Attachments Review

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

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I don't know what it was about today, maybe it had something to do with the beautiful weather outside- a perfect crisp, and sunny way to start Fall- but I could not stop reading. And although I have a lab test tomorrow, something kept pulling at me to finish Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. I didn't think the Rainbow Rowell obsession was real. Sure, I loved Fangirl but I couldn't be exactly sure until I picked up another book by her. With my latest (and very rash) BookOutlet purchase I managed to pick up Attachments without much thought. Honestly, all I could register was RAINBOW ROWELL and CHEAP. So, it was an instant buy for me. I had heard of other book bloggers and Booktubers finishing Landline and not really loving it like other of Rowell's books, so there was a tiny voice in my head that said "Uh oh, what about if you were too quick to jump the gun not knowing if you were going to really like this...?" Boy, was I was wrong. Finishing Attachments made me remember what I felt when I finished Fangirl and that is a very good thing.

Attachments premise is very simple. You have Lincoln, a 29-year-old man who has been very shy and demure his entire life. His relationships have consisted of only one serious person, Sam, who caused a big impact in his life through his high school and early college years up until present-day. Lincoln graduates college and moves back home with his mother where he takes up a night job as the IT guy at a newspaper called The Courier. Not really knowing what the job entails when he first begins, Lincoln soon learns that his computer-savyness will be put to use in reading any and all emails that get passed through the newspaper's system in case of any "inappropriate" comments and flagging them. While Lincoln attends to his "job" he stumbles upon an exchange of email messages between two women, Beth and Jennifer, who write for the paper. Finding it hard to pry away from merely skimming over their dialogue, Lincoln becomes captivated by these ladies stories, and in particular- Beth.



You can see from this summary that even though the intention might be harmless, the whole love situation between Lincoln and Beth can get tricky because of the "HiI'mthenewITguywhohasbeenreadingyourmailsandcasuallyfallinginlovewithyoueventhoughIhavenevermetyou." Sounds like it came straight out of a movie (actually it would be interesting to see a Woody Allen take on this scenario thinking about it now), but in actuality really think about this; wouldn't your first thought be CREEPER? I'm sure it'll get there, just give it a minute. Rainbow Rowell managed to tangle me up in her storytelling yet again and make me fall in love with not only Lincoln, but Beth and Jennifer, and Doris, and...everyone pretty much. When you fall for the minor characters, you know you're in deep, but I didn't mind. The one problem I can see readers having with this book is perhaps that it's Adult Fiction and it does center on characters who are middle-aged, not too young in their lives but not too far in either (age wise). It can be hard to relate if let's say your usual genre is YA, which I know I can be. But seeing as I'm 22 (turning 23 in a couple months), I could definitely relate to the plotline and pretty much all the topics that were brought up. I mean not entirely on pregnancy or thinking about getting pregnant (oh, no) but it is something that several of my friends do discuss seeing as we're all "growing up."

Another interesting thing about the book was that it took place during the year 1999-2000, where computers were just beginning to integrate the workplace and companies couldn't as easily control the work flow; someone could just as easily be "surfing the web," while sitting on their computer chair appearing as though they were typing away groundbreaking work. The entrance of a new Millennium was something that was really big, and which I don't really recall seeing as I was alive during that time- young, but definitely present. So, reading about it and how people thought of entering the big 2000 was something new and refreshing. Oh, and so many amazing film and music references, some that I wasn't even aware of but had to Google because I needed to be in-tune with Jennifer and Beth; their email conversations were on level with my friend and I's. They were that good. Actually better, because their witty banter was so hilarious and absolutely spot on 99% of the time that all I could do was sit there and try to fuse that intellecutal diction inside my brain. A girl can dream.

I find it incredible that the 2 books of Rainbow Rowell's that I have read so far, deal with love in such completely different stages of life; Fangirl on the young-adult, college side and Attachments on the middle-aged, "marry or bust" sort of relationships. It helped that Lincoln's love-life was also introduced from high school all the way through college to add to his whole experience- his and Beth's. It made me reflect that in a way, love touches you profoundly, whether you want it to or not, at any age, even if you're actively looking for it or blindly pushing it away. For an author to touch upon both those age groups and the life experiences that come with it, is truly amazing. And for that I had to yet again give Rainbow Rowell 5 stars on Goodreads for Attachments.

This book will catch you off-guard and before you know it, you too will be hooked. Come to the Rowell side, she has cute and quirky characters with a bit of sass on the side. Have you read Attachments? If so, let me know what your thoughts on this are or any other Rainbow Rowell books you want to read or have read!
-Alex

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2 comments

  1. Hey, you have a lovely blog!:)
    This is such a great review, I'll have to add that book into my reading list;)
    Thank you!
    June
    The Journeys' of my beating heart

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much! I'm sorry I was just able to to read your comment, blogger didn't inform me :( But you should definitely read Attachments, it was so good and I think you'll really enjoy it!

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