I LOVED this book. LOVED it. I laughed and cried and trembled and absolutely loved every word.
The main characters in this story are Rosie and Alex. They've been friends since they were little and know absolutely everything there is to know about each other. They grow up together and though they're in love with each other, they're too stubborn to admit it to each other. They each marry and divorce and Alex remarries...but they remain friends always. Rosie had a baby just after high school...an "Oops!" sort of pregnancy...and winds up with a little girl who absolutely becomes her life and livelihood. She's somewhat aimless for a long time...she doesn't know what to do with her life. She knows what she wants but not how to get it. Alex, meanwhile, moves to America while Rosie is left behind in Ireland, but they keep in touch, much as they always did, through letters and email and chatting online, with the occasional phone call. In fact, the entire novel is written as a collection of letters and chats, both between Alex & Rosie, and between them and a handful of their friends & family. It was an interesting writing style, and I liked it.
I see myself in Rosie's restlessness & discontent. I see, to some extent, my marriage in hers, and Mike in Greg, the man she married & divorced. I see Josh in Alex. I especially see my friendship with Josh in the relationship between Alex & Rosie. He and I communicate almost exclusively through online chat & in emails. He knows me better than ANYone else does, and I think it's safe to say that it's pretty nearly the same in reverse...he's shared a LOT with me. We've gotten each other through some really tough stuff. Josh and Alex even share some of the same quirks. Alex consistently spells "know" as "no" and Rosie corrects him all the time, and when that became evident, it reminded me of a conversation I had with Josh one night:
11:58 PM Josh: you okay?
me: -ish :-)
11:59 PM Josh: yeah
it's okay, you can say the F word
Fish
me: haha
Josh: see? it's fine
me: fish!
whew, that felt good!
Josh: WHAO! whao, now now
12:00 AM don't abuse it!
me: I'm liberated!
fish fish fish!!!
Josh: *looks left and right * shh
someone will hear you!
me: FISH FISH FISH
Josh: LOL
haha you're fun
12:01 AM me: haha
thanks
I think...
Josh: ?
me: :-)
Josh: haha
hey how do you spell whao
is it whia
whoa*
12:02 AM me: how do you pronounce it? if it's like "woe", then I'd spell it whoa
if it's like "wow" then I'd spell it...
wow...
lol
12:03 AM Josh: pshaaha
me: or whao
Josh: oh okay
huh
i've always done it whao
but i guess you're right, it is whoa
me: I've noticed :-)
Josh: : /
whoa is me
me: I think you should keep on spelling it that way!
actually, that'd be "woe is me" :-P
12:04 AM but seriously..."whao" is like one of your quirks
I like it :-)
Josh: heh
12:05 AM next you'll tell me to spell strange WIERD
keep spelling*
me: weird!
haha
I can't really recount all the specifics without ruining the book for any of you that may wish to read it (if there's anybody out there reading this anyway!) I DO heartily recommend this book, though. Cecelia Ahern definitely has a devoted reader in me. I have loved everything I've read of hers before, and now I think I've read all but perhaps one of her novels. There is always something in her books that make me think that somehow, she's in tune with me. I just see so many similarities to myself in her characters, and did I mention? one of the characters in this book was named Penelope! Not a major character, but still...AND there was a Josh, too! Anyway...have any of you seen the movie, "Stranger Than Fiction"? It stars Will Farrell, Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Dustin Hoffman. Emma Thompson is a writer, and her heroes die in all of her books. She is writing a new book, and Will Farrell (who doesn't know who she is) starts hearing a woman narrating his life. At first he thinks he's going crazy, and then after a while realizes what's happening (you'll just have to see the movie to find out how he got to that!). The more I read of Cecelia Ahern's novels, the less surprised I'd be if one day I begin to hear a young, female, Irish voice narrating my every move. We shall see, haha!
This post might make sense to absolutely no one but myself...but there it is. The book just felt so extremely personal that I'm having difficulty actually reviewing it from an objective standpoint. Pick it up & read for yourself when you get a chance...it really is good! And if you read it and hate it, blame my good review on my undoubtedly biased opinion, since after all, I'd very much like for things to turn out as well for me (though perhaps somewhat sooner than later?) as they did for Rosie & Alex. If you read it, let me know what you think of it!
