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A review by capyval
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
5.0
Perhaps I never read a book with a more accurate title. Attachments is a book about different types of human relationships, of a man in his late 20s who still thinks deeply about his first girlfriend from his teen years, of a woman in a long term relationship with somebody she loves but that does not give her what she wants and expects, of a mother that can’t let go of an adult son, of being deeply in love while not wanting to really be in love; of wanting and not wanting a pregnancy and a baby and, ultimately, this is a story of falling for somebody by looking at them from the distance, looking them being a friend, being kind, and knowing that you shouldn't be falling for them in that situation, but you can't quite stop the feelings. And yet, all I said does not cover all the relationships that this book shows us; stories of friendship, romantic love and family. It looks like a lot for a book of less than 400 pages, but no, this novel is beautifully written and so easy to follow, so easy to fall in love with the characters. I found myself liking practically everybody in this story, even the characters that could be quite annoying at moments felt also so real that it was hard to not like them. I believe that Rainbow Rowell put a lot of love in creating these characters, it was filled with people and situations that felt very familiar to me.
The plot could be summarized as: Lincoln is an IT guy working in a newspaper, and part of his work is checking the e-mails that get flagged due to containing certain words (as it would filter suspicious e-mails, the ones that people shouldn’t be sending at work). He is not happy with his job, but it pays well and he is not mentally in a place where he would do much about himself or to change what he doesn’t like about his life; he doesn’t quite believe there is much for him out there. Between the flagged e-mails there are a series of conversations between two women that are great friends, and they are so funny and smart that it’s hard for Lincoln to stop reading them, to stop enjoying them, to stop thinking about them… And maybe, more specifically, about one of them. But how could that be OK? It’s obviously not.
So the book at some point may put you in an awkward situation, because nowadays of course that the “stalker” lover is not seen – at least by me – as a good romantic trope. And yet, this is not really stalking, or is it? This is still healthy, or is not? Did I never admire people from the distance that I couldn’t find the way to actually talk to? To tell them “Hey, I want to be your friend”, as silly as that could sound (and so honest as well). But it must have been different, I think… or not?
Lovely, lovely book. One to re-read, that’s for sure.
The plot could be summarized as: Lincoln is an IT guy working in a newspaper, and part of his work is checking the e-mails that get flagged due to containing certain words (as it would filter suspicious e-mails, the ones that people shouldn’t be sending at work). He is not happy with his job, but it pays well and he is not mentally in a place where he would do much about himself or to change what he doesn’t like about his life; he doesn’t quite believe there is much for him out there. Between the flagged e-mails there are a series of conversations between two women that are great friends, and they are so funny and smart that it’s hard for Lincoln to stop reading them, to stop enjoying them, to stop thinking about them… And maybe, more specifically, about one of them. But how could that be OK? It’s obviously not.
So the book at some point may put you in an awkward situation, because nowadays of course that the “stalker” lover is not seen – at least by me – as a good romantic trope. And yet, this is not really stalking, or is it? This is still healthy, or is not? Did I never admire people from the distance that I couldn’t find the way to actually talk to? To tell them “Hey, I want to be your friend”, as silly as that could sound (and so honest as well). But it must have been different, I think… or not?
Lovely, lovely book. One to re-read, that’s for sure.