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.

Halfway through the last page of The Last Time They Met, I started crying. I have never read something so stunningly beautiful and penetrating. The story of Thomas and Linda, particularly the last section at age seventeen, is beyond words. I felt such pain for these two lovers, and shock at the book's surprise conclusion. This is a spectacularly woven story, harsh and aching, and dripping with realism. The Last Time They Met is certainly the best book I have ever read. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

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 express how much emotion was felt when I read Shereve's dazzling novel. It was beautiful, so simple, it is engraved in my mind forever. Never before had I read a book so real and full of life I felt it touch me on my shoulder. I desire to write a script to give all the characters in her novel physical life because they scream for it. This novel has given me a new light. It has defined what love trully is or what it is meant to be. The novel is based on a love so pure-
" A simple posture, accomplished thousands- no millions- of times a day, and yet so serious you could hardly breathe".
I cannot rate this out of 5- that number is too insignificant for such a marvellous novel. I urge you must read this. It is a bible, a Mona Lisa.

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 started reading this book Sunday night, and finished it Monday night(I could not sleep at night becasue I wantedt o finish it)...this book was the first I have read of hers and will not be the last. She uses words in a way that I have not seen very often. The ending left me speechless, and I want to reread it again to once again expereince the magic of this authors imagination and words.