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Friday, March 28, 2014

Review: Attachments

Posted by Charlene // Tags: , ,
Attachments
by Rainbow Rowell
Contemporary Romance
Amazon  /  Goodreads

Plot Summary:

"Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you . . . "

Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.

Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.

When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.

By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.

What would he say . . . ?

Review:

I would say that this story is pure adorable, but I don't want to sell short the depth of it.  While the cuteness of the romance and the characters are undeniable, it is also very poignant and thought-provoking.  And I think that's mostly because all of the characters are so intensely genuine.  Their lives have drama but they don't devolve into dramatics - the writing knows when to dwell on a moment and when to allude to it in passing to make it even more effective.  I feel like it's cliche to say that the characters are so real they feel like my friends, but it's so true!

The format of the story was very clever as well.  We get to know Beth and her friend Jennifer just as Lincoln does through their emails, and we get to feel the same sense of suspense and furtive interest in their lives.  With those moments when the reader realizes Beth notices Lincoln around the office, I feel like I felt the same glee as Lincoln must have as he read it.  These characters just live in your head!  And the secondary characters are just as fully formed - and they are so important in developing the main characters further for the reader.  It was so easy to understand each characters actions and decisions.

The ending did let me down just a little bit though.  Generally it was just what I wanted and almost perfect, but I think that because for the most part we are reading all the thoughts in these characters heads, when it came to Lincoln and Beth resolving their stories face to face, I felt the lack of having that same access to their thoughts.  It was resolved too quickly too in some ways which detracted a bit from the wonderful credibleness of this story, but then again it was a very difficult situation to resolve.

This story is a beautiful combination of spare, effective writing and down-to-earth, rich characterization, with the added treat of an intensely sweet romance.  I think it must be hard sometimes to find an ending for a novel, and while I don't want to over-hype it, I was very taken by the last lines of this book and how it captured their relationship so well in a moment of humor.  This book is just pure loveliness.

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22 comments:

  1. This was my favorite of all Rowell's books (so far...)

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  2. I think my favorite is currently Fangirl, but this will probably be second (I actually haven't read Eleanor and Park yet, but the premise doesn't appeal to me as much as this one.) I am very excited for her next book though - Landline! I feel like it will be a strong contender for favorite! :)

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  3. I have only read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, but this book sounds cute (but creepy?) haha :) I'll have to read this soon!

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  4. LOL there is that creepy side of it, but I think because we know Lincoln so well though the book, we know he's a good guy! And cute! :D I hope you enjoy this one!

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  5. Very excited for Landline! I just recently read E&P and... didn't get the appeal. I'm not much into YA anyway, but this one seemed to be so universally adored... and I'm just sitting here trying to figure out what's so special about it.

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  6. Well, still not motivated to read it then! I'm sure I will someday but it seems like I will have to be in a certain mood for it. I want to like it since I like Rainbow's writing so much!

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  7. I am so excited to read this one, so glad you loved it!
    Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings

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  8. I need to read this book soon!! I really want to get all of Rowell's books read before Landline comes out. So glad to see you liked this!! We usually like the same books.

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  9. Ah that is a good goal to read all of Rainbow's books before Landline! I like how she writes such different kinds of books so it's interesting to see how she deals with each topic. Hopefully then I will pick up Eleanor and Park before Landline comes out!

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  10. Ana @ Read Me AwayMarch 28, 2014 at 8:43 PM

    I really liked this story too. :D It was my first Rowell book (and my only for now), and I can see why her books are popular. The ending did let me down a bit too though. :(

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  11. Rainbow Rowell is amazingly gifted. I adored Fangirl and Eleanor and Park. I can't wait to read this one!!!

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  12. I think that might be what's so great about Rainbow Rowell! She writes these books that on the surface are purely adorable but they're also thought-provoking and have a lot of more depth than you think they will. Her characters are also really well realized and full. I'll have to read this one very soon!

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  13. Why hasn't anyone thrust this book into my hands yet??? It sounds totally up my alley because Lincoln sounds like a really awkward but hilarious guy, haha. xD

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  14. Cute with depth sounds like the best of both world. Rowell's books are like a shot in the dark, I either love them or hate them. I disliked E&P but loved Fangirl. Endings are tough to pull off, you can either have too perfect of a resolution or the "not really a resolution at all" types.

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  15. Oh good, I did see others were a little disappointed with the ending as well - but the awesomeness of the book overall makes up for that! Her writing is just wonderful though, so I'm sure that even if I don't like some of her books as much as Fangirl and Attachments (I'm thinking Eleanor and Park) I will still enjoy reading the book! So I look forward to that!

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  16. This should be a great read for you if you loved both of her other books! It's different in tone from Fangirl I think, but just as well written and compelling!

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  17. Yes, I agree completely! Her books really capture the experience of living through these characters' stories! I hope you get to read Attachments soon!

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  18. LOL, well let me be the first to figuratively thrust this book into your hands! :D I think Lincoln, as well as Beth will appeal to you!

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  19. With Rainbow's books being pretty different from each other, I can definitely see why one book would work for you and not another! I hope you will like this one if you get the chance to read it - it's such a sweet romance!

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  20. Just read this book too and loved it :D I also believe the end was a little too "quick" but just like you said: must be hard to find a good ending for such a novel. I liked the description of Lincolns mother :p haha

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  21. Oh Lincoln's mother was so believable - I loved her, and I wish she wasn't so difficult to talk too sometimes! I do wish I could have had her cooking - the food descriptions in the book just made me hungry all the time! :)

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