Attachments by Rainbow Rowell: A review

Week 7 of 13

I have read both Fangirl, and Eleanor and Park, which are by Rainbow Rowell too, and to be honest, I found them both really

And the thing is, there was SO MUCH hype about the both of them, that I couldn't help feel that I was the only person who didn't love them both. I didn't mind Fangirl- I finished it and everything, but I thought it was OK, nothing amazing and I actually couldn't even finish Eleanor and Park because I was just so disconnected from it, I had no attraction to any of the characters, and it was so mind-numbingly slow. Having said that, I've never been head over heels in like the way those characters were, so maybe I couldn't appreciate them the way the majority of the population seemed to, because no one's ever loved me like that.

But then I saw this in the school library, read the blurb, and thought I might as well, since I hadn't been able to read A Torch Against the Night like I was hoping to.

Rating: 4.18 out of 5 stars

Reading this book, I was just like

This book is set in 1999, and the glorious sun that is the Internet has just dawned on humanity. Reading this book, and being part of a generation where Snapchat and Instagram seem to have replaced ordinary human communication for the majority of the people, it was really interesting to see what some of the earliest examples of messaging-based banter looked like before it evolved and grew to encompass things like gifs and emojis. And part of me was like what I imagine teenagers from the future will be like, saying "OMG, why are they using email? Haven't they heard of, like, Whatsapp?" before I realised what time it was set in.

The book is basically about Lincoln, a late twenties (I think? I can't remember) guy who's not really sure where he's heading in life, and has taken a job as some sort of Internet security guard at a newspaper, who isn't building firewalls and stopping hackers like he expected, but has the very prestigious and scintillating job of reading people's mail. The newspaper has only just gotten it's staff email, and one of Lincoln's jobs is to make sure that people aren't using it frivolously, like forwarding dirty jokes or engaging in witty bantz, the way people most definitely still do not do. And again, I was like 

...before realising, once more, that it was 1999. 

So although Lincoln is meant to report whenever some infringes these rules, he can't help but get caught up in the most definitely frivolous email exchanges between Beth Fremont and Jennifer Schribner-Snyder, in their witty conversations and personal stories. And it isn't long before he finds himself in a situation he never thought he would... falling in love.

Man, I really enjoyed this book. One of the biggest things for me was that I found Beth and Jennifer's email exchanges absolutely hilarious. Their entire relationship actually, was really cute to witness, because, and I think I have said it before, it is SO RARE to find a really interesting, loving, genuine between two women, who aren't horrible to each other.

"Oh, I love period dramas. especially period dramas starring Colin Firth. I'm like Bridget Jones if she were actually fat."

"Oh... Colin Firth. He should only do period dramas. And period dramas should only star Colin Firth. (One star upgrade for Colin Firth. Two stars for Colin Firth in a waistcoat.)

"Keep typing his name, even his name is handsome."

Oh, I agree girls...

And then there's the whole romance aspect. I must admit, no matter how hopeless and harmless and well-intentioned Lincoln seemed, with the whole email reading thing, I was like 

And I get that once he started, it was going to be hard to stop, but honestly, if they did get together, how did he think she would react once she found out?! Like, there's this foreign drama I was watching, where this guy has married a girl that he loves but he hasn't told his mum because his mum hates the girl, but his mum thinks he isn't married, so she sets him up with this other girl, and he keeps going along with it, not wanting to tell his mum anything, to the point that he becomes fucking ENGAGED to this other girl as well, all the while keeping his wife a secret. And his mum and fiancee (and fiancee's family) and wife (who didn't know about the other girl) found out and there was a massive shitstorm and I was like

(I might not have been clear, but the point I was trying to make is DO NOT keep secrets from someone you are/hope to be in a relationship with. It won't end well.)

That being said... I couldn't help but feel bad for the guy, because he was just so pitiable. He had no idea what he was going to do with his life, he still lived at home with his mum, he was addicted to education (I know) and had only had one relationship with one woman his whole life. But he was just such a hopeless romantic, and unlike Fangirl and Eleanor and Park (urgh, this is  a sign of how unmemorable Eleanor and Park is, that I keep forgetting what it's called, and start to type Parks and Rec... and I don't even watch Parks and Rec) I could see the whole buildup of feelings and despite being thoroughly creepy... it wasn't,

I really hope they turn this into a movie, because I can imagine this being a really good one. And one of the messages that I hope readers and hopefully in the future, viewers will get, is that you don't fall in love with people's faces. Lincoln didn't- he fell in love with the person Beth was, and although I am unsure of how authentic his claim was, because I can't help feeling that you can't have NO physical attracation whatsoever, he didn't care about how she looked.

“Do you believe in love at first sight?”

He made himself look at her face, at her wide-open eyes and earnest forehead. At her unbearably sweet mouth.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Do you believe in love before that?”

May God bless us all to find a man like that. 

*** JUST A QUICK NOTE- Hopefully, next week I will be reviewing Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas, as well as (hopefully) Rowling's new novellas, so ya know, stay tuned if you care, and if you're actually there... I know you're not. I've seen the number of page views. ***