The Last Time They Met - Anita Shreve

Ms. Shreve keeps getting better and better. This lyrical novel of love and loss left me speechless. My only though upon reading the last paragraph was, "wow".

I read her very first novel, The Pilot's Wife, which was showcased on Oprah, and thought the author pretty talented. Some time later, I read through her next few novels, including Eden Close and The Weight of Water, and thought, my, she is evolving as an author.

Now, I'd have to say, with the birth of The Last Time They Met, Ms. Shreve has, most assuredly, arrived within the literary elite. Enjoy!

(Link to book on right in My Library)

Co-Authoring Trend

I noticed, while preparing to read the James Patterson book reviewed below, that he had a co-author for this book. This triggered the standard domino chain of synapses firing, and I remembered other Patterson books that were also co-authored.

I had to ask myself, why in the world would this commercially successful author needed someone to help him write books? This was a question that I had to answer.

After some searching on the net, a little bit of Partypoker, and 1/2 of a blueberry bagel, I found what I was looking for.

POP-QUIZ:

--Is Patterson so benevolent that he grabs an aspiring author up by the shirtcollars, effectively saying, "Here my child! Hitch your wagon to my Star!" while posing for the photogs?

--Has Patterson written so many dang-blasted books that he can no longer grasp that illusive *unique* idea?

--Has Patterson fallen into a deep coma, prompting a greedy agent/ publisher to hire someone to churn out more money makers?

THE ANSWER: none of the above.

Publicity and Money seem to be the key to this mystery.

You see, shrewd Patterson has decided to use his notoriety in conjunction with a struggling writers time. It seems dear Patterson makes the outline, and co-A drafts the first full novel. A round of "change this" or "try something different here" ensues, then out pops a blue-faced spanking new novel a la' Patterson.

Ingenious really. With co-authors, Patterson can mass produce original books (kind-of) that don't suck, while reaping in the extrapolated royalties.

Patterson is a man with his eyes on the prize!