- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Harvest Books (4 Oct 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0156031272
- ISBN-13: 978-0156031271
- Product Dimensions: 20.5 x 13.6 x 1.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,014,405 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'Anita Shreve has a knack for wry observation and for capturing the agony of emotion' DAILY TELEGRAPH; 'Shreve handles her characters with a great deal of compassion, and the ending is genuinely moving' SUNDAY TIMES; 'Offers the reader all the eroticism of a D. H. Lawrence novel. WHERE OR WHEN is more than just an exquisitely written novel. It is also a gripping yarn' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
When Charles Callahan chances on a newspaper photograph of Sian Richards, a woman he loved when they were both only thirteen, he is hardly in a position to do anything about it. He has been faithfully married for years and his Rhode Island real estate business has been hit hard by the recession. He is scrambling to stave off bankruptcy and save his house. But Charles cannot resist the hand of fate. He writes to Sian, now a poet living with a family of her own on a farm in upstate New York. Three decades after they last saw each other, the two lovers meet. Powerfully drawn together once again, Charles and Sian are forced to come to terms with the nature of erotic love and betrayal, moral quandaries in an age of shifting values, and the elusive nature of time. Struggling to reclaim what once they lost, they set in motion a passionate and tumultuous series of events that moves to a shocking conclusion.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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First Sentence
I remember everything. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
I remember everything. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having read and 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, and I disliked thoroughly the two main characters. The only people I warmed to were the cheated husband and the abandoned wife - at least they had some depth and 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.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I thoroughly enjoy Anita Shreve's style of writing and this book is no exception. I did however have problems getting any empathy going for the characters as I found them both shallow and unlikable. The story is an interesting one that I believe many people find themselves thinking of at some point in their adult life; "What if I met so-and-so again?". While most people would manage to resist the temptation Anita Shreve lets her two protagonists do the unthinkable and it ruins their lives and the lives of those around them. I'm happy that she avoided the sugar sweet ending that might be a temptation in a story such as this as it would have made the story unbearable.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the best Anita Shreve I have read. In her other novels, Shreve has shown her strength in writing about emotion, particularly the pain of loss or unfulfilled love. This subject is at the centre of this novel: the story of how a reunion after 31 years between a man and woman who previously spent only one week together when they were teenagers. The novel examines the nature of time, of love and disappointment in life, as both characters face the mid-points in the lives with a realisation that they are not happy or fulfilled. Every sentence is beautifully written, every mood carefully evoked against the bleak weather and the gathering storm clouds of financial and emotional melt-down as the couple head towards the inevitable reckoning. A wonderful read which will leave you gasping in amazement at the sheer strength of Shreve's quiet art.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Heartbreaking Dilemma
One of Anita Shreve's more subtle books (written before she became famous), 'Where or When' depicts the plight of two childhood sweethearts who meet in later life. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Kate Hopkins
Good book.
Was pleased with the overall condition of the book and the story was very good. As all Anita Shreve books are. A good study of human qualities and failings.
Published 4 months ago by Ms. A. Simkiss
don't bother with this one
I have read a few of Anita Shreeve's books and enjoyed them [though not as much as many others I've read]. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Ms. K. J. Waghorn
What happens when you reconnect with your first love?
Shreve's books are to me like wrapping yourself up in a fluffy quilt on a cold winters day- they are so inviting and sensual and have the most amazing descriptions of people and... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Nicola F (Nic)
Love, yearning and despair v. duty and conscience
The main character, Charles, is in an unfulfilling relationship with his wife, is facing bankruptcy and his house being repossessed when, by pure chance, he happens to locate his... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Adrian Blake
Boring and unimaginitive
Having enjoyed several of Shreve's books before, I was looking forward to this one - but it was a great disappointment. Read more
Published on 6 Feb 2010 by Laura Smith
where or when - Anita Shreve does it again
This book is a typical Anita Shreve story - the overall way it is written is once again so easy to not want to put down. Read more
Published on 6 Jan 2010 by jacqueline s.
Well written but irritating storyline and characters
This story relates the doomed love affair of two failed middle-aged intellectuals who rekindle their teenage romance after he spots her photograph in a Sunday newspaper. Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2008 by Reddy
unbeleivable
Having read Eden close and being intrigues by it, i decided to continue to read Anita Shreves novels. However, 'where or when' is a big let down. Read more
Published on 29 Jun 2006 by sarah
this book wasted 3 nights of my life!
This is the 5th Shreve book I have read. I really wish I hadn't bought it, and if I'd had another novel to take to bed, I wouldn't even have bothered finishing it. Read more
Published on 22 Nov 2003 by Mimi Buisson
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