“If you’re skating on thin ice, you might as well dance.”
A simple picture in a newspaper sets a man on a mission to reconnect with his high school camp sweetheart. Charles keeps his letters to Sian a secret from his wife, along with the secret that they are behind on their mortgage and he feels bored with the life they created with their two children. Sian also keeps their correspondence secret on her end from a husband who is more in love with their land than her – or at least that’s the way it seems to her. They decide to meet and a spark is felt. Is the risk of losing everything worth finding love?
I found Where or When at a library book sale and bought it since I had read a few other Anita Shreve books and enjoyed them. In the spirit of trying to read the books I already have in the house or on my Kindle this year, I picked Where or When to read this month.
The first time Charles and Sian meet back up after decades, it is just for dinner and it is awkward. They relive memories by meeting where they met at camp as young kids. They even don’t recognize each other at first. The second and future meetings include booking a room and they start an affair. They decide to pursue their relationship – a love too rare to pass up – but the consequences are far more dear than they thought possible.
Where or When is a fairly quick read and it is interesting as it goes back and forth between Charles and Sian’s points of view telling their past and present. They are both very unhappy in their present lives and the hope of happiness drives them to make rash decisions. The book is for adults as it has romance and an affair, but in the end, the story tells of the consequences of an affair where everyone ends up hurt. I think it’s a more realistic story than the books where an affair ends up being true love.