Rating: 
Summary: Simple questions
Review: Would I answer such a letter from an old love. I thought I knewthe answer before I read Where or When. I really couldn't put this book down. I kept wondering how do such things happen they can't possibly but that is life. Ms. Shreve (not Oprah) has inspired me to READ again. I loved this book as well as the Pilot's Wife. I can't wait to read more of her work. It was excellent.
Rating: 
Summary: man going through mid-life crisis turns to first love
Review: Charles, as his business falls apart knowing his home will be taken away next, cannot face his failure or his wife and three children. He lets his mind take him back to the magic of his first love. When he sees her name and picture in the paper he starts corresponding to her. Charles with her does not have to face his failure and can feel good about himself again. This is a story of a man falling apart and doing anything he can to survive....even if it is not the right thing. I loved the book and could not put it down. Chicago, IL
Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing but depressing
Review: I read this becuse I loved THE PILOT'S WIFE. I did not think it was as good but she still did a great job developing the main character, especially the man...I could not wait to see how it would end, but when I did, I thought it was pretty depressing. Somewhat unbelievable, but good.
Rating: 
Summary: Took me less than an hour to read
Review: It's 1:58 P.M....I started this sophmoric waste of time about 1:15 P.M. That's less than an hour. And I'm no speed reader. I just kept casually flipping through the 242 pages, occasionally glancing down to see what Chaz and Sian were up to now, knowing that one of them....awww, that wouldn't be fair. The premise of this sugary bit of schmaltz intrigued me, because I still carry a huge torch (unrequited, I might add) and I thought I would get a bit of cheap philosophy out of this, if nothing else. What I got was a lesson in writing development, as Ms. Shreve has certainly put this debacle behind her and moved on. Not that she's grown materially, but she's learned to write with more flair and pinache, as "The Pilot's Wife" shows. I think her heart is in the right place, hence the two stars, instead of one, and one day she may still write an absolutely spellbinding novel of the human condition. But not this. And not yet.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it!!!
Review: I absolutely loved this book, and I'm not exactly sure just why. There are a lot of things that happened in the story that didn't make sense. For example, a 44-year old man who is still pining for a woman he had a crush on over thirty years ago. Also, if I met a man who came on to me the way the character Charles did to Sian, I would have been turned off immediately. However, I think this story impressed me so because it shows how extreme, desperate, and unreasonable human behavior is when we're unhappy or under a great deal of stress. There are times when our dark, unfamiliar nature overtakes us. Sian expressed this when she asked herself, "What is this." It reminds me of the female character in "The Bridges of Madison County" when she started having the affair with the photographer and she commented that she didn't recognize herself."Where or When" and "The Pilot's Wife" complement each other. Kathryn and Charles could have been married to each other. If we look at both books as being about a marriage in trouble, then "The Pilot's Wife" could be the marriage from the wife's point of view, and in "Where or When" we get the husband's point of view. Kathryn ("Wife") felt her marriage was good, and I'm sure Charles' wife felt their marriage was good. Kathryn's husband was having an affair without her knowlege (she claims), just as Charles was having an affair without his wife's knowledge. Some reviewers complained about the ending to the story. It was raggedy. But, then, life does fall apart on us sometimes and for certain doesn't always make sense.
Rating: 
Summary: A tragic waste of print
Review: What a ludicrous premise -- "puppy love" re-ignited. If I'd received the notes sent by Charles from a boy I'd been in love with at fourteen, I'd have been researching stalking laws not considering a meeting. The illogical plot made it an impossible read. Thouroughly disappointing after "The Pilot's Wife" and "The Weight of Water" -- both excellent.
Rating:
Summary: put a little joy in your heart while you're at it
Review: I loved the book from the perspective of finding your long-lost love once again. What bothered me was that the lovers showed so little joy in the rediscovery of their love. Guilt seemed to completely rule the day here. I know that if I were Sian, I would be acting like a silly teenager again. A little more lightness would have been a welcome addition to this book. Man, do these characters pay for what they do! I was intrigued that this novel was inspired by Ms. Shreve's very own life event. By now, she has probably married the man that she met at summer camp when they were young teens. I hope that her life with him has a happier outcome than the characters in her novel. They deserve better than that. I thought that the book was exceptionally well-written, a fast, easy read, and just wonderfully done. Reduced from 4 stars to 3 due to its unnecessarily harsh treatment of the lovers.
Rating:
Summary: I finished it.
Review: I kept putting this book down and forgetting about it for days, but three weeks later I finished it and hated the ending. Much of this book reminded me of what I was taught NOT to do in creative writing classes. I felt like the ending was the author's escape -- not an artfully written conclusion. I wanted to like this book. I liked the premise, but I couldn't find its soul.
Rating:
Summary: engrossing and heartfelt
Review: After reading and immensely enjoying "The Pilot's Wife", I read "The Weight of Water", "Eden Close" and just finished "Where or When". Each of Shreve's books stikes a chord within because her characters, I think, are very real and they are characters women can relate to. One reviewer's perception of "Where or When" is that the characters are punished at the end for their "sins". That wasn't my perception at all. I think Shreve's characters are appealing because they are flawed. Charles is a man whose life is completely unraveling and he looks out to sea to Portugal, dreams of going there. He needs a dream. There is some semblance of hope, however misdirected, in meeting with Sian. Her life has also become pained, her relationship with her husband, hollow. The love, passion, desire, memories that Charles and Sian share makes them crazy. The scene of Charles in the post office, taking off his shirt, really touched me. I said, "Oh, no!" as I read it, laughed, then tears came to my eyes. His last thought, "Timing is everything" is acutely felt, and may very well be the point of the book both in terms of when they met as teens, the timing in telling their families, and of course the crucial timing when Charles does not return to the motel. I would also like to comment on the title of the book, based on the Rodgers and Hart song. From a musical viewpoint, the melody, like so many of Richard Rodger's melodies, is so simple yet so beautiful but the way the extension of the melody is constructed at the end of the song "..seems that we have met before and laughed before and loved before" also adds to it's wistfulness and longing. Every action has a consequence. I don't think there was any way for this book to have a happy ending nor do I think it should have.
Rating:
Summary: haunting .........
Review: I read this book many many months ago and yet I still can't get it out of my mind. I loved the book so much while reading it ... actually a measure of how much I love a book is when I slow down in the reading of it ... you see, I don't want it to end. So this small paperback became a book that took me weeks to read. I thought the characters were very well drawn w/the exception of their respective spouses ... I agree with the NY Times review in that they seemed at times to be parodies. And yet ... I was captivated by this book. Sian and Charles were very vividly drawn ... and yes, I was hoping against hope for them. But as life usually turns out unfortunately ... things don't always work out as you'd like them to. You may not like the ending of this book ... you may throw it away when you finish it and curse the time and emotions that you invested in it ... but I guarantee you ... you won't be able to get it out of your mind.
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