Well I have to say, I'm with all of you. This was an excellent book! Just finished it a few minutes ago.
I was completely caught off guard by the ending too. I kept checking to see how many pages were left, and was very curious as to what was going to happen. I can tell you,
…more I was not prepared for the ending I did read!
Like many of you, I had to go back and reread parts to see if I missed something! It drove me nuts wondering what happended and how they met in the beginning, and yet how she could have died at 17. I was left hanging and thought I was the only one. I was relieved when I found this site, and even more so when I learned that I wasn't the only person confused by the ending.
I have decided, as a few of you have already said, that Thomas must have made up the rest of Linda's life to get through his own. Knowing this makes the impact of the book that much greater. To think that all of those moments with Linda were made up by him, which seemed to keep him alive for so long, is especially heart wrenching. I have to admit, I did start to feel a tear or two when I understood this all. The book just suddenly took on a completely different meaning.
This was a powerful book, and understanding the ending the way I do now, made me feel pretty sad thinking that's the way it turned out. Let's just say I was hoping for the "off into the sunset" ending. :-)
I can see how so many of you wanna go back and reread it, looking for "clues" or things that might explain the ending better. I have read Anita's other book, The Pilots Wife. Another great book! I couldn't put that one down either! What a great writer! I look forward to reading her next book, Sea Glass. I might have to break down and buy the hard cover book though, don't know if I can wait a year for the paperback to come out! (less)
