Review: PS, I Love You

PS, I Love You by Cecelia Ahern

Format: Trade Paperback
Pages: 508
Published: September 9, 2004
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genre: Fiction

My Rating: 4/5

Summary (from chapters.ca):

Remember wonderful memories, but don't be afraid to make some more.

Holly and Gerry had the perfect life. Happily married, living in Dublin close to their friends and family, and with a brilliant social life, they had the world at their feet. Or so they thought. When Gerry dies, Holly is devastated. On the eve of her 30th birthday, the man who was her lover, her best friend, her rock, has left her. But Gerry promised he'd always be there for Holly. And he is: his last bequest to her is The List, a bundle of notes which form a monthly mission for Holly to get her life back on track.

As the notes are gradually opened, and as the year unfolds, Holly is both cheered up and challenged. The man who knows Holly better than anyone sets out to teach her that life goes on. With some help from her friends, and her noisy and loving family, Holly finds herself laughing, crying, singing, dancing - and being braver than ever before. Life is for living, she realises - but it always helps if there's an angel watching over you.

Review:

Having never read the book or seen the movie, I admit that I went into this book with a slight bias. I know that it is a tear-jerker and I know the outcome because, unless you live under a rock, it was kind of all over the place for a while.

What did surprise me though was my lack of tears. Yes, I did get misty eyed a couple of times but I was sort of expecting that full on ugly cry as the book neared the end and it never came. So now I am left wondering if it is because I was expecting to cry or because I knew what the premise/ending would be like?!? Either way, I was happy with the novel and am still stunned that this was a debut novel for Cecelia Ahern.

It is really hard for me to imagine what live would be like without my husband... having a life all planned out and then having that ripped out from under us. Personally, I thought Holly dealt with her grief beautifully because I would have been a wreck MUCH longer. The letters or 'The List' left by Gerry is something that I am sure every grieving person wishes they had. I found myself constantly wondering what he would say next.

Overall, I found this a wonderful story about what it takes to go through something so heart-breaking and come out breathing on the other side. Maybe now it is time to watch the movie!