I
will start by saying that I’ve never read any of Rowell’s other works, but
after reading this one, I really want to. I got Advance reader Copy of it at
Bookcon: it won’t be out until July. Landline was a fun read, and the realistic
portrayal of her characters made it even more enjoyable.
The
plot focuses on the life of Georgie, a TV comedy writer, who struggles to
balance her work and her family. It’s Christmas, and she as to cancel her
vacation plans so as to finish the work on scripts for her dream show, which
has a change to get produced. It’s her one shot, her big break – she sees no
other option than to stay home. What she
didn’t predict was that her husband, Neal, would take the kids and go on
vacation without her.
A
familiar plot, it seems; although you’d probably see it with the working dad
and stay at home mom, not the other way around. (thanks for equal representation, Rowell! I like you already!) However, this plot is not
romanticized or made to be magical, like you see in so many novels. This is not
the story of a romance – it is the story of a relationship.
When
Georgie finds a connection to her past, a phone that can reach Neal in the
past, before they were married, she starts to question her present. Is this what she
really wants? Is Neal actually happy? Did they make the right decisions?
Can
she – should she – change the past?
Time
plays an important role in the book, both in the plot and in the narration. The
story jumps from one point in the relationship to the next, alternating past
and present, showcasing side by side the beginning of the relationship, and the
current status of it – possibly the end. While our present lies with a Georgie a few
years into married life, in her past, she was once just falling for Neal. As
the plot progresses, we learn both how Georgie and Neal fell in love, while
Georgie deals with the challenge of saving that love.
This
mirrors the plot, with Georgie finding the link to her past, the yellow
landline that reaches past Neal. Just as the narration melds
past and present, Georgie speaks to Neal from the past, compressing the flow of
time. As a reader, we get a full view of their lives together; first meeting,
dating, marriage, children, and now, the fading out.
She
has a rare chance to affect the past – what kind of choices will she make? Will
she fix her relationship, or end it? Is any of it even real?
There
are so many different kinds of love in the pages of this book. You’ve got
platonic love between Georgie and her writing partner, Seth, her other half in
comedy. Just like her relationship with Neal, the reader gets a full view from the
its beginning to its current state: it is a colorful relationship, a perfect
friendship, where they are closer to being siblings, their minds exactly on the
same wavelength, in strict contrast with her relationship with Neal, which
isn’t as effortless.
We
also have a familial love: Georgie’s family dynamic is fantastic. Her sister,
her step dad, and her mom all offer her different relationship advice, while
they don’t exactly have the most common love lives. I won’t say much more
because of the spoilers, but even the pugs have their own uncommon love affair.
I
think what really resonated with me in this book, and what I really related
with, but how human the characters are. They are people with depth and
dimension, with lives, with loves; they are not romanticized stereotypes. Georgie has a human problem, human struggles. The narration just makes it feel like you're in her head, or that Georgie is talking with you, and every once and a while going "wait, to get this, you need to hear about what happened back then..."
She’s a normal person, to whom a strange opportunity arises. That’s the kind of
person I like reading about.
And
the way she deals with her problem is also human. It’s not over the top,
insane, unlikely, magical, over-romanticized. She does what any person in her
situation would do, if they had guts. Don’t let me spoil the ending for you,
but I was pretty happy with the resolution. A good marriage takes hard work,
and I think there’s hope for Georgie and Neal.
All
in all, I want to give this book 4.5/5. It was and good read, and definitely
enjoyable. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good love story, rather
than a romance. It is a heartfelt, human
story, and one I’m really glad I read it.
Random
thoughts:
- Georgie’s mom’s lingerie. YES.
- The sister, the pizzagirl, and pug puppies – this scene will make history.
- This book is adult fiction, rather than YA (which I am told is the genre of Rowell’s other books). I’d really like to read her other stuff after reading this one.
- She can’t reach current Neal – just like she couldn’t, fifteen years ago. What if another Georgie from even further in the future was talking with current Neal? Just a thought.
- I really wonder how Neal feels about all this. How much does he know? If he did, how would that change the ending?
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