First thing i said to myself after finishing this book: What on earth was i thinking when i bought it??!!
Well, here it goes: While 10 years ago i would've loved this book (yes, i'm deeply ashamed of myself for it), thank heavens i came back to my senses growing up.
On account of all the positive rants about this book, i wanted to see for myself what the fuss was all about. I expected a light, cutesy read; a break from my self-imposed marathon of Classics, instead, i ended up with a face-palm and a mighty disappointment.
And here's why:
- The plot: GOD WHY?! Rainbow Rowell kept throwing in topics (from family issues to racism to bullying, etc.) to end up with a shallow story. (Shallow is an understatement)
- The main characters: at first, they seemed pretty promising, but we soon get the feeling that even the writer has trouble painting a clear portrait of each (beyond the obvious physical appearances and the edgy music preferences). I simply couldn't grasp their essence.
- Their families: I mean, COME ON! The comments on Park's mother are staggeringly racist (damsel in distress brought to live the american dream. Yay to her!)
- The "love" story: at first, Park is all cute and Eleanor is so curiously put. And then, they meet. Drumroll .... they can't stand each other. Ta-daa! (So far so good.)They say "there's a thin line between hate and love" and that's actually where the story is headed; but the needle on the author's love-meter went from "Jesus-f•••, just sit down!" to "I love you, I need you, I can't live without you" in practically no time. I just couldn't buy it. Not to mention Eleanor's "I want to eat his face" when talking about Park, which sounded more like psycho/creepy than baby-voice-cute (just saying!).
- Park, Eleanor, Park, Eleanor, Park, Eleanor.. After a while, this narration style wore me down, and it just went downhill from there.
- The ending: Meh. Whatever.
All in all, you guessed it, i didn't like this book (Duh. Captain obvious strikes again!)
But hey, that's just me. As the french say "Les goûts et les couleurs ne se discutent pas."