Play Book Tag discussion

When they were 17, Linda Fallon and Thomas Janes met in a high school classroom. He was a handsome hockey jock with a large group of friends. She had just been released from a Magdalene home, a place for young girls who seemed to be on the wrong path in life and could hopefully be saved by a strict Catholic environment. Linda and Thomas were immediately attracted to one another and felt that their lives were so intertwined that they would never be apart. An automobile accident changed everything.

When they were 27, Linda and Thomas met again, this time in Africa. She had joined the Peace Corps as a teacher and had traveled to Kenya with her husband Peter. Thomas, a poet, was in Nairobi with his wife Regina who worked for UNICEF. A passionate affair eventually led to another heartbreaking separation.

When they were 52 both were invited to a writer's festival in Toronto to read from their books of poems. Thomas, who was a famous published poet had become a recluse after a devastating tragedy years before. He knew that Linda, whose own star was rising in the poetry field, would be on the writer's panel and he knew he had to see her again. Their connection was evident and their few days in Canada was all they hoped it could be. Or was it?

The novel is told in reverse from their age of 52 back to age 17. Both of their backstories are interesting and I liked their characters even as selfish as they were. The last page was a shocker and certainly explains why the story was told in this particular way although it raises a lot of questions. I have always enjoyed Shreve's lovely writing style and for that alone, this was a good read.