Summary of the Summary of the Summary:
A simply told story about discovering your potential.
Summary of the Summary:
Don't be turned off by the marketing, claiming this is "a heartbreakingly romantic novel" and whose tagline is "they had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose..." (excuse me while I vomit). If you're anything like me, prepare to be pleasantly surprised. Me Before You is a delightfully (mostly) cliche free story about one shoehorned character discovering her potential with the help of a wealthy quadriplegic man. Oh, and there's a tad bit of a love story thrown in, but really, that's inconsequential. Following the story of a woman desperate for a job, who ends up becoming the caretaker of a quadriplegic who used to be your typical jetsetting, woman bedding, good looking businessman. Although their relationship gets off to a rocky start, in typical novel fashion, they soon develop a lovely friendship of
mutual respect and trust, and quite a bit of witty banter, while trying to encourage each other to "live boldly." The results are hilariously horrible outings where everything goes wrong, and touching moments where everything goes right. A simply told story of finding oneself and being encouraged to live a life you choose, not that was chosen for you. A wonderful beach read.
mutual respect and trust, and quite a bit of witty banter, while trying to encourage each other to "live boldly." The results are hilariously horrible outings where everything goes wrong, and touching moments where everything goes right. A simply told story of finding oneself and being encouraged to live a life you choose, not that was chosen for you. A wonderful beach read.
Summary:
(light spoilers)
(light spoilers)
I really wanted to dislike this book. After being inundated with the marketing for the movie and hearing all about the book I thought I knew what it was, and that was a cheesy, overwrought love story that was filled with cliche after cliche. I was ready to suffer through all 369 pages.
What I found instead was actually a quite charming book, told in a simple style, that is actually more about the characters themselves than the love story between them. It's safe to say I was pleasantly surprised.
Jojo Moyes does a wonderful job of constructing two different worlds and the claustrophobic town they share, and filling those worlds with characters relatable and real (though over embellished in a typical story way). The two main characters are Louisa Clark, an accidental waitress from a working-class family who has learned to be comfortable in whatever role others ask of her, and Will Traynor, a wealthy playboy who is now a quadriplegic confined to a wheelchair and his parent's house annex. Louisa and Will meet when she loses her waitressing job and takes a six month position as Will's caretaker, hired by his mother because she seems like a bright enough person to lift Will's spirits.
There are definitely hints of manic pixi dreamgirl in Louisa, as she is described as off-beat: wearing colorful and outstanding clothes, and ever so chipper and smiley. We get the impression that this is just why Mrs. Traynor has hired her, hoping to expand Will's worldview and inspire him to embrace his new life. But we learn that her world-view is quite small, confined to a box of a bedroom in her parents' house, always considered second-best to her over-achieving sister, and in a relationship with a man more interested in running triathlons than spending time with her. In this regard, I feel like the author does a good job in not just throwing Louisa into this situation, but explaining how she ended up there. It's not that her family doesn't believe in her, it's just that her sister's dreams and plans have always been voiced, and therefore support was thrown behind her. And it's not that the boyfriend was never interested in her. He used to be a sloth and they got along very well, meeting at a similar point in their lives. But he has since gained a healthy (and intense) lifestyle and moved on to a different phase in his life, one she hasn't joined him at. They're still together because it's comfortable, stable, and fine, but it's also not evolving or growing.
Will, on the other hand, is introduced as a complete ass, someone who is not only not embracing his situation, but is attempting to make everyone else as miserable as he is. Once a world-traveler and accomplished businessman, he is now incapable of doing anything on his own and blames everyone for it. And as the reader learns, he wants to end his life, having made an agreement with his parent to wait six months as they attempt to change his mind, before heading off to Switzerland where a group will help him in assisted suicide.
Louisa enters the situation oblivious to this deal and his plans, just needing a paycheck, and finds herself in over her head with a man that doesn't want her there. Once she learns the truth (unbeknownst to Will) she decides it is her mission to change his mind, creating a "calendar of adventures" to show him life is still worth living. While this sounds like a formulaic framework for the novel, it turns out the "adventures" are few and far between, and some more wildly successful than others. And as is to be expected, Will and Louisa grow fond of each other, easing into a friendly relationship of banter and understanding.
But what was enjoyable to me was that the book never goes full-on love story. There actually isn't a mention of any non-platonic feelings until a good two-thirds through the book. The majority of the story follows the evolution of their relationship, and especially the evolution of Louisa's character. She begins the book literally and figuratively stuck in a box, stuck in a perception of herself created by others, but through the pushing and prodding of Will, realizes she enjoys things she never thought she would, like literature, classical music, and scuba diving. By the end, she has the inspiration she knowledge she needs to leave her box of a town and create for herself a life she wants, not the one she was expected to have.
The pacing of the book is steady, but looking back not a whole lot happened. The adventures happy occasionally, and there are character progressions, but for the most part it just eases along, following Louisa's progression. The book does take a few missteps, like when the author decides to switch up the narrator in random chapters while the rest is told through Louisa's point of view. A suppose the point was to present how things were being perceived by other characters, and while some of this was enlightening, mostly I found it unnecessary and distracting from Louisa's story. I Also feel like the dynamics within Louisa's family were inconsistent and constantly shifting, but maybe that's just real life. I also have a problem with Will's family. For all their resources and desire to change Will's view, they haven't done a whole lot to change his mind, outside of hiring a stranger to cheer him up. All of the research and ideas Louisa comes up with were easily (even more so for the Traynors) accessible with just a little digging, and yet they came across none of it. To me, it seemed like they weren't even trying.
Before I read the novel, I had read several articles criticizing the film (which I haven't seen) for both its marketing (#liveboldly) and storyline of a quadriplegic who wants to kill himself. Critics included quadriplegics themselves who claimed the film misrepresented them, making people think all people confined to a wheel chair want to end their lives. I can't speak for how the film represents this scenario, but in the novel I actually think the author does a terrific job being objective and presenting the article from multiple angles. Will's family and Louisa all want him to live and want to show him the potential life he could lead, filled with great experiences and opportunities, event from a wheelchair. Louisa even connects with the online quadriplegic community to gain insight into other experiences (although, strangely, she never connects Will to this potentially encouraging community) to try and better understand Will's situation. But the author also makes the point that none of them can understand what Will is going through. Their thoughts are not his thoughts, and their experiences (and his past experiences) will never be his experiences again. He's tired of not being able to make decisions for himself, and tired of not being able to do what he once was able to do. I'm not saying I agree with Will, but I think the author does an admirable job trying to get the reader in his head and understand his thought process. Ultimately, what the author is trying to convey is just as Will is trying to get Louisa to understand that she has a choice in how she lives her life, he wants everyone to understand he should have a choice too.
There is a love story in, but it's really on the peripheral. Will does seem to love Louisa, but it's pretty unclear whether it is because she is the only one who listens to him, or because he feels he can live through her and help her live a life he once had, or if he really would love her if he was still his old self. On her part, I'm pretty sure Louisa only falls in love with Will because he is the only one that sees her potential and encourages he to go outside of her comfort zone. Luckily, the love story is really only presented as a last ditch effort, and a reason for Louisa to escape her horrible relationship with her boyfriend.
Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised by this novel. It wasn't at all what I expected, which was essentially a can of cheez whiz. It was simple, creative, and endearing. There were certainly predictable parts, but also incidents that truly surprised me, because ultimately, this isn't a love story, its Louisa's story. Consider me won over, and I would certainly recommend it. The epitome of a beach read.
Interest piqued? Get it here.
Disclosure: The Amazon links in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you click through and make a purchase, Amazon sends a couple coins my way. It won't pay the bills, but it may help me purchase my next book to review. Thank you for your support!
What I found instead was actually a quite charming book, told in a simple style, that is actually more about the characters themselves than the love story between them. It's safe to say I was pleasantly surprised.
Jojo Moyes does a wonderful job of constructing two different worlds and the claustrophobic town they share, and filling those worlds with characters relatable and real (though over embellished in a typical story way). The two main characters are Louisa Clark, an accidental waitress from a working-class family who has learned to be comfortable in whatever role others ask of her, and Will Traynor, a wealthy playboy who is now a quadriplegic confined to a wheelchair and his parent's house annex. Louisa and Will meet when she loses her waitressing job and takes a six month position as Will's caretaker, hired by his mother because she seems like a bright enough person to lift Will's spirits.
There are definitely hints of manic pixi dreamgirl in Louisa, as she is described as off-beat: wearing colorful and outstanding clothes, and ever so chipper and smiley. We get the impression that this is just why Mrs. Traynor has hired her, hoping to expand Will's worldview and inspire him to embrace his new life. But we learn that her world-view is quite small, confined to a box of a bedroom in her parents' house, always considered second-best to her over-achieving sister, and in a relationship with a man more interested in running triathlons than spending time with her. In this regard, I feel like the author does a good job in not just throwing Louisa into this situation, but explaining how she ended up there. It's not that her family doesn't believe in her, it's just that her sister's dreams and plans have always been voiced, and therefore support was thrown behind her. And it's not that the boyfriend was never interested in her. He used to be a sloth and they got along very well, meeting at a similar point in their lives. But he has since gained a healthy (and intense) lifestyle and moved on to a different phase in his life, one she hasn't joined him at. They're still together because it's comfortable, stable, and fine, but it's also not evolving or growing.
Will, on the other hand, is introduced as a complete ass, someone who is not only not embracing his situation, but is attempting to make everyone else as miserable as he is. Once a world-traveler and accomplished businessman, he is now incapable of doing anything on his own and blames everyone for it. And as the reader learns, he wants to end his life, having made an agreement with his parent to wait six months as they attempt to change his mind, before heading off to Switzerland where a group will help him in assisted suicide.
Louisa enters the situation oblivious to this deal and his plans, just needing a paycheck, and finds herself in over her head with a man that doesn't want her there. Once she learns the truth (unbeknownst to Will) she decides it is her mission to change his mind, creating a "calendar of adventures" to show him life is still worth living. While this sounds like a formulaic framework for the novel, it turns out the "adventures" are few and far between, and some more wildly successful than others. And as is to be expected, Will and Louisa grow fond of each other, easing into a friendly relationship of banter and understanding.
But what was enjoyable to me was that the book never goes full-on love story. There actually isn't a mention of any non-platonic feelings until a good two-thirds through the book. The majority of the story follows the evolution of their relationship, and especially the evolution of Louisa's character. She begins the book literally and figuratively stuck in a box, stuck in a perception of herself created by others, but through the pushing and prodding of Will, realizes she enjoys things she never thought she would, like literature, classical music, and scuba diving. By the end, she has the inspiration she knowledge she needs to leave her box of a town and create for herself a life she wants, not the one she was expected to have.
The pacing of the book is steady, but looking back not a whole lot happened. The adventures happy occasionally, and there are character progressions, but for the most part it just eases along, following Louisa's progression. The book does take a few missteps, like when the author decides to switch up the narrator in random chapters while the rest is told through Louisa's point of view. A suppose the point was to present how things were being perceived by other characters, and while some of this was enlightening, mostly I found it unnecessary and distracting from Louisa's story. I Also feel like the dynamics within Louisa's family were inconsistent and constantly shifting, but maybe that's just real life. I also have a problem with Will's family. For all their resources and desire to change Will's view, they haven't done a whole lot to change his mind, outside of hiring a stranger to cheer him up. All of the research and ideas Louisa comes up with were easily (even more so for the Traynors) accessible with just a little digging, and yet they came across none of it. To me, it seemed like they weren't even trying.
Before I read the novel, I had read several articles criticizing the film (which I haven't seen) for both its marketing (#liveboldly) and storyline of a quadriplegic who wants to kill himself. Critics included quadriplegics themselves who claimed the film misrepresented them, making people think all people confined to a wheel chair want to end their lives. I can't speak for how the film represents this scenario, but in the novel I actually think the author does a terrific job being objective and presenting the article from multiple angles. Will's family and Louisa all want him to live and want to show him the potential life he could lead, filled with great experiences and opportunities, event from a wheelchair. Louisa even connects with the online quadriplegic community to gain insight into other experiences (although, strangely, she never connects Will to this potentially encouraging community) to try and better understand Will's situation. But the author also makes the point that none of them can understand what Will is going through. Their thoughts are not his thoughts, and their experiences (and his past experiences) will never be his experiences again. He's tired of not being able to make decisions for himself, and tired of not being able to do what he once was able to do. I'm not saying I agree with Will, but I think the author does an admirable job trying to get the reader in his head and understand his thought process. Ultimately, what the author is trying to convey is just as Will is trying to get Louisa to understand that she has a choice in how she lives her life, he wants everyone to understand he should have a choice too.
There is a love story in, but it's really on the peripheral. Will does seem to love Louisa, but it's pretty unclear whether it is because she is the only one who listens to him, or because he feels he can live through her and help her live a life he once had, or if he really would love her if he was still his old self. On her part, I'm pretty sure Louisa only falls in love with Will because he is the only one that sees her potential and encourages he to go outside of her comfort zone. Luckily, the love story is really only presented as a last ditch effort, and a reason for Louisa to escape her horrible relationship with her boyfriend.
Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised by this novel. It wasn't at all what I expected, which was essentially a can of cheez whiz. It was simple, creative, and endearing. There were certainly predictable parts, but also incidents that truly surprised me, because ultimately, this isn't a love story, its Louisa's story. Consider me won over, and I would certainly recommend it. The epitome of a beach read.
Interest piqued? Get it here.
Disclosure: The Amazon links in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you click through and make a purchase, Amazon sends a couple coins my way. It won't pay the bills, but it may help me purchase my next book to review. Thank you for your support!
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