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The Last Time I Saw You
As onetime classmates meet up over the course of a weekend for their fortieth high school reunion, they discover things that will irrevocably affect the rest of their lives. For newly divorced Dorothy, the reunion brings with it the possibility of finally attracting the attention of the class heartthrob. For the ever self-reliant, ever left-out Mary Alice, it’s a chance to reexamine a painful past. For Lester, a veterinarian and widower, it is the hope of talking shop with a fellow vet—or at least that’s what he tells himself. For Candy, the class beauty, it’s the hope of finding friendship before it’s too late. As these and other classmates converge for the reunion dinner, four decades melt away: desires and personalities from their youth reemerge, and new discoveries are made. For so much has happened to them all. And so much can still happen.
288 pages, Paperback
First published April 6, 2010
616 people are currently reading
3492 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Berg
69 books5,020 followersElizabeth Berg is an American novelist.
She was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and lived in Boston prior to her residence in Chicago. She studied English and Humanities at the University of Minnesota, but later ended up with a nursing degree. Her writing career started when she won an essay contest in Parents magazine. Since her debut novel in 1993, her novels have sold in large numbers and have received several awards and nominations, although some critics have tagged them as sentimental. She won the New England Book Awards in 1997.
The novels Durable Goods, Joy School, and True to Form form a trilogy about the 12-year-old Katie Nash, in part based on the author's own experience as a daughter in a military family. Her essay "The Pretend Knitter" appears in the anthology Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting, published by W. W. Norton & Company in November 2013.
She was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and lived in Boston prior to her residence in Chicago. She studied English and Humanities at the University of Minnesota, but later ended up with a nursing degree. Her writing career started when she won an essay contest in Parents magazine. Since her debut novel in 1993, her novels have sold in large numbers and have received several awards and nominations, although some critics have tagged them as sentimental. She won the New England Book Awards in 1997.
The novels Durable Goods, Joy School, and True to Form form a trilogy about the 12-year-old Katie Nash, in part based on the author's own experience as a daughter in a military family. Her essay "The Pretend Knitter" appears in the anthology Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting, published by W. W. Norton & Company in November 2013.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,550 reviews
May 16, 2010
I've read every single book that Berg has written and I found this one to be a bit silly to be quite honest.
A bunch of old high school classmates get together for their 40th Reunion which will be their last one. The characters in this novel seemed somewhat juvenile instead of mature people who are now in their 50's and 60's. I can tolerate the women groaning over what they're going to wear, who's going to remember them and if someone they especially want to see again will be there. But I can't tolerate the immaturity a lot of these characters showed in the novel. Almost like fifth graders pining over boys and hoping beyond hope that the man they're looking for will show up and notice them. Conversely, the men weren't much better. A lot of them displaying insecurity, immaturity and a little bravado at the same time.
I was disappointed in this book and it seems Berg might be losing her literary grip!
A bunch of old high school classmates get together for their 40th Reunion which will be their last one. The characters in this novel seemed somewhat juvenile instead of mature people who are now in their 50's and 60's. I can tolerate the women groaning over what they're going to wear, who's going to remember them and if someone they especially want to see again will be there. But I can't tolerate the immaturity a lot of these characters showed in the novel. Almost like fifth graders pining over boys and hoping beyond hope that the man they're looking for will show up and notice them. Conversely, the men weren't much better. A lot of them displaying insecurity, immaturity and a little bravado at the same time.
I was disappointed in this book and it seems Berg might be losing her literary grip!
October 3, 2011
Okay, I will read ANYTHING Berg puts out. ANYTHING. I have been a fan since the very beginning and always will be. I race to get her newest book. With that being said, this book was fluff. A good fluff, but fluff none the less. Her earlier works, such as Talk Before Sleep, Joy School and Range of Motion touched me deeply. I bought them for others as gifts. The last few books she's written are centered on the older generation, which, of course, is a natural wonderful progression (how ever unintentional or intention, I don't know) of her work as an author - the sense of her characters aging as we all do seems to be the natural following. I guess this would be considerd a sense of maturity in her works. However, I am annoyed by it, a bit. Yes, I'm aging. But, I don't get a sense of oneness with the characters the way I used to anymore. The characters are dealing with more mature issues, but the issues just seem boring. This book centers on a reunion and many characters are introduced. I never felt connected to any of them and I really didn't care what happened to them. This is not what I expect from the Berg of old. I've cried over her characters of the past. The ones in this book - argh - some I wouldn't even bother to get to know in real life. I was dissappointed in that regard. The writing itself is superb - her easy flow is like sitting with a friend in a coffee shop. But the content? This is a beach read, if you have a million other things going on in your life and just need an escape. No thought, no investment required. Unfortunately, I'm not going to be buying this one for my friends.
June 26, 2010
The Last Time I Saw You was not the most influential book that I have read this year, but I don’t think that was Elizabeth Berg’s intention. Berg didn’t focus on racism in the South (The Help) or government produced vampires (The Passage). No. Berg just wrote about what it is like to feel younger than you are, and how it feels to face the people who knew you during one period of your life long ago. And although I don’t think Berg’s novel will change history, I do think the simplicity of the plot hid a deeper message: You can’t go back in time, but you can change who you are.
I read The Last Time I Saw You in record time-the quickest read I have had in awhile. I didn’t read it so quickly because of the suspense, or the compelling romance. Instead I read it so quickly because it was fun, light, and enjoyable. Berg gave me five main characters who were easily recognizable in real-life, and for the most part I liked my time with most of them. I did not enjoy the chapters that focused on Dorothy. I don’t necessarily think that was Dorothy’s fault. She was just so easily identifiable and life-like that she exuded the same qualities as women I know and don’t really like.
There was one section of the book that broke the spell for me though. (Don’t worry-this isn’t much of a spoiler.) At the reunion, some of the characters participate in a pseudo game of Truth (no Dare). I have only been to a couple of reunions, but I find it hard to believe that these “strangers” tell all of their most treasured secrets to each other. I couldn’t see this happening, and even the set-up of the scene seemed false. It was almost like Berg was hurrying to finish up the reunion scene and just wanted to get all the characters’ problems out on the table quickly.
My only other compliant was the abrupt ending. Two of the characters’ resolution take place “off-stage” , and I liked them so much that I wanted to see them figure everything out. I didn’t want to just hear they resolved their issues. After traveling so long with them, I really wanted to see how they did it.
All in all, I thought this novel was a good read, and it got me ready for my husband’s reunion later this year. The Last Time I Saw You left me with some things to think about and some high school memories to mull over. Maybe a game of truth wouldn’t be so bad, but maybe it would just be better to move on all together.
I read The Last Time I Saw You in record time-the quickest read I have had in awhile. I didn’t read it so quickly because of the suspense, or the compelling romance. Instead I read it so quickly because it was fun, light, and enjoyable. Berg gave me five main characters who were easily recognizable in real-life, and for the most part I liked my time with most of them. I did not enjoy the chapters that focused on Dorothy. I don’t necessarily think that was Dorothy’s fault. She was just so easily identifiable and life-like that she exuded the same qualities as women I know and don’t really like.
There was one section of the book that broke the spell for me though. (Don’t worry-this isn’t much of a spoiler.) At the reunion, some of the characters participate in a pseudo game of Truth (no Dare). I have only been to a couple of reunions, but I find it hard to believe that these “strangers” tell all of their most treasured secrets to each other. I couldn’t see this happening, and even the set-up of the scene seemed false. It was almost like Berg was hurrying to finish up the reunion scene and just wanted to get all the characters’ problems out on the table quickly.
My only other compliant was the abrupt ending. Two of the characters’ resolution take place “off-stage” , and I liked them so much that I wanted to see them figure everything out. I didn’t want to just hear they resolved their issues. After traveling so long with them, I really wanted to see how they did it.
All in all, I thought this novel was a good read, and it got me ready for my husband’s reunion later this year. The Last Time I Saw You left me with some things to think about and some high school memories to mull over. Maybe a game of truth wouldn’t be so bad, but maybe it would just be better to move on all together.
December 30, 2015
I know: it is fluffy, lowbrow, chick lit stuff. But I must be honest and admit that I liked it. A pleasant light book with some moments of lyricism and with a couple of nice personal stories and reasonably depicted personalities. You will not find any deep introspective thinking here, make no mistakes. But it is not too bad either.
April 10, 2010
Elizabeth Berg is like the little girl with a curl. When she's good, she's very very good, and this is a perfect example. It's a simple story: five people going to their fortieth high school reunion. Berg must be a fan of "The Breakfast Club" because she gives us the typical high school stereotypes: the jock, the brain, the beauty queen, the outcast, and the mean girl. (If the book were written about a tenth high school reunion, it would have to include the Emo kid and the girl with the eating disorder).
You might think this book would be superficial and stereotypical, but instead,it gives us a window into the lives of all the characters and I ended up caring about all of them even the mean girl. Elizabeth Berg is best when she writes about simple, everyday things. She has a way of making you see the wonder and beauty in the things we all take for granted. It brings to mind Thorton Wilder's famous play, "Our Town". The main character, Emily, dies in childbirth, and only after she dies does she realize how precious life is. She asks, "Do human beings ever realize life while they're living it, every every minute". The response she gets is "No...the saints and poets, maybe they do." Berg is either a saint or a poet or both. I loved this book.
You might think this book would be superficial and stereotypical, but instead,it gives us a window into the lives of all the characters and I ended up caring about all of them even the mean girl. Elizabeth Berg is best when she writes about simple, everyday things. She has a way of making you see the wonder and beauty in the things we all take for granted. It brings to mind Thorton Wilder's famous play, "Our Town". The main character, Emily, dies in childbirth, and only after she dies does she realize how precious life is. She asks, "Do human beings ever realize life while they're living it, every every minute". The response she gets is "No...the saints and poets, maybe they do." Berg is either a saint or a poet or both. I loved this book.
July 25, 2012
Post Listen Review: Want a reason to not go to your 40th high school reunion? People there might be talking about this book and that would be horribly, horribly boring to listen to.
I am going to use my all new patent-pending lame-o-meter to rate this book. Each incident of lameness (aka bad writing, boring plot or downright absurdity) gets placed on a scale of 1-10 with ten being the lamest thing you've ever heard of.
1.) The author reads the book. She nearly put me to sleep every day at work because she just sounds so boring. A bit of advice to authors-unless you have a cool British accent or are a trained actor, do NOT read your own book. The author occasionally uses swear words, as people do in reality from time to time, but when she says them it sounds like she is saying o, sugar! And that is even when she says "Hey Decker, you asshole." meter rating 7.
2.) The people in this book are narcissistic baby boomers that talk about sex more than any fifteen year old male I have ever known. meter rating 5. with a side rating of gross 6 and get over it already 9.5.
3.) This is about old people so you know, you just know someone is getting some kind of cancer. Score! Someone does. And does it change her life? Of course it does! Basically what she does is get diagnosed and then take long baths and ignore her husband for a while. The husband is like, "I made grilled cheese sandwiches with two kinds of cheese." as if he is a gourmet chef. Then she, still in the bath, says "Good for you." And he says, "It wasn't hard. But it wasn't that easy either." So dude is married to her for who knows how long and he makes himself and her some grilled cheese and then tries to make sure she knows he is not helpless but he is almost helpless. Smooth move romeo. And in case you are wondering, it's ovarian cancer. It always is in these sorts of books. meter rating 8.
4.) Are there lots of dull flashbacks of how these people were when they were young? You bet! Do we get to see how their lives didn't turn out how they thought? Damn straight. Do we care? Hell no. meter rating 9.
5.) Worst party foul ever? This book has it. So there is this couple that dates in high school and everyone thinks they are so cute and all that. Well one night there is a party at the high school and the two slip off into a bedroom. This girl walks in on them while the dude is, shall we say, orally entertaining her. The girl walks out of the bedroom, calls attention to the whole party and tells everyone what is happening in the bedroom. This chick thinks that will clear the party and that everyone will love her for exposing the lewdness occurring mere feet from them. Luckily for everyone else, no one cares and they are sensible enough to keep enjoying the party. The worst part? This chick who was the unnecessary megaphone at the party is still obsessing over that crap 40 years later. meter rating 10.
6.) If you are wondering if a jerky quarterback will still be a jerky dude forty years after he graduated high school I have an answer for you. Yes. But in this book, all the women still want to jump his bones. So yes, women in this book who knew he was an ass in high school are still dumb enough to want him to be an ass to them now. But the ass is all trying to get back with his wife or whatever while at the same time thinking about how he messed around behind her back all over the place in high school. And yes he thinks that even after cheating on his wife she is so totally going to get back with him. meter rating 10.
7.) Did you know that a crappy and stupid ritual such as a high school reunion could devolve into a semi-group therapy session where everyone tells the truth and everything becomes better for everyone? O, it can't. But this being fiction, that's what happens. I didn't buy it for a millisecond and what's more, I didn't care. I think the day that a class of high school students tell the former slut of the high school who has gone on to be a successful doctor that they really did misjudge her is the day Gene Simmons from KISS gives up women, booze and learns to play My Country 'Tis of the on the Ukelele. I am not saying the former slut couldn't become a doctor, I am saying jerky high school people are still going to misjudge her. meter rating 10.5
8.) I spent hours of my life listening to this book when I could have been listening to something that had relevant value in society. meter rating - this one goes to 11.
Lameness-meter-rating 75 out of 80.
Pre-listen guess: A book about a high school reunion. How thrilling for someone who hated high school to listen to.
I am going to use my all new patent-pending lame-o-meter to rate this book. Each incident of lameness (aka bad writing, boring plot or downright absurdity) gets placed on a scale of 1-10 with ten being the lamest thing you've ever heard of.
1.) The author reads the book. She nearly put me to sleep every day at work because she just sounds so boring. A bit of advice to authors-unless you have a cool British accent or are a trained actor, do NOT read your own book. The author occasionally uses swear words, as people do in reality from time to time, but when she says them it sounds like she is saying o, sugar! And that is even when she says "Hey Decker, you asshole." meter rating 7.
2.) The people in this book are narcissistic baby boomers that talk about sex more than any fifteen year old male I have ever known. meter rating 5. with a side rating of gross 6 and get over it already 9.5.
3.) This is about old people so you know, you just know someone is getting some kind of cancer. Score! Someone does. And does it change her life? Of course it does! Basically what she does is get diagnosed and then take long baths and ignore her husband for a while. The husband is like, "I made grilled cheese sandwiches with two kinds of cheese." as if he is a gourmet chef. Then she, still in the bath, says "Good for you." And he says, "It wasn't hard. But it wasn't that easy either." So dude is married to her for who knows how long and he makes himself and her some grilled cheese and then tries to make sure she knows he is not helpless but he is almost helpless. Smooth move romeo. And in case you are wondering, it's ovarian cancer. It always is in these sorts of books. meter rating 8.
4.) Are there lots of dull flashbacks of how these people were when they were young? You bet! Do we get to see how their lives didn't turn out how they thought? Damn straight. Do we care? Hell no. meter rating 9.
5.) Worst party foul ever? This book has it. So there is this couple that dates in high school and everyone thinks they are so cute and all that. Well one night there is a party at the high school and the two slip off into a bedroom. This girl walks in on them while the dude is, shall we say, orally entertaining her. The girl walks out of the bedroom, calls attention to the whole party and tells everyone what is happening in the bedroom. This chick thinks that will clear the party and that everyone will love her for exposing the lewdness occurring mere feet from them. Luckily for everyone else, no one cares and they are sensible enough to keep enjoying the party. The worst part? This chick who was the unnecessary megaphone at the party is still obsessing over that crap 40 years later. meter rating 10.
6.) If you are wondering if a jerky quarterback will still be a jerky dude forty years after he graduated high school I have an answer for you. Yes. But in this book, all the women still want to jump his bones. So yes, women in this book who knew he was an ass in high school are still dumb enough to want him to be an ass to them now. But the ass is all trying to get back with his wife or whatever while at the same time thinking about how he messed around behind her back all over the place in high school. And yes he thinks that even after cheating on his wife she is so totally going to get back with him. meter rating 10.
7.) Did you know that a crappy and stupid ritual such as a high school reunion could devolve into a semi-group therapy session where everyone tells the truth and everything becomes better for everyone? O, it can't. But this being fiction, that's what happens. I didn't buy it for a millisecond and what's more, I didn't care. I think the day that a class of high school students tell the former slut of the high school who has gone on to be a successful doctor that they really did misjudge her is the day Gene Simmons from KISS gives up women, booze and learns to play My Country 'Tis of the on the Ukelele. I am not saying the former slut couldn't become a doctor, I am saying jerky high school people are still going to misjudge her. meter rating 10.5
8.) I spent hours of my life listening to this book when I could have been listening to something that had relevant value in society. meter rating - this one goes to 11.
Lameness-meter-rating 75 out of 80.
Pre-listen guess: A book about a high school reunion. How thrilling for someone who hated high school to listen to.
April 16, 2010
Although I generally like Berg's work, I hesitated to pick up this book because the subject of 40-year high school reunions was not that much of a draw for me. However, after attending an author reading and book signing, the snippets she read aloud were enough to draw me in. I found it to be typical of her other work in that it was hard to put the book down. It was an easy, pleasant read even though there were a few too many italics for emphasis.
I was disappointed in the ending. In the next-to-last chapter, there were untied ends which looked like they would likely not turn out happily ever after. Then suddenly in the last chapter, everything was resolved in a happily-ever-after manner. It read more like an epilogue than a final chapter and I wasn't sure how much time had elapsed between the next to last chapter and it. The sudden resolution of most of the characters' major problems was also too much of a stretch for me when things had not been going so well just a few pages ago.
I was disappointed in the ending. In the next-to-last chapter, there were untied ends which looked like they would likely not turn out happily ever after. Then suddenly in the last chapter, everything was resolved in a happily-ever-after manner. It read more like an epilogue than a final chapter and I wasn't sure how much time had elapsed between the next to last chapter and it. The sudden resolution of most of the characters' major problems was also too much of a stretch for me when things had not been going so well just a few pages ago.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 3, 2010
When I read Dream When You’re Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg, I cried when I finished it. I also got on the computer and “adopted” a soldier in Iraq and started writing letters to him. I had done the same during the Gulf War in college. That’s how much that story and novel moved me. The Last Time I Saw You, unfortunately, just didn’t do the same. It’s not that I must cry or laugh but I do require some resonance. Maybe I can’t relate to 58-year-olds about to attend their 40th high-school reunion. I’ve been to my 5th, 10th and 15th high-school reunions. The Last Time I Saw You contains a few colorful characters but it dragged at points. Each individual had certain expectations for their futures, as we all do. Most seem content, some aren’t. Dorothy has yet to attend a reunion and wants to see her high school crush Peter Decker. Lester, a veterinarian and widower, has a happy life with all the animals in his care. Mary Alice has moved back to her hometown and settled into a quiet life. Candy, a popular girl in high school, realizes [she’s recently been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer:] that she needs true friends. Pete Decker regrets the separation from his wife and his repeated cheating.
Each of the five has certain expectations for the reunion. Once this group attends the reunion everyone at first reverts to high school, as always seems to happen at reunions until everyone realizes that they have grown up and are no longer geeks, jocks, prom queens, and loners [reference to The Breakfast Club:]. It might not help that I’ve also been reading The Book of Joe by my contemporary Jonathan Tropper. That novel completely captivates me as it’s about people who 1986 high-school graduates [I’m class of 1987:]. My mom read The Last Time I Saw You before me and she thought there were too many characters. I didn’t find this issue that much as Berg introduces each character quite adeptly at the beginning. The reunion introduces many classmates and there’s that chaotic, frenzied-- “hey is that?” and “remember me?”-- atmosphere. I’ll continue to read Berg’s novels but The Last Time I Saw You proves to be a bit disappointing.
Each of the five has certain expectations for the reunion. Once this group attends the reunion everyone at first reverts to high school, as always seems to happen at reunions until everyone realizes that they have grown up and are no longer geeks, jocks, prom queens, and loners [reference to The Breakfast Club:]. It might not help that I’ve also been reading The Book of Joe by my contemporary Jonathan Tropper. That novel completely captivates me as it’s about people who 1986 high-school graduates [I’m class of 1987:]. My mom read The Last Time I Saw You before me and she thought there were too many characters. I didn’t find this issue that much as Berg introduces each character quite adeptly at the beginning. The reunion introduces many classmates and there’s that chaotic, frenzied-- “hey is that?” and “remember me?”-- atmosphere. I’ll continue to read Berg’s novels but The Last Time I Saw You proves to be a bit disappointing.
April 19, 2010
I've loved Elizabeth Berg for years now. My best friend Jen loaned me my first one, Joy School. I was still in high school. Now, several years later, I've read all of her books (except for one book of short stories, which I am hoarding).
I always get a bittersweet feeling when I realize that people haven't read Elizabeth Berg. Her books are so fantastic, and they're so honest. I'll read a sentence and be like, "YES! That's exactly how I feel." So I'm excited, because people have so many great books to look forward to, but it's also like, "She's been writing forever. How did you miss her?"
(Yes, I'm a little weird about books. I'll admit that.)
Anyway, this one is about five people preparing to attend their 40th high school reunion. It's going to be their last, and so a lot of people are going that maybe wouldn't otherwise have gone. One's going because she just learned that she has ovarian cancer, likely terminal. One's going because she wants to hook up with the guy she had a crush on in high school. One wants to get his wife back (she was also in their class) and one decides to go on the spur of the moment.
My high school has only held one reunion (our 10 year) and I didn't go. I don't know if I'll go to future reunions (I secretly suspect not) but this one kind of makes me both nostalgic for high school and determined to never revisit it again.
I always get a bittersweet feeling when I realize that people haven't read Elizabeth Berg. Her books are so fantastic, and they're so honest. I'll read a sentence and be like, "YES! That's exactly how I feel." So I'm excited, because people have so many great books to look forward to, but it's also like, "She's been writing forever. How did you miss her?"
(Yes, I'm a little weird about books. I'll admit that.)
Anyway, this one is about five people preparing to attend their 40th high school reunion. It's going to be their last, and so a lot of people are going that maybe wouldn't otherwise have gone. One's going because she just learned that she has ovarian cancer, likely terminal. One's going because she wants to hook up with the guy she had a crush on in high school. One wants to get his wife back (she was also in their class) and one decides to go on the spur of the moment.
My high school has only held one reunion (our 10 year) and I didn't go. I don't know if I'll go to future reunions (I secretly suspect not) but this one kind of makes me both nostalgic for high school and determined to never revisit it again.
April 4, 2016
This book may be called chic lit but it was a chic lit with a lot of depth. This is the story of a high school reunion of some 60 year olds . Some of them are happy with their families, some are on the brink of divorce, some are already divorced and some have preferred to remain single. It is all their life and more. They came to the reunion with certain expectations and to affirm to the rest how they have fared in life. They all still harboured images of each other when they were lanky teenagers. And much to my chagrin they were essentially still the same. Are we too like that? Havent our life experiences changed us? This book will agree with all who think of their school or college years with nostalgia. I identified with most of the characters in here though they were from a different culture.
September 8, 2023
Elizabeth Berg creates such lovely characters I have a hard time leaving them when I turn the last page. I may need to read this once more, just another quick visit, before I head off to another read 💕
June 25, 2019
This reminds me so much of the movie Pom Poms with Diane Keaton. I think it’s interesting that there isn’t much of a plot. It’s more of a coming of age and you don’t usually see that in a book about the elderly. I suppose I should say middle aged. Each character portrayed in third person limited, really did evolve and change and grow, however the reunion was used as a destabilization device to make sure that the attendees realized that no matter how much you feel like you have changed, deep down you’re still the same person, with the same insecurities as 18 or 58.
There were a lot of heavy topics in this book that were glossed over, abortion, drug abuse, AIDS, and I think in the grand scheme of things, this was done on purpose so that it was made clear that things becomes less of a big deal as time passes.
As for the ending, the ambiguity reminds me of life in a way, looking at the missed opportunities and the regrets makes it feel like a book whose main purpose is to tell the reader to wake up and say something if you need to, do something if you need to.
There is no real central plot. The truth circle is nothing more than a place for us to learn about other people from this graduating class that don’t have any bearing on the plot or the five people who the story is centered around. I think it would have been more effective if it was a smaller group of people.
In the end, I will give it four stars because of the innovative non-existent plot. Not very often do I get to read about high school reunions with the lack of vapid shallow characters. Not very often are we able to read about middle aged women and men and their sex drives or the fact that they exist after 50.
There were a lot of heavy topics in this book that were glossed over, abortion, drug abuse, AIDS, and I think in the grand scheme of things, this was done on purpose so that it was made clear that things becomes less of a big deal as time passes.
As for the ending, the ambiguity reminds me of life in a way, looking at the missed opportunities and the regrets makes it feel like a book whose main purpose is to tell the reader to wake up and say something if you need to, do something if you need to.
There is no real central plot. The truth circle is nothing more than a place for us to learn about other people from this graduating class that don’t have any bearing on the plot or the five people who the story is centered around. I think it would have been more effective if it was a smaller group of people.
In the end, I will give it four stars because of the innovative non-existent plot. Not very often do I get to read about high school reunions with the lack of vapid shallow characters. Not very often are we able to read about middle aged women and men and their sex drives or the fact that they exist after 50.
November 16, 2011
The Last Time I Saw You is a story about a 40th high school reunion and the people who will be attending. Each of the characters have their own story about why they want to attend and who they'd like to see. Illness, death, relationships and love are recurring themes of the people we get to know. [return][return]This book was fine. Its not particularly funny or interesting or witty or great. I could relate to the characters but found the story a bit unbelievable and odd. For example, If all of these people are excited to go to their 40th class reunion, why hadn't they attended any others (10th, 20th, etc)? And what are the chances that a bunch of 60 year old men and women are single and looking for a relationship? [return][return]It could have been a bit more realistic and the ending was sorely lacking. It wrapped up too quickly and wasn't at all satisfying. Normally, I don't mind an unsatisfying ending but the book went into great detail about many unimportant things and, in my opinion, the ending should have done the same.[return][return]This was my first Elizabeth Berg book and I'm afraid it may be my last.
April 26, 2010
This book is really bad. Bad. Soap opera, tripe, bad. Even worse, it is about 58/ year olds (me) attending their high school reunion and all their problems, etc. There are parts that could be funny -- but they are dumb. I finished it because one character interested me and I wanted to make sure I was right about her. This book is so predictable, how could anyone be wrong? Seriously, it is not even beach worthy. Shame on me for finishing it.
December 5, 2018
I might move this up to 5 stars, but there were a few characters that drove me nuts during the first half of the book. But overall I loved this book and the characters- even the crazy ones grew on me by the end of the book. I was a little hesitant with this one because the last Elizabeth Berg book I read was not my cup of tea, but this one will go down as one of my favorite books of the year.
October 27, 2024
Always love Berg’s characters and the quiet wisdom!
June 24, 2019
High school reunion time...will people be the same? A very thoughtful book about how things were perceived in high school and how people change as they get older.
January 29, 2015
Others of hers I have read I enjoyed more. These people seemed terribly simplistic to me. Some rather more unkind or superficial too than their age or condition would warrant. Immature in their gossip levels? Something is really off for their length of life experience, IMHO. Some aspects in their priorities seem just too silly and pretentious for any deep interest on my side to the outcomes. A few of these people were just plain shallow. I couldn't connect, even though I DID go to 40 year and 50 year reunions as a single. Had a bunch of fun too. We would never designate any of them as "the last" as they did here, either. I thought that announcement rather strange.
I have a feeling that Elizabeth Berg writes "too sweet" circa chick-lit feelings and language for me. I don't think I'm her audience. Like a sweet layered pastry with sugar glace; others love that taste and stickiness, it makes me wince. To be truthful I skimmed the last 1/4th of the book. If you like truly light reads, you might like this much more than I did.
I have a feeling that Elizabeth Berg writes "too sweet" circa chick-lit feelings and language for me. I don't think I'm her audience. Like a sweet layered pastry with sugar glace; others love that taste and stickiness, it makes me wince. To be truthful I skimmed the last 1/4th of the book. If you like truly light reads, you might like this much more than I did.
February 3, 2011
This book was hugely disappointing as was Elizabeth Berg's last book "Dream when you're feeling blue". Elizabeth used to be one of my all time favorite authors and I am not sure what has changed. Have I changed or has she? I like to think that authors like fine wine improved with age and time but Berg has not. Is it poor editing? Lack of enthusiasm? My interpretation?
This story is comprised of vignettes of people in there late 50's preparing to go to their 40th (and final High School reunion). The premise for a good story was there... I think. But some characters were richly developed and others not. The story seemed to have no real purpose and we never really get in the heads of the people in this story.I also was uncomfortable with Berg's choice of third person narrative it gave me an even stronger sense of being removed from the story.
In the past Berg has told stories rich with insight, interesting characters with strong voices but this one just fell flat.
This story is comprised of vignettes of people in there late 50's preparing to go to their 40th (and final High School reunion). The premise for a good story was there... I think. But some characters were richly developed and others not. The story seemed to have no real purpose and we never really get in the heads of the people in this story.I also was uncomfortable with Berg's choice of third person narrative it gave me an even stronger sense of being removed from the story.
In the past Berg has told stories rich with insight, interesting characters with strong voices but this one just fell flat.
September 21, 2010
When I started reading this book I thought, because of the author and how well-written the beginning was, that this just might end up being one of my favorite books. Unfortunately, it did not end up that way. Mid-way through, the story became almost childish, having the characters attending their 40th year reunion, but acting like they were still in high school. The end was quite a disappointment - it very quickly wrapped up the entire book in the last two pages, making sure everyone lived happily-ever-after, with no thought to the actual storyline itself.
August 28, 2022
2.5-3. Just OK. It certainly had its funny moments, but really a lot of silliness. Some truthful moments also. But couldn’t figure out why so much emphasis on the 40th reunion being the last one. Was it some kind of rule at their school that you’re not allowed a 45th, 50th or beyond?! I wanted an explanation for it being The Last One! (Since I’m planning my 50th next month-the reason this book caught my eye to begin with).
April 9, 2021
I am always intrigued at people who go back to high school reunions. This was a cute look at a 40th reunion, but the characters we’re just kind of silly. It’s a nice light read but nothing spectacular.
October 1, 2024
This was fine I guess. I honestly wasn’t going to finish but I figured what’s another 2 hours of my life. The characters were annoying and it was very 80s high school stereotypes.
September 13, 2021
the characters were all so immature? the story was kind of depressing too. the only hook (besides the very intriguing title) was getting to meet each of the characters who would be attending the reunion (which ended up being not enjoyable). good idea though, i love reunions, conceptually.
November 20, 2010
Elizabeth Berg's novel, The Last Time I Saw You, is about a fortieth high-school reunion as told through the eyes of several different people planning for the reunion, attending the reunion, and then what happens afterwards. I read the Kindle version. There were a few typos since it is just out, and, since it is easy to change font sizes, I find more run on words than in printed books.
Dorothy Shauman, the high-school beauty, now divorced and having a difficult time being alone and with her grown daughter, sees the reunion as a chance to get back together with chief jock Pete Decker. But Pete is having problems of his own. He still has his good looks, but he finds he is with a woman he doesn't like or respect. He wants his wife back, but she has decided to move on.
Lester Hessenpfeffer, the school nerd and valedictorian, is now a successful veterinarian. However, since his wife died, he fears he will never find love again. His office manager talks him into attending the reunion even though he would rather stay home and take care of his patients. Mary Alice Mayhew was never part of the in crowd, and doesn't know why she should go to the reunion. But she's curious about how her classmates turned out. She's been helping care for an elderly neighbor who decides she should go to the reunion and he goes with her.
Candy Sullivan, a high-school beauty, has just learned she has ovarian cancer. Her husband has all but ignored her for years and now he is concerned about her and offers to go to the reunion with her even though he refused to before they knew how serious her illness was. She goes without him.
The author did an excellent job writing in the various points of view. In one place, she partially repeated a scene to show it from another characters viewpoint. The story is about what happens when these characters and their friends and classmates get together again. Elizabeth Berg was born in 1948 and that makes her eligible to have attended a fortieth high school reunion. Since I've been to my fiftieth reunion, I know she is talking from experience. It was a wonderful experience reading this book while thinking about my own reunion. I just wish there had been more follow up on the characters before the book ended. But it was just enough to let us know what happened. I guess I wasn't ready to say goodbye to my new friends.
Dorothy Shauman, the high-school beauty, now divorced and having a difficult time being alone and with her grown daughter, sees the reunion as a chance to get back together with chief jock Pete Decker. But Pete is having problems of his own. He still has his good looks, but he finds he is with a woman he doesn't like or respect. He wants his wife back, but she has decided to move on.
Lester Hessenpfeffer, the school nerd and valedictorian, is now a successful veterinarian. However, since his wife died, he fears he will never find love again. His office manager talks him into attending the reunion even though he would rather stay home and take care of his patients. Mary Alice Mayhew was never part of the in crowd, and doesn't know why she should go to the reunion. But she's curious about how her classmates turned out. She's been helping care for an elderly neighbor who decides she should go to the reunion and he goes with her.
Candy Sullivan, a high-school beauty, has just learned she has ovarian cancer. Her husband has all but ignored her for years and now he is concerned about her and offers to go to the reunion with her even though he refused to before they knew how serious her illness was. She goes without him.
The author did an excellent job writing in the various points of view. In one place, she partially repeated a scene to show it from another characters viewpoint. The story is about what happens when these characters and their friends and classmates get together again. Elizabeth Berg was born in 1948 and that makes her eligible to have attended a fortieth high school reunion. Since I've been to my fiftieth reunion, I know she is talking from experience. It was a wonderful experience reading this book while thinking about my own reunion. I just wish there had been more follow up on the characters before the book ended. But it was just enough to let us know what happened. I guess I wasn't ready to say goodbye to my new friends.
October 4, 2018
THE LAST TIME I SAW YOU
Written by Elizabeth Berg
(Narrated by Elizabeth Berg)
2010; Random House (241 Pages)
(Audio length: 8 hours and 41 minutes)
Genre: fiction, contemporary, women
RATING: 4.5 STARS
Divorced and defeated Dorothy cannot wait wait for the 40th high school reunion as she longs to finally sleep with Pete Decker. If she can get the most popular guy maybe her life won't be so sad. Her ex-husband has already found someone new and her grown daughter is getting married with no input from Dorothy. Mary Alice is still single and back living in her childhood home and helping her senior neighbour, Einer and his caretaker. She longs to go back and show them how far she has come - not that she was ever really bothered being herself - she may even try and seduce Pete Decker. Einer demands to be her escort in case any of them try anything. The still handsome Pete Decker has just slept with his wife, Nora (separated) cheating on his mistress. This has cleared his brain and he now knows he wants his childhood sweetheart Nora back - but she has moved on. The reunion becomes his obsession in that he hopes it will remind Nora of the good times and bring her back to him. Lester the once nerdy student is now a vet in the next town over and a widower of many years. He is bullied into going to his reunion by his receptionist who insists he needs a woman ASAP. Finally there is Candy Sullivan - beauty queen, the object of lust for men and envy of women. She has gotten bad news about her health and realized that she missed out on having kids for the sake of her husband who isn't even really there. She feels alone and lonely and realizes that it has always been like that. One night will rock these 5 characters life and for once seen beyond their 17 year old eyes.
I listened to this novel on audio - read by the author and LOVED IT!!! Berg is a great reader as well as author. She has a great depth of emotion and humour. I loved the characters even when I strong disliked them as people - that is what makes them so realistic - they are flawed and no one is better than another. I'm in my 30s and I could totally understand the characters' emotions whether male or female. I still love berg's writing.
My Novelesque Blog
Written by Elizabeth Berg
(Narrated by Elizabeth Berg)
2010; Random House (241 Pages)
(Audio length: 8 hours and 41 minutes)
Genre: fiction, contemporary, women
RATING: 4.5 STARS
Divorced and defeated Dorothy cannot wait wait for the 40th high school reunion as she longs to finally sleep with Pete Decker. If she can get the most popular guy maybe her life won't be so sad. Her ex-husband has already found someone new and her grown daughter is getting married with no input from Dorothy. Mary Alice is still single and back living in her childhood home and helping her senior neighbour, Einer and his caretaker. She longs to go back and show them how far she has come - not that she was ever really bothered being herself - she may even try and seduce Pete Decker. Einer demands to be her escort in case any of them try anything. The still handsome Pete Decker has just slept with his wife, Nora (separated) cheating on his mistress. This has cleared his brain and he now knows he wants his childhood sweetheart Nora back - but she has moved on. The reunion becomes his obsession in that he hopes it will remind Nora of the good times and bring her back to him. Lester the once nerdy student is now a vet in the next town over and a widower of many years. He is bullied into going to his reunion by his receptionist who insists he needs a woman ASAP. Finally there is Candy Sullivan - beauty queen, the object of lust for men and envy of women. She has gotten bad news about her health and realized that she missed out on having kids for the sake of her husband who isn't even really there. She feels alone and lonely and realizes that it has always been like that. One night will rock these 5 characters life and for once seen beyond their 17 year old eyes.
I listened to this novel on audio - read by the author and LOVED IT!!! Berg is a great reader as well as author. She has a great depth of emotion and humour. I loved the characters even when I strong disliked them as people - that is what makes them so realistic - they are flawed and no one is better than another. I'm in my 30s and I could totally understand the characters' emotions whether male or female. I still love berg's writing.
My Novelesque Blog
June 5, 2010
A forty-year high school reunion promises so many things to so many people, but especially to Dorothy, Mary Alice, Lester, Candy, and Pete.
What could any of these people find at this unlikeliest of crossroads in their lives? The class beauty searches for meaning and hope for the future; a newly divorced woman hopes to finally attract the class heartthrob; the wall-flower hopes to face up to and overcome her painful past. A lonely widower who has thrown himself into his veterinary practice and pretty much eschewed all things romantic could possibly connect with other like-minded individuals. And Pete Decker, the class heartthrob, seeks an opportunity to put his best foot forward and find redemption for his tattered marriage.
Berg has done it again. "The Last Time I Saw You: A Novel" reeled me in from the very first page; I felt immediately connected to these characters, even the superficial ones, because they are so three-dimensional. Their pettiness, their hate, their compassion, and even the vulnerabilities that their classmates probably never knew they had are out in full display on this night. As each of them meets up with classmates, they discover that those old high school friends (or enemies) have grown and changed and perhaps even transformed themselves into decent human beings, just as they themselves have had to do some soul-searching and growing over the years.
What happens afterwards? Do any of the intriguing couplings of the evening turn into more? Will new friendships develop? And will each of them find that confronting their youthful selves actually transformed them into better people?
Reading about the journey of these classmates almost made me want to attend my reunion this year—almost!
Five stars!
What could any of these people find at this unlikeliest of crossroads in their lives? The class beauty searches for meaning and hope for the future; a newly divorced woman hopes to finally attract the class heartthrob; the wall-flower hopes to face up to and overcome her painful past. A lonely widower who has thrown himself into his veterinary practice and pretty much eschewed all things romantic could possibly connect with other like-minded individuals. And Pete Decker, the class heartthrob, seeks an opportunity to put his best foot forward and find redemption for his tattered marriage.
Berg has done it again. "The Last Time I Saw You: A Novel" reeled me in from the very first page; I felt immediately connected to these characters, even the superficial ones, because they are so three-dimensional. Their pettiness, their hate, their compassion, and even the vulnerabilities that their classmates probably never knew they had are out in full display on this night. As each of them meets up with classmates, they discover that those old high school friends (or enemies) have grown and changed and perhaps even transformed themselves into decent human beings, just as they themselves have had to do some soul-searching and growing over the years.
What happens afterwards? Do any of the intriguing couplings of the evening turn into more? Will new friendships develop? And will each of them find that confronting their youthful selves actually transformed them into better people?
Reading about the journey of these classmates almost made me want to attend my reunion this year—almost!
Five stars!
September 19, 2010
A good read overall, but the resolution was a bit lacking. The ending was not fully developed and it almost seemed as if chapters had been eliminated because of space constraints. How the characters got from where they were at the end of the reunion to the happily ever after ending in the last chapter is a mystery--it would be nice to have those details filled in. As it is, the book seems somewhat incomplete.
Some of the characters were more believable than others. I had a hard time liking Dorothy and her pals, who 40 year later were still behaving like adolescents, scheduling phone calls to dish negative gossip about their classmates. Dorothy's single-minded pursuit of Pete was a bit ridiculous. You'd think that 40 years out of high school she'd have done some growing up. Since the book started off with Dorothy, I wasn't immediately drawn in as I usually am with Berg's stories.
Some of the characters were more believable than others. I had a hard time liking Dorothy and her pals, who 40 year later were still behaving like adolescents, scheduling phone calls to dish negative gossip about their classmates. Dorothy's single-minded pursuit of Pete was a bit ridiculous. You'd think that 40 years out of high school she'd have done some growing up. Since the book started off with Dorothy, I wasn't immediately drawn in as I usually am with Berg's stories.
May 4, 2010
I am a big fan of Berg so when I started this book, I had great expectations. About 50 pages into it, however, I'm thinking - hmmm, maybe not this time. This is the story of five people attending their 40th high school reunion. The characters seem typical in that the five consisted of the shallow one, the beauty, the jock, the shy one, the geek but Berg does such a great job with character development that I was sad to reach the last page. Life has not turned out the way that they had envisioned it to be and this reunion becomes a pivotal point in their lives. I am left wanting to know more about them. A quick read - don't expect a deep, tangled plot but a satisfying book, written be a great writer who creates characters that will leave you wondering how she knew those people YOU went to school with.
January 26, 2015
While personally, I will never ever attend a high school reunion myself, this book provided interesting insight into what it would be like to see former high school classmates. Do people change? Do people grow up? Or are we all the same throughout our lives as we were in those impressionable years in high school? Elizabeth Berg wrote beautiful characters and, even though it seemed they were the stereotypical jocks, nerds, and popular kids from high school, she made them more complex and emotional. I guess it does say we can change...and even for the better.
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