A review by clskvarce
The Last Time They Met by Anita Shreve

4.0

I don't know what's more heartbreaking-a life not lived or a life lived without love. This novel left a lump in my throat that has yet to fully dissipate. At the end, I had to go back and read the beginning, feeling as though I couldn't quite let go of the story before the circle was complete. The story's structure was perhaps the most brilliant, for the same story told in linear fashion would have been dry and lacking emotional clarity. Heartbreaking, but essential, in the way that only fiction can truly answer the question, "What if?"