Ms.V. H. reviewed on 4/25/2013

Helpful Score: 1

This is the first book by Ms. Shreve that I have read. So I don't know what the influence of the previous use of the Thomas Janes character may or may not have (meant).

I found this story to be haunting, as commercial reviews have said, and to contain several bits of prose that crystalized things in amazing ways. The book is worth reading for these sentences alone.

This is a love story that is hard to take on many levels. It is a true love, which pains those of us who have been disappointed in our quest for the same. It is a story of the potential of redemption through love, which upsets those who have been unable to wrest this from our own sufferings related to love. It is an honest story, which insistently hints to us to face the boring and irremediable facts of our own lives. It is a scary story, which subtly suggests that the meaning of our lives is inextricably linked to the mark we have made or have not made on others.

While this novel made quite an impression on me, I was never fully sure of the sincerety of the author in offering it. I would also caution that it is not for those who have recently been hurt. Whether through skill or sincerity, this book will find weak places.

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