*Originally published in 2015/09/24
THE LAST TIME I SAW YOU Written by Elizabeth Berg (Read by the Author)
2010, 241 Pages (Random House)
Genre: contemporary fiction, humour
Rating: ★★★★1/2
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.
