REVIEW: Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 

Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble; it has been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now.

Maybe that was always beside the point.

Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn't expect him to pack up the kids and go home without her.

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.

That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts...

Is that what she’s supposed to do?

Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?

“You don't know when you're twenty-three.

You don't know what it really means to crawl into someone else's life and stay there. You can't see all the ways you're going to get tangled, how you're going to bond skin to skin. How the idea of separating will feel in five years, in ten - in fifteen. When Georgie thought about divorce now, she imagined lying side by side with Neal on two operating tables while a team of doctors tried to unthread their vascular systems.

She didn't know at twenty-three.”

REACTION AFTER READING THE BOOK

I was satisfied with how the book ended.Like what I said on my prereview, this book made me sob a bit. It was good on a lot of aspects, but... but... but... I still didn't feel that Georgie deserved her husband. I did not at all. I think the two things that I didn't enjoy about this book overall was Georgie and the stupid landline phone. I will go into that later.

After finishing this book, I thought a lot about marriage, relationships, and family. About whether I am ready to face stuff like the ones Neal and Georgie went through. I would give props to Rainbow Rowell for that, because I think she was effective in what she wanted her readers to think about after they finish the book. To sit down, and ponder if married people are focusing on the right things or if people in a relationship are ready to face these types of situation.

HOW IT BEGINS

Georgie pulled into the driveway, swering to miss a bike.

THE GIST

Georgie knew her message with Neal is in trouble. But does she do something about it? Of course not. She let it go, pretending everything was fine.

Christmas was coming and the plan was for the entire family to go to Omaha to visit Neal's mum. But what they weren't expecting was Georgie suddenly backed out of the plan last second for a project that she and her best friend, Seth, has been waiting for. But Neal put his foot down and said that he and the kids would still go to Nebraska and Georgie could stay if she wanted to. Which is actually what happened.

When Neal left, Georgie started staying more often at her mother's house. At her old room, she found an old yellow landline that she used to call Neal to check with him and the kids.

And she did get in touch with Neal, only it was the past Neal. Like 1998 Neal.

THE CHARACTERS

Georgie

So this review has been postponed for a few months so I don't dislike Georgie much now than I have when I finished reading this book. Georgie was the type of character you cheer for. She was the type of character you'd want to make the right decision. But she don't. Which made her all the more realistic.

She did frustrated me at times. Because I don't get how she could just brush off Neal and her family. As a grown woman in her 30s with a family, she should have known what she needed to prioritise and that was her family. I know I'm being too critical and I probably don't have the right to say this yet as I don't have a husband, but I do have a kid. And I won't let anything or anyone, get in the way of me and my kid. Not even work. Family has always been something that is important to me and would always be my top priority. I could never see an instance where this could actually change and reading about Georgie, choosing her work over her kids and her husband got me really shaking my head.

But that was the beauty of her character, she was flawed which is why I'm sure a lot of people could relate to her and her struggles of being a wife, a mother, a best friend, and a working woman. I may have shown dislike with her choices, but I did like Georgie's character.

Neal

He wasn't perfect. Like Georgie, he has his shortcomings but I felt that he gave and sacrificed more to their marriage than Georgie did. He never forced anything on her. He gave her whatever she wanted. He gave way just so that he could see her happy. Of course, he wasn't the most showy guy you'd encounter. He won't shower you with extravagant gifts and flowery words but he is the type of guy who would always put your best interest first rather than his. He was that type of guy which is why I really liked him.

He made the relationship work for so long and I did understand why he decided to put his foot down that day Georgie decided that they couldn't go.

Seth

The best friend. He should have known better. He may have been Georgie's best friend since college, but he obviously only cared about himself and their stupid project. He didn't have Georgie's best interest at heart which made him a douchebag in my eyes.

GEORGIE + NEAL = FIXABLE

I liked them together. You sort of see how their relationship evolved from before they were married and after and you want to see them fix things you know? They were meant to be together.

I get why they were having issues though. I think mostly it's becuase of lack of communication. Georgie knows something is up but doesn't say anything about it. Neal knows something is wrong but doesn't say about it either. He just pretend everything was okay with him but you know he's hurt but didn't want to lose Georgie and ruin the family. Oh my goodness! Talking is fine. Talking is needed to make a relationship work. Compromise is necessary. I know there are some things that couldn't be solved by talking but it is worth doing you know. It is worth trying. If a relationship is important to you, you should go do something to make sure you figure out where the problem is and help each other solve it.

FINAL WORDS

I loved Landline, not as much as Fangirl though, but still I loved it.

One of the the things that I didn't like though was the "yellow phone to the past" thing. I guess Rainbow wanted this book to be a bit unique, but I felt it was a bit unnecessary. Rainbow Rowell is an amazing author who could invoke feelings with her books. She does not need to include gimmicks in her writing for her readers to be engaged in her books. Her use of words, her characterisation, the dialogues, and the plot development is enough for the readers to get her readers hooked. But I guess it was necessary to put the landline in there or else what else would the book be called? LOL.

I lost my notes for this book so I can't really tell you what other things I noticed about it, but all I can say is that it's a pretty well made book that would keep you reading and wanting for this couple to have their happily ever after... at least that is what it did for me.

Have you guys read this? What were your thoughts about it? Let me know below! :)

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