Customer Reviews
Well written but irritating storyline and characters - By: R. Dyson, 28 Feb 2008 
This story relates the doomed love affair of two failed middle-aged intellectuals who rekindle their teenage romance after he spots her photographin a Sunday newspaper. Shreve has a good prose style which elevates her books above 'chick-lit' but an extra-marital affair between a frustrated estate agent & a part-time poet didn't really cut it for me as an engrossing story line.
unbeleivable - By: sarah, 29 Jun 2006 Having read Eden close & being intrigues by it, i decided to continue to read Anita Shreves novels. However, 'where or when' is a big let down. The story line has no depth to it, & the plot to me sounds unbeleiveable, to give up your whole life for one fling at age fourteen?! It's a bit far-fetched!
Okay but not brilliant - By: , 28 Dec 2004 
Having read & loved "The Pilot's Wife", I was expecting great things from this book, but unfortunately I didn't get them. While the idea of erotic obsession is a good one, it's not well realised as here the situations are highly unlikely, sometimes even laughable, & I disliked thoroughly the two main characters. The only people I warmed to were the cheated husband & the abandoned wife - at least they had some depth & I particularly wanted to know what would happen to Harriet.
I think this author is excellent at relationships, but should steer clear of the darkness of sexual obsession.
this book wasted 3 nights of my life! - By: Mimi Buisson, 22 Nov 2003 
This is the 5th Shreve book I have read. I really wish I hadn't bought it, & if I'd had another novel to take to bed, I wouldn't even have bothered finishing it.
Unbelieveable & cringeworthy. I think it may be the last Shreve book I buy as I read it after The Pilot's Wife which I also found disappointing.
Sea Glass was the first of her novels I read, & really enjoyed it. Sadly, I don't think the others have been quite as good.
Wrong place, wrong time? - By: , 03 Aug 2003 
This is a lovely, moving novel about two people who fellin love when they were fourteen, but were separated through no fault of their own. Both marry other people & live separate lives. Sian is a writer & is married with a 3-year old girl, Lily. Charles is an insurance salesman & he has 3 children of varying ages. However, neither is happyin their marriage & neither has forgotten the other. As fate would have it, Charles sees an advertisement for Sian's latest book, along with a photograph of her,in a newspaper. He immediately knows he must see her and, when at last they meet, the flame burns brighter than ever. Deception, secrecy & hurt isin store for both of them & their families, but despite all odds, they know they were meant to be together. But have they got the timing right, or is their love destined only for tragedy? A superb novel, so poignant that events will lingerin your mind long after the last page is turned.
