The Last Time They Met

I read The Pilot's Wife years back and enjoyed this author very much. For some reason, I had a hard time getting engaged at the beginning of this story, but I'm so glad I hung in. Anita Shreve skillfully shows us the power of love to not only occupy all of our thoughts and feelings but also to hurt when that love is denied. This novel vividly shows the sexual desire of the protagonist (without being too graphic) but also the disappointment when love is lost and forbidden. A highly recommended read.

I'm tempted to read other reviews before writing mine. I was pretty much flummoxed by this book almost the whole way. The inverted timeline threw me for the first loop. The unusual formatting of the dialog in the first 2/3rds of the book—but not the final 1/3rd—really confused me.

So, it turns out that Tom and Linda are 52 in the beginning of the book, seeming to be old lovers who are meeting again. In the middle of the book, they are 26 and having an affair. At the end, they are 17 and starting to date.

So much of what happened in the book turns out not to have happened in real life, but you have to read the whole book to understand why that's important. It's definitely and unusual concept even if you like books with time travel type timelines.

Overall, it's a well-written book, hence the four stars, but somewhat unsatisfying in its logic, to me anyway. The ending did and didn't surprise me. I think I caught on to what would happen halfway through the final third of the book.