A review by amynoncsi
Love Anthony by Lisa Genova

5.0

I have yo say, I have read a couple of Lisa Genova’s books in the past and I always ended up enjoying and loving them. Even though, weirdly for a while I have been struggling to pick up Love Anthony and even on a few occasions I was contemplating to donate it to charities, someone who would actually pick it up and read it. Now, that I finished the book I am glad I did not get rid off it and I held on to this gem as long as it took me to read it.

“Time’s a funny thing, bending, warping, stretching, and compressing, all depending on perspective“.

About the book: The book follows two women’s stories; Olivia and Beth. They are both experiencing life changing circumstances and they need to learn to continue and live their life. They need to decide what is important to them and they need to learn to let go, forgive and love. The description of the book explains that it is an unexpected friendship, however, I feel like the friendship did not form until almost the beginning of the book. For a very long time these women did not even knew that they were neighbours and that they lived on the same island in Nantucket. I think, they both had to come to turns with a lot of their feelings alone of with the help of other people, but they were not friends. In some mysterious (no spoiler) way they have affected each others’ life, however, they became friends at the end and done the majority of the journey on their own.

Writing style: I would say the writing style is descriptive\narrative? Maybe. The book is beautifully written. It is very respectful in a way. It talked about Autism and emotions and everything just feels so raw and real. The way Lisa writes is just magic. It brings the character and the wild alive. I was able to watch this as a movie while reading and I love it when that happens. It is such an amazing experience. The writing style is so easy to follow. She doesn’t use words people wouldn’t understand even though in there quarter of her book she is discussing and wrote about Autism a condition that is widely ranged and can be so different.

Characters: Beth and Olivia are just amazing human beings. They are real. They are raw. They are full of emotions and questions and are scared. They are tired and lost, and they both try to carry on, forget and heal. I loved getting to know both of them. They are different in some ways but in others they are very similar. Throughout the book they got through so much and come a long way. The character developments were really well done and most importantly were realistic and believable.

“Take what you’ve learned and love someone again. Find someone to love and love without condition.”

Plots &Twists: This book is not the type of book that will have a plot twist every page turn or every other chapter. This book is quite reliable. You know what will happen, however, you do keep reading because you want to see it through. You are part of the writing and the story, feeling the same emotions the characters feel, and it is important to see it through.

Conclusion: I’m all together I think it was a brilliant book. Anyone who is interested about Autism or just feels to read a beautifully written, full of emotional book should pick this up and give it a go. As I mentioned above: It is raw and so very real. So beautifully written. I can only advise people to read this and experience the beauty of it.