Thursday, July 17, 2014

Jamie Reviews: Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Published: July 8, 2014 - St. Martin's Press
How I Got This Book: Borrowed from a friend who snagged it at ALAMW!
Why I Read This Book: I loved Eleanor & Park and Fangirl and basically Rainbow is on auto-buy for me!
Rating: 4.5 stars

Add it to your to-be-read-list! // Buy it!












Annnnd Rainbow knocks it out of the park once again for me! I read this in JANUARY and I still cannot stop thinking about it. Rainbow is supremely talented when it comes to writing about love and relationships with these nuances that just make your heart want to burst. All her books have been VERY different in portraying love in is many stages and forms but all of them do something within me.

Landline delves deep into a marriage on the brink of absolute failure with a main character, Georgie, who seemingly doesn't even realize it until she kind of steps backs and looks at it. They've just gotten so far away from each other that they might as well be living on different planets. When Georgie doesn't go with them for Christmas because of work, she realizes this might have been the last straw for Neal. Sure that she's ruined it beyond the point of return Georgie finds a way, and this sounds corny but I swear Rainbow makes it WORK, to communicate with PAST Neal. Hint hint: that pretty landline on the cover isn't just for decoration.

What I loved about Landline is that it's not just a story about a marriage going wrong but it's a story of falling in love all over again. It's easy to take love forgranted, which Georgie really does, and what does one do in the face of losing it? It's not like Georgie fell out of love with him. She still LOVES him. I loved watching Georgie reflect on her and Neal's relationship and getting to experience it in a new way through communicating with past Neal...the Neal she first met and then dated.

Landline is poignant and thought-provoking (seriously, I've been thinking about my own marriage and even friendships after reading this) and it proves why Rainbow Rowell is one of my all time favorite authors. Her writing is just TO DIE FOR and all the intricacies and nuances of love in all its messy glory just really resonate -- even if you aren't married.

9 comments:

  1. I didn't like this book as much as I liked her other ones. First, there was the synopsis: when I read it (and I waited SIX months to read the book because I liked the sinopysis) I had understood that they worked their problems through long distance calls (but not THAT long distance). Second, the ending sounded rushed to me and some questions went unanswered, like did she finished her sitcom? and what happened with her friendship with Seth?
    It was a good book, but if I had known the plot beforehand (I pre-ordered it on Amazon), I wouldn't have bought it.

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  2. I want to read this book!
    I only read Eleanor & Park of this author and a I loved it so much.

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  3. I want to read this book! I haven't read any of Rainbow's books, so I looking forward!! I've heard so many good hings about them!!

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  4. I completely agree!! RR is fantastic and so is this book!!

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  5. I've never heard a bad thing about Rainbow Rowell. This book has been lighting up the blogosphere with lots of great reviews. Now that I moved and can get a library card and check out some of her books. I have a lot of catching up to do :)

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  6. Ugh I love Rainbow Rowell's books. The characters and their relationships in them are just so realistic and touching and wonderful. I can't WAIT to read Landline!

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  7. Great review, Jamie! I haven't read this one yet, but I think it's just moved higher up on the priority list. :) Thanks for the post!

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  8. This was my first Rainbow Rowell book and I loved it! Now I have to go get her other ones!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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  9. I really liked this book.

    It isn't my absolute favorite of hers, but it is a fantastic read.

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