The Last Time They Met

Pretty good

I like this author. I had read "all i ever wanted" in the past and gave this a shot. I like where the book went but i was not too impressed. I will give another one of her books a try though.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Wistful pleasure

You must read "The Weight of Water" before reading this fabulous book. Ms. Shreve once again take you beyong your normal surroundings and brings you characters that you'll remember for a long time to come.

The description of Africa and the political unrest and culture was fantastic. I felt as if I'd gotten to take a trip to a tortured country and yet see the beauty amongest the ugly.

I'll definitely share this book with family and friends.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A beautiful and elegaic novel

This novel of love and loss is beautifully written. The plot device is original and very well done. The ending will haunt you.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

One of my favorites

The book narrates a story of two lovers, who meets after many years, under unusual circumstances but with overwhelming love for each other. The novel flashes back in time in a very intriguing fashion, recording the chance encounters of the protagonists at the age of fifty-two, twenty-six and seventeen, in the same order…
The story reveals the undying love between two persons despite the various turn of events in the course of their lives, which are not similar for the two. The novel weaves brilliantly the anticipation and promises on one hand and the pathos, constraints and heartbreak on the other. The last chapter discloses the first meeting of the two and what happened afterwards and relates to the upheavals in the lives of the two people in love..
Shreve wraps up the whole narration in the last page of the book so masterfully casting a rare magic spell of storytelling, compelling the reader to remain maddened as well as satisfied and with an assured longing to read the story all over again. ..
The novel gets its hypnotic and suspenseful side thanks to the reasons and chances due to which the lovers meet in wonderful coincidences but could not remain together for life...

This book will definitely touch the hearts of those who believe in the magic called life.. its miracles and hypnotism...
Anita Shreve's is definitely going to be the work I would look out for in my next visit to a bookstore or to the public library..

must read

favorite book by my favorite author

Excellent writing - good read!

This book was a surprise from beginning toend. I had not read Shreve before and her style is compellingly real.

lovely book

from the woman who read the book to the final words, this book draws you in, you become part of their world

It was weird.

I had a hard time reading this book. But I didn't give up. I finished the book till the end. Even though, I read the paragraphs over and over again. I continued to read this book.I enjoyed it.

Last Time They Met, Very disturbing.

I'm not sure I would recommend this book to anyone. It took me a long time to read it, a very slow read. I was really surprised by the ending but still not enthused by the overall story.

Interesting and easy ready

I love the author's writting. She went back in time which kept me intrigued. There is an unexpected ending. It's a great book. I recommend it for a pool-side read.

An Inconsistent Author

Ms. Shreve writes as a different person from book to book. One who expects the same level of writing from an author will surely be disappointed by this author. The characters in this book need some help though the ones in some of her other pieces stand and shine on their own. It is still a good piece and worth reading but not an easy book to get finished. I seemed to be reading it for weeks instead of hours as in her other works.

Good book, ending will get you.

I liked the book, but was somewhat puzzled by the ending.

Unimpressive

I did not care for the writer's style so I did not finish the audiobook. My opinion was that she tried to make simple events and feelings sound complicated. She easily could have made her point without being so nebulous in her writing style. I would not be inclined to purchase any other works by this author.

A thought provoking read

This is my second Shreve novel, having recently completed The weight of Water, which I do suggest reading before this one. The structure of the book, starting when the main characters, Thomas and Linda, are 52 and working backwards to when they meet in high school, may seem at times confusing. I found it an effective means to provide the full effect and impact of emotion for the reader. It is at the conclusion of this read that one discovers how deeply intense the story was on many levels -for two nights I went to sleep thinking about it. Don¿t write this off as a simple romance novel. Shreve gave us complex issues in layers that lead us to examine what we do with and for our lives every day that we are alive.

A MUST Read

Although I am sincerely captivated by all of Shreve's books, The Last Time They Met is my favorite. Maybe because it was the first one I read a discovery of Shreve's literary brilliance, and thus becoming something of sentiment. Maybe because it came at such a time in my life when I was able to identify with the characters, their lives and emotions in a way that was quietly shaming yet truly encouraging. Either way, Shreve¿s ability to write a unique but truthfully universal story of love¿s weave and hold in our lives and the unpredictable actions and emotions that naturally follow will not be forgotten. I know I won't.

A Punch in the Gut Ending

I picked this book up from the library long after it came out, because I had only recently discovered Anita Shreve for myself and loved every one of her books I had read so far. I had only recently read another Shreve novel, 'The Weight of Water' and discovered that this was sort of a sequel (and/or prequel--hard to explain, but you'll understand if you read the two novels). I've since read a number of reader reviews and many of the readers HATED the story--or loved the story, but HATED the ending. They alternately felt cheated, disappointed, angry. Me--I loved it. Not that it wasn't a punch in the gut, but it was the sort of thing I should have seen coming and didn't. And it left me feeling profoundly sad, so that I thought about the story long after I put the book down. And that, to me, is what a good book should do. One thing I've noted about Shreve novels. Most of her main characters seem to be people who betray others. They cheat on their spouses or forge ahead with an illicit affair knowing all along that someone will be hurt, but not bothering to stop themselves. And yet despite their lack of moral character, Shreve makes me somehow start to care about these people. Their self-absorbedness (is that a word?) certainly creates tension. And there is rarely a happily-ever-after finish to her stories, anyway, perhaps her way of saying there is a price to be paid for selfishness. I'd recommend it.

a reviewer

I loved the story but I am still confused about what happened. The characters really got to me and I am wondering if there is going to be a sequel?

A Riveting Love Story

Thomas Janes and Linda Fallon meet at 17 on the edge of a pier in Boston.From that moment on they are intertwined again and again - at 26 in Kenya and 52 in Toronto. The theme of haunted love continues to propel the story even as it is written backwards in time. Shreve masterfully crafts this timeless love and its many incarnations until the reader realizes the true loss faced by both Thomas and Linda so early in life that ripped them apart.

Beautiful story of love!

I loved the book. It was not boring at all. I loved how Annita Shreve wrote it in 3 parts. She began at the end and wrote all the way to to the beginning when they met.

This one threw me

I give this book three stars because the ending is so...well, I guess I'd have to say it really stumped me and led me to wonder what I had just read. How could I have missed putting the clues together?? I'm a bit frustrated though the book has made an impression!