimatly tragic, but not as plainly as it seems. As I read other reader reviews, it seems as though many readers are confused by the ending. It is written so richly, consider every word. Consider how the dialog is written in the first two sections, it is in italics for a reason! In it's final two paragraghs some readers may find The Last Time They Met a disappointment or thrilling, that the author can hook you into this great love story, only to blow it into pieces within the last few sentences. If I could give away the ending I would, if only to inform those who have read this book, that it was not fully understood. Read the last two paragraphs carefully!! The obvious tradgedy is not the only tradgedy!!
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling, but often confusing
Review: The Last Time They Met is a facinating novel, full of time and plot twists and turns that can, too often, leave the reader feeling somewhat confused. You really have to pay attention to keep the story straight, but the discriptions of setting and emotion were so compelling that I couldn't put the book down. I liked Linda very much, and Thomas as well, better than in The Weight of Water. The ending was sudden, took a while to figure out, and ultimately very unfulfilling. I understand what the author was striving for, but with such a great story and beautiful writing, the contrivance was a disapointment. I recommend this book, but watch out for that ending.
Rating:
Summary: Waste of time....
Review: I found this book to be very disappointing. It was tedious to read, especially the beginning half. I expected a story that flowed similiar to The Pilot's Wife. What was this author thinking? It was almost as if she wrote the last page on a whim! I regreted the time I spent reading this unbelievable and unreal novel... Now it is time to get onto my new Linda Howard book, Open Season... I am confident Linda won't let me down!
Rating:
Summary: Confused
Review: What exactly was the "twist" at the end? I consider myself pretty intelligent and I read a lot but I couldn't figure out the end. The story was interesting enough although I had no problem putting the book down and doing something else and I usually have trouble when I'm in the middle of a great book. The characters were not particularly credible, but my biggest question is - what exactly happened at the end? Not highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A disappointing effort...
Review: I love Anita Shreve's writing, but this story was definately a disappointment. Her earlier books were missing something -- just short of greatness -- but then she seemed to break through with Pilot's Wife and Fortune's Rocks. With this one she seems to have taken a step backwards. I don't mind that many of her books seem to have somewhat fatalistic endings, but the end of this one seemed to be trying to manipulate the reader's feelings. Can't recommend this one unless you've read all her others.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretentious,pretentious, pretentious
Review: I don't get it. Why the positive reviews? This book is easily the most irritating thing I've ever read. Why can't Shreve do her dialogue like all the other writers in the world? No, she has to put them in italics and make them blend in with the rest of the narrative. And the two main characters - Poets my God - are boring, boring, boring. The love story is totally unconvincing. No doubt it's a take-off of Bridges of Madison County. This one is just as superficial, only wordier.
Rating:
Summary: What a Waste of Time
Review: I wish I had read the reviews of the readers from Portland, OR and Mississippi before I paid good money for this book. What a waste of my time! Can someone please explain what this book was about? After reading the ending I have no idea. Plus, Thomas and Linda are not particularly likable people. I kept telling myself the book would pick up, but it never did. I disliked it so much, I'm not even donating it to the library. I'm putting it in the recycling bin.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: The ending made reading the book a waste of time. I felt the author alienated her loyal fans. Perhaps she was trying for an avant-garde questioning of the nature of reality, or something like that... but I just wanted to read a straightforward novel with engaging characters. If I want to read a book by Italo Calvino, I'll buy a book by Italo Calvino. I would highly recommend "The Weight of Water" instead, which was a great read.
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