What readers think of The Last Time They Met, plus links to write your own review.

I think this is one of the best books I've ever read. This book really touched me and I can not stop thinking about it. I thought the book was wonderfully written. Shreve created such a powerful and emotional love between Linda and Thomas . I was completely blown away by the ending. I was in shock and emotionally overwhelmed as well as a little confused. I kept going back in search of clues that would have led up to this unexpected ending. What confuses me is the fact that this book is based on descriptive details of two separate lives lived and the three times they met, some of the time seen through Linda's eyes and then only to assume it's based on Thomas's vivid imagination. The way I interpreted this book's ending made me really sad just thinking how hard it must have been for Thomas all those years and the burden he had to carry with him on his journey through life. I would love a couple of minutes with the author just to discuss the book a little further as I do have some unanswered questions! I will definitely be rereading this novel.

Words cannot begin to describe how moving this novel is. I find it so difficult to imagine that anyone could write something so incredibly beautiful. The love shared between Linda and Thomas is one so eternal ... it is a love that every woman in the world wishes for with all her heart. This novel is at once a harsh reality and a dream that is so wonderful, it couldn't posibly be real. I'd have to say, it would be a great shame if The Last Time They Met didn't become a literary classic for future generations.

I cannot praise this novel highly enough. I found the prose truly breathtaking, and the intensity of feeling between the two main characters, Linda and Thomas, left me wondering about both Shreve, her life and her loves, and my own relationships. The ending left me shaken and in tears, and I have often thought of it since putting the book down with a sob months ago. It's one I know I'll re-read.

This book is beautifully written. I spent a weekend reading and relating to the book, the last few pages and the conclusion is heartstopping. I felt numb with grief, after putting the book down. Anita Shreve writes with an intensity and passion, and the magic of true love. This book made me look at my own relationships and made me think again. The book opens up new vistas of layers in a relationship.....some deeper than most. A glorious read, and a wistful ending.

I just came back from a meeting of our book club. We read The Last Time They Met. We are a group of savvy High School English teachers, and we've just had one of the most spirited discussions we have ever had. Some interpreted the book as [edited]. Others of us (myself included) completely missed this. Some felt manipulated by the ending if indeed it was to be taken literally. Others interpreted it figuratively. If it is to be interpreted literally, the ending generates many questions. Most of us liked the book; some loved it. But the ending seemed a neat contrivance to tie up a book rather than admit that life doesn't always give us happy endings. Anita Shreve's writing is exquisite, but one feels manipulated after this heart-wrenching journey. Please comment and let me know your feelingsl, at lrharris@bellsouth.net.

I loved this book. It was the first I have read from Anita Shreve but certainly won't be the last. I was really over whelmed by the ending and immediately wanted to go back and read it all again just so that I could appreciate the little hints and also the inspired structure better. It was a very clever construction and brilliant how it was able to hold back until the very last few paragraphs.

All the way through the last section about the early stage of their relationship, I kept thinking we were going to be going back (forward) at some point to pick up Linda and Thomas in the current day again (and hopefully seeing them spending more time together and then the rest of their lives - possibly reflects MY lack of imagination!). But then we didn't. We never got to see them again. I was left with a sense of loss, shock and grief; themes which were evident throughout the book.

Love can be a bummer! Impossibly powerful, liberating but constricting and ultimately painful. Can you love without loss? Anita Shreve made me cry and want to rush out into the street and tell anyone who happened to be walking in the neighbourhood how sad love is. But instead, I saved it until morning for you guys!!

A must read!

AAAAWWWW, the naivete of optimism. Maybe the shock of reading his poetry that was based on a fantasy love that didn't really exist was too much for him. I remember at the beginning he supposedly humiliates himself at a panel but then he talks about it so lightheartedly to Linda....goes along with the delusions he's suffering from. No, she really [edited], Rhett never gives Scarlett another chance and Ingrid Bergman prefers financial stability to a moody restaurantier. Life is sad and love is almost always tragic.

Anita Shreve’s book creates an overbearing, emotional, and powerful response in readers. Reading through this book, I became completely engulfed in the love affair between Thomas and Linda. I loved the section about Africa, and Shreve’s descriptions of the environment, people, and culture made me anxious to visit the land myself. Towards the end of the novel, I kept wondering how Shreve was going to tie everything together. I was very surprised by the ending. It had such a strong impact on me. I immediately thought of many questions I would love to ask Shreve! I was especially thrown off because some of the novel takes place from Linda’s point of view, thus making the ending even more of a shock. After rereading the last page of the novel five more times (and then crying), I feel like I need to reread the novel in search of foreshadowing to the ending.....content deleted to remove plot spoiler..... To those of you who have not read the book, I recommend it entirely. It is passionate, suspenseful, and, most importantly, full of love, sorrow, and happiness. The novel will leave you with a kind of emotion too powerful to name. To those of you who have read the novel, I would love to discuss it with you. Feel free to e-mail me at becc789@aol.com.