Bookworm: Me Before You and Before the Fall... (November 2016)

Me Before You  by Jojo Moyes

The hot streak continues. As someone who hates abandoning books, I dread titles that will slow up my reading flow. Me Before You certainly continued my trend of enjoyable reads. I saw the trailer for the film before I even knew about the book, and it piqued my curiosity. Still, I was afraid it would be too cheesy of a love story for me to completely engage. I regret ever doubting this book because I absolutely loved it. For those unfamiliar with the story, Me Before You centers around Lou, a Brit in her late twenties, who is trying to obtain work after the cafe she has long been employed by closes down. Lou lives with her parents, sister, nephew, and grandfather trying to function on a meager budget. Given the lack of appealing options at the unemployment agency, Lou takes a chance and finds a job attending to the needs of a wealthy, once vibrant, young professional, who, after a motorbike accident, is now a quadriplegic. This book made me laugh, broke my heart, and kept me turning pages from beginning to end. It made me ponder tough topics like physician assisted suicide and the limits of love without seeming preachy or definitive. The British vernacular may be distracting to some (I was well seasoned from the Bridget Jones series), but I honestly don’t think it’s strong enough to be a deal breaker. The characters were realistic, refreshing, and well developed. I can’t wait to see the movie.

Before the Fall by Noah Hawley

This popped up as a suggested read for me online. The blurb sounded interesting-- a passenger plane crashes off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. Among those on the fight are a billionaire media mogul, a soon-to-be-indicted financier, a gorgeous flight attendant, and a suffering artist who paints disaster scenes. With this cast of characters, and an alternating point of view, how could this book not be interesting? Each chapter kept my attention, and I found the story to embody the disaster theme--I didn’t quite see the big picture, but I couldn’t look away. The pieces did fit together by the end, but I felt the ending to be a little anti-climactic. Still, I enjoyed the read. It is evident that Hawley is a good writer, another credit of his includes the television series Fargo, which I love. I’m not sure I’d recommend it for all. Don’t get me wrong; I think most would dig it, but it’s not one I’d push on somebody who asked me if I had read any good books lately.