Attachments, Rainbow Rowell.
This is the – Costa hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows – of reading. Warm and comforting, not necessarily good for you – but a treat on the odd occasion.
All I can say is it pulls on the thirteen-year-old girl heartstrings you didn’t know you still had. Set in the millenium, but published in 2011, Rowell transports you back to what feels like a simpler time. One where Blockbuster still dictated your weekends and print was king.
Now, two decades later, as dating has become a faceless and emotionless app of despair, it’s a delight to live vicariously through this little love story. Although, I might be bias.
“I’d know you in the dark,” he said. “From a thousand miles away. There’s nothing you could become that I haven’t already fallen in love with.”
Attachments, Rainbow rowell
Would I recommend this book?
I don’t know.
It’s not a work of literary genius. The plot, for the most part, is predictable and stereotypical to the genre. But, it’s sweet and romantic and witty and funny. It’s just the kind of book you shouldn’t read when single and living through a pandemic, where all boys are shit and your dating life is sad and non-existant.
This is just sweet and wholesome. The perfect chick-lit break from dystopian literature and insightful prose. It’s easy and lovely and now I just want to find my own Lincoln. And you know you’ve been swept up, when you feel your brow furrow and your fingertips pushing into your cheeks – all the while smiling to yourself about fictional characters.
“I didn’t know love could leave the lights on all the time.”
ATTACHMENTS, RAINBOW ROWELL
I think I need to start rating books on two levels, my general consensus and the rating I would give to reading this book at this moment in my life.
You see, as a writing student, I will always pick books apart. I love the craft and can tell good execution from poor, exceptional plots etc. (even if my own writing leaves much to be desired). But, some books are just light. They are needed. You read them at the right time. You devour them and take what you need. They are well-written and crafted. Funny, witty, insightful – but they’re not books you would rave about to someone over an expertly-poured flat white. You know what I mean.
I found the meaning in it I wanted to. I appreciated the comedy, the references to the 2000s. But, when you get down to it, it’s ultimately chick-lit with a cute plot.
Overall – 3/5
Timeliness to me – 5/5
“He knew why he wanted to kiss her. Because she was beautiful. And before that, because she was kind. And before that, because she was smart and funny. Because she was exactly the right kind of smart and funny. Because he could imagine taking a long trip with her without ever getting bored. Because whenever he saw something new and interesting, or new and ridiculous, he always wondered what she’d have to say about it–how many stars she’d give it and why.”
ATTACHMENTS, RAINBOW ROWELL
