Love, Rosie
Title: Love, Rosie (Where Rainbows End)
Author: Cecelia Ahern
Publication Year: 2004
Genre: Coming Of Age/Romance
I have so much to say about this gorgeous book by Cecelia Ahern! I’ll start off first by saying that I saw the movie first and had absolutely no idea it was based on a novel until a year or so after I saw it for the first time. The movie made me cry within the first thirty minutes (and I didn’t stop crying until the credits rolled at the very end). When I saw Love, Rosie on the bookshelf of a nearby Barnes and Noble, I immediately stuffed it in my shopping basket and sped up to the cash register. I started to read it during the Uber ride home, knowing damn well I have motion sickness and that reading would just make it 100x more unbearable. It was worth it. Released in 2004 (and originally titled, Where Rainbows End) the novel follows best friends Rosie and Alex from childhood to adulthood. They’re tested with longing, loss, fights, finance, and - of course - questions of the heart. This book has a wonderful way of following the communication between our two main characters with the use of technology. Their story is written through the exchange of emails, texts, instant messages, and letters over the course of 30+ years. In some parts, it’s funny, whimsical, and depressing as hell all at the same time.
Lily Collins and Sam Claflin in the 2014 film adaptation of the novel Love, Rosie
“People who say it’s a long story, mean it’s a stupid short one that they are too embarrassed and couldn’t be bothered to tell.” - Cecelia Ahern
I have since come to find, after reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, that writing in an epistolary form is a really powerful way to move plots along and develop the personalities and relationships between our main characters of Rosie and Alex. The writing style is easy to follow and faced-paced s at times, allowing readers to find themselves sucked into the lives of these fictional individuals. In some parts, it’s funny, whimsical, and depressing as hell all at the same time. How the authors achieved this, I have absolutely no idea. For me, this book was nearly impossible to put down. I finished it in about a week and restarted the movie on Netflix not thirty minutes after I read the last sentence. I’m honestly upset with myself for taking so to decide to give the book a try! It was one of those rare cases where I couldn’t find a thing wrong with it. The dialogue was witty, a cried when Rosie cried, and every character was fleshed out to perfection. Letter writing should have never gone out of style. To conclude, I can say with the utmost sincerity that the intricate love story featured in this novel truly rivals those I have read in the past. If you have the opportunity to read Love, Rosie, I’m sure you’ll love it too. As always, comment down below and give me your thoughts on the book and check back here for my next post in a couple weeks: a book review on the groundbreaking novel that started a new generation of Broadway madness, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire.
My Overall Rating: 8.5/10
Bisous,
Maya.