I’ve realized that I’m an odd sort of Rainbow Rowell fan. I liked Eleanor and Park ok-enough. I think I liked the idea of it more than the execution of it. I embraced the nostalgia of the time and of first love but it’s not really a book that I’ll revisit…nor do I ever recommend it to my friends (that’s telling to me). I know that this is blasphemy in these parts and I apologize. But I liked Eleanor and Park enough to read Landline…and you know what? I LOVED Landline (which I think is also blasphemy around here, but y’all are too nice to tell me that I suck…I like that about you!). So I was like,”Hey, Attachments is on BookBub for $1.99, you should give it a shot” and I agreed with myself and I purchased it. And I’m kind of back in the E and P state of mind. I liked it, I really did! I read it with lightning speed because I was into it…and then after I finished it, I was less excited or even sad (which is what usually happens when I end a book I really dig).
The story of Attachments has been told numerous times on this site, I’m sure I’ll add nothing new but I’ll give it a shot! Lincoln is in a holding pattern. Still wounded from his first girlfriend, he has returned to his mother’s house after several forays into the college world (successful forays), and has gotten a night job doing basically nothing. He reads emails that get flagged by the computer filters and then he has pretty much nothing else to do with his nights. As he reads the emails he finds himself not writing up the two girls who are constant offenders but instead falling in love with one of them based on her witty interaction with her best friend. He feels like he knows them and has a connection to them. So when he realizes that he’s “cute guy” in Beth’s emails, he doesn’t know how to make the romance happen, or if he even can since he’s basically been spying on Beth and Jennifer. You should read the book to find out what happens between Beth and Lincoln because I don’t want to give anything away.
The book was cute and I really liked the idea of it. It was inventive and I loved the way the relationship between Jennifer and Beth is developed over the emails that both the reader and Lincoln read without them knowing. The more I talk about it (write about it), the more I actually think I liked it (this is a thing that is literally happening right now…so yeah). Like Eleanor and Park though, I think it ended more abruptly than I expected. I’m looking forward to Fan Girl and Carry On because I think I will most definitely love them. I clearly don’t convey that I love RR as an author, I know that I do because I space out my reading of her work so that there will always be a little something waiting for me when I need it. If you’re looking for a book with a strong female friendship and a guy who’s working on figuring out what he needs to be happy, this book won’t disappoint you.
I may need to re-read this one because the first time I did it, Lincoln came across as a Nice Guy/Jessie’s Girl variation that I was emotionally incapable of rooting for him.
I consider Rowell a personal challenge as an author. I feel like she’s a writer I *should* like way more than I manage.
Landline was my first Rowell, and I loved it immediately. This is probably my favorite.
And, yes, it is sacrilegious to even appear to disparage her. ;-)
We will pretty much tar and feather anyone who dares not love all of Rainbow Rowell’s works. It is known. How dare you not love this book with all of your being?
No, seriously, the great thing about CBR is that it’s full of articulate, interesting people who have many different opinions about books and feel passionate about a huge array of subjects. It’s frankly why it’s so astounding that a large majority of us, even with our many differing areas of interest, tend to all embrace Rowell’s books to a slightly fanatical degree.
Also, entirely seriously, though it hurts me to say this and makes me sad every time I think about it – I gave this book as a gift to my very best friend in the world, the sister of my heart, and first of all, she waited for several years before actually reading it, and when she had, she really didn’t like it much at all. It’s one of those things it’s best that I don’t think about, lest a little bit of my love for her dies inside me. That’s how much I love this book.
I adore everything Rowell has ever written, and Attachments is near the top. For me, Eleanor and Park is probably the one I love the least (I only rated it 4.5 stars, rather than 5). Carry Onz is my current favouritest.
I also space out my Rainbow books, and am holding out on reading Carry On because its the last “new” one I have.
As Malin said, the beautiful thing about Cannonball is that we embrace all opinions of literary work – as long as you thoughtfully tell us why. :) And you ALWAYS do that.
I also loved Landline more than most around here. It spoke to me in a way I still can’t quite get my brain around. I’ve read Rainbow in publication order, so Attachments was my first go back in CBR 5, and even then Rainbow’s ability to develop deep, rich characters is what sold me. I only rated this one 4 stars, and someday I’ll track down a hard cover copy for myself and read it again and we’ll see if that rating sticks, but this is still a book 4 years later that I think of fondly.