Earlier this week I tweeted, "Ever finish a book and want to cry because it’s over and you’ll never get to read it for the first time ever again? Yeah, that." I was talking about The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick. Honestly, it's hands down one of the best books I've read in a long time, kind of on the same level as The Fault in Our Stars. It's hard to explain all of the emotions it brought out of me; at times I was crying, then laughing, then shaking my head at the sheer happiness it brought out of me. It's funny and touching, heartbreaking and heartwarming, all at once.
I first heard about this book because of the movie. In fact, I had no idea the book even existed. But while watching the Golden Globes it was impossible to miss- the movie was mentioned a million times, garnering many nominations and a win too, for Jennifer Lawrence. I didn't really know anything about the film though, from the 5-second clips I saw over and over, and I wasn't exactly interested outside of just wanting to know what the hype was all about.
So last week while on Amazon picking out samples for my Kindle (one of my favorite things to do), this book was in the middle of my recommendations. I actually thought it was the DVD at first, so I skimmed over it, but when I had a hard time finding books I was excited about, I went back through my recommendations and clicked through. And I'm SO happy I did.
I started the book that night, and immediately got lost in its unique perspective and story. It's beautiful. The story centers upon its protagonist, Pat Peoples, who is released from a mental hospital at the start of the book. I hate summarizing books for fear of giving anything away (I prefer to know nothing about a novel going into it), but just know the book deals with Pat's life; his "recovery," with love, with hope, with family...and with Kenny G. There were so many times I found myself just smiling ear to ear as I read- and unable to put the book down. I read it in two days and was thoroughly depressed when it was over. To me it was part Catcher in the Rye (odd comparison, maybe), part The Fault in Our Stars, and part any wonderful, sweet novel I've ever read that inspires hope. And yes, even though it's a novel that deals with dark topics, in its own quirky way I was left feeling inspired, hopeful, and smiling.
Read it, and when you do, let me know how much you loved it! Hank's reading it now, and when he's done I can't wait to see the movie together, which I heard is wonderful too.
image above via Amazon
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