Landline-Book Review

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Title: Landline
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Year: 2014
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance

Landline by Rainbow Rowell won Goodreads best fiction in 2014 and that is how I came to know about this book as well as the writer. This is author's fourth book and mine first.

Blurb: Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble; it has been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply—but that almost seems beside the point now. Maybe that was always beside the point. Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts.

WeReflect: Georgie McCool gets an opportunity to have her own TV Show with a major broadcaster, which she has dreamt of and worked relentlessly with her friend, Seth of 20 years. Only glitch is she is all set to fly off to Omaha, Nebraska with her family to celebrate Christmas with her mother-in-law. She cancels the travel much to the chagrin of her husband Neal, who in return takes their two children and goes off to Omaha as planned. She finds herself alone and decides to crash at her mother's place until their return. Neal is not picking her calls, that worries her endlessly. She reminiscences about her 14 year of marriage during this time. Neal takes her call when she calls from her childhood landline and he is not the same Neal. It is the Neal of 1998 a week before his proposal. She wonders about having hallucinations. How she comes to terms with marriage? How she understands her marriage is falling apart?

Georgie is totally a unrelatable character. She is a comedy writer by profession, but could not make me smile even once. And Neal is a guy who hardly smiles and has a wasted dimples. He is selfish, mean, and jealous of her success. I don't understand why anyone wants to stay married to this guy even if he takes care of the house and children. Or may be that is the only reason she puts up with him as 90% mothers do. It is not clearly explained why she fell in love with him in the first place. Even though it is portrayed as Georgie having a successful career, all I can read is her grumbling and brooding. Neal and Georgie's relationship failed a big time here. Georgie's mother and sister's characters are little enjoyable though. 

I was bored after reaching 10th page. The story revolves around Georgie making call to her husband, going to work, coming back to her mother's place, and calling again from landline. Next day, again the same drill. I had to force myself to continue reading, and completing it is not a small task. I'm told the author's earlier works are much better, but I'm not in a mood to try them yet.

After You-Book Review

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Title: After You
Author:  Jojo Moyes
Genre:  Adult Romance

“I loved a man who had opened up a world to me but hadn’t loved me enough to stay in it.” 

Blurb: “You’re going to feel uncomfortable in your new world for a bit. But I hope you feel a bit exhilarated too. Live boldly. Push yourself. Don’t settle. Just live well. Just live. Love, Will.”  How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?

Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.

WeReflect: I picked up this book without realizing there was a prequel to it. It is only halfway through the book I felt something is missing and I was right. "After You" indeed had a well-known prequel named "Me Before You" and a film adaptation too starring Khaleesi of GOT fame Emilia Clark. Now there are two options in front of me; one to order the first book, finish it off, and continue reading the second; another, just continue with the current book as a stand alone. And I chose the second option.

The story of Louisa Clark begins after 18 months of Will Trantor's death. Now she lives in a flat in east London, which she purchased from Will's money. She is stuck in a meaningless job at the city airport's pub. She keeps cold distance from her family. But an unfortunate accident forces her to move in with her parents for recuperation.  Her father is worried about her mental health, coerces her to attend a therapy group, aptly named "Moving On". The falling off the roof incident introduces two new people in Louisa's life; one ambulance Sam with whom she romantically gets involved eventually; another, Lily, a 16-year-old teenager.

The other supporting characters are Lou's parents, her sister, nephew; Will's parents; and Lily's mother. The angle where Lou's mother's new found feminism and her father's difficulty in coping with it is quite amusing. Who is Lily? Will she be able to help Louisa to move on in life?

Louisa greatly suffers from grief of losing Will and guilt of helping him end his life. This is where I thought I should have read the first book because I'm unable to feel the love and loss in Lou's life. Maybe I would have felt different if I had read the prequel. Nonetheless as a stand alone it is pretty decent read. And this is the book that introduced me to the author Jojo Moyes.