Book Review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
by Jojo MoyesMe Before You
Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.
My Thoughts:
Writing about a taboo topic is a big challenge. These days, many young/new and seasoned writers alike have been tackling difficult issues in their novels. Coming of age novels have taken on a dark tone, discussing suicide, juvenile delinquency, mental health issues, dealing with death of loved ones, rape, abuse and the like. Me Before You is one of such books, though mixing in the romance lightened the overall tone of the story. I found myself more appreciative of the slow-burning romance approach in books lately than the unrealistic love-at-first-sight that used to thrill me in my early teens. And that is what we have between Louisa Clark and Will Traynor. The ending is something that many can debate on over and over again and still not come up with a winner. Which was the more compassionate route? Has one broken a moral code or God's law by granting someone's wish if he thinks that his choice is the best for him? Personally, I wouldn't know what to choose if it were to happen to me. Irreversible choices can be the biggest mistake, relief or blessing that we can make and have. Will made his choice. His parents chose to support him. In the end, Louisa did that as well, even if it meant that her heart would die too. The journey in the book was definitely more pleasant and had cutesy, heartwarming moments (bumblebee tights, concert date in a red cleavage-bearing dress, Mauritius, and for goodness' sake: shaving and a haircut). Yes, even Will's mother's internal struggles with letting her son go or making him stay makes a mark.
The title itself is a giveaway. To me it could be interpreted in several ways.
Me Before You as Louisa standing before Will; their meeting, her choice to stay with him, convince him to change his mind, and be there beside him until the end. (This is me before you.)
Me Before You as Louisa and Will showing each other who they were prior to the changes they've undergone as they spent more and more time with each other. (This was me, before you.)
Me Before You is Will's putting his choice before the love he had found in Louisa. Was he selfish? Yet he wanted the best life for Louisa, always egging her on to go outside of the shell she has chosen to dwell in. (Me. Before you.)
Heartwarming, tearjerker, heartbreaking, thought-provoking. Me Before You is all that and more.
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
P.S. Anyone who will watch the movie when it comes out in June? I think Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin are perfect for the title roles.☺
P.P.S. Out of love for the book, I ate a Mars chocolate bar and drank Pinot Grigio (After You reference, which is part of my currently reading pile) about a month ago.
P.P.P.S. I want my own bumblebee tights so bad.
