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Loading... Something Borrowed (original 2004; edition 2005)by Emily Giffin
Work detailsSomething Borrowed by Emily Giffin (2004)
 Lexxie | Apr 23, 2013 |  For years I have had this book on my wish list and am glad I did, so when I wanted to read some chick lit this was the book I picked. It was a refreshing read.I liked the main character Rachel and what I liked more was that I did not know how it would end. It could have ended in many different ways and that does not happen a lot in most chick lit books. Right now I am reading the second book which is about Darcy, Rachel's friend from back when they where kids. Another interesting read. (  ) Marlene-NL | Apr 12, 2013 | The only reason I wanted to call either of my best friends (both with over 20 years of friendship under their belt) is to tell them that I thank GOD we don't have such a dysfunctional relationship. The kind of relationship I have with these two women is the kind of relationship that you don't take lightly, you don't take advantage of and you protect at all costs. This book kicked that relationship right in the teeth and then kicked it's kidney while it down on the ground. I got this book on my Nook after seeing a few previews for the upcoming movie. It looked funny and in my experience the book is almost always better than the movie. So I figured I'd get the book and see the movie when it comes out. I know my opinion is in the minority but man...I was so disappointed. Not only will I avoid this writer's other works but the movie is off my summer watching list. While the book itself was well written I simply didn't enjoy the story. What is it really in the end? A woman engages in an affair with her best friend's fiancée and spends the entire book justifying her behavior or in a jealous, self pitying funk. That's some good times there! Rachel (the POV character) spends the entire book bitching about her best friend Darcy and whining about the things she didn't get because of her Darcy's behavior. She caps off this stellar example of her personality by having sex with said best friend's fiancé. In another example of maturity and great moral character she explains that she knew Dex (the fiancé) first and never thought herself worthy of his attention. Not to hop on a moral high horse but in what kind of world would I want my escapism to be about an affair and the ending of a lifelong friendship? Would I want a relationship with a man who didn't fight me when he first knew he wanted me? A man who would take me to bed while engaged to marry my best friend? A man who was having his cake and eating it too and who takes an entire summer to break off an engagement? And only after I told him it was over and went running to another country to try to get over him? I don't know. Maybe Rachel is supposed to exemplify 'every girl' - working a job she doesn't like, being abused and taken advantage of by her horrible boss, lonely, single and newly 30. Frankly I didn't relate. And I didn't care for her or any of the other characters in the book. I finished it because I paid for it. If I had borrowed it or gotten it from the library this would have been a big fat did not finish. (  ) Tina_Ku | Apr 10, 2013 | The story is well-written and entertaining. However, it was difficult to really empathize with Rachel's plight of having slept with her best friend's fiancee. That's gotta be one heartless girl. And spineless, to let her friend treat her poorly for almost thirty years. It was also difficult to feel bad for Rachel's supposedly unfair life, as she's an attorney in Manhattan, has $500 to drop on a bachelorette party, and vacations in the Hamptons. Entertaining, yeah, but I'm not in a hurry to read another novel by Giffin. (  ) JessieP73 | Apr 6, 2013 | Chick lit. Fun chick lit. Not new but I purchase "Something Blue" and that was the second novel in her series. I had no idea it was a series. So far it fun and very summer light reading. ( ) writerlibrarian | Apr 6, 2013 | no reviews | add a review Contains
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Emily Giffin (left) is the author of five New York Times bestselling novels, including Something Borrowed, which has been adapted as a major motion picture that will be in theaters in summer 2011. A graduate of Wake Forest University and the University of Virginia School of Law, she lives in Atlanta with her family.
Kristin Hannah (right) is the New York Times bestselling author of eighteen novels, including Winter Garden. She is a former lawyer turned writer and the mother of one son. She and her husband live in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii.
Kristin Hannah: Well, first, I have to say, Emily, that I am just the tiniest bit irritated with you. When I got the call to do this interview, I was thrilled, to say the least. It came at a really busy time for me--right after the holidays and we all know how crazy that is--and my work in progress was giving me fits. Then I picked up Heart of the Matter, and lost myself. No more writing, no more cooking, no getting my hair done or reading my email. Once I started the story I literally couldn't put it down. Brava, girlfriend, I say. Your characters are so real and compelling, and they always say exactly the right thing. With so much honest emotion, I just have to ask how much of your work comes from your own life?
Emily Giffin: It never fails to thrill me when someone responds to one of my novels--especially when it's another writer. Writers understand the alchemy involved in making up something from nothing. And I just finished your book, Night Road, and I found it so emotional, so moving, and so terrifying--especially since I have three young children who will someday be teenagers. In terms of how much does my work come from my own life, I would say that I'm absolutely inspired by people, places, conversations, relationships, and issues that I observe, and that the "what if" part of my novel is very much inspired by these things in my life. But the details of my plots and the specifics of my characters come from my own head. How about you, Kristin? I'll ask you the million-dollar question that every author gets asked: where do you get your ideas?
Kristin: Ah, the idea question. I don't want to sound coy, but the truth is, I don't quite know. It's the most magical part of the process for me. I'm a pretty analytical gal, and I approach writing in the same just-the-facts-ma'am way I approach most things. I need to find an issue that engages me on an intellectual level, and then I need to marry that curiosity with a kind of passion. I need to feel genuinely passionate about each story before I ever write a word, and I have to actually have something to say. It takes me at least a year to research and write a novel, and so I have to really adore each part of it--the characters, setting, story. Most of all, it has to make me feel something genuine. That's really the most important component. Usually it begins with a single "what if" question--what if you discovered your mother had a whole secret life about which you knew nothing (Winter Garden) or what if your husband were accused of a crime you believed he hadn't committed (True Colors)--and then I write and re-write until the characters seem as real to me as old friends.
Kristin: I'm amazed by how much we have in common. We're both moms, both lawyers, both lived in London for a time. You're like a younger, cooler version of me. How did you make the transition from lawyer to writer, and do you think you'll ever practice law again?
Emily: I would hardly say I'm cooler than you, Kristin! I hear you live in Hawaii part time! What is cooler than that? I made the transition from lawyer to writer because I was so miserable being a lawyer that I needed some escape from the day-to-day of it. And inventing stories was that escape. I can say, without hesitation, that I will never practice law again. Would you? What kind of law did you practice, and for how long? What did you find appealing (or discouraging) about law? Did you find that it gave you fodder for any of your novels?
Kristin: Honestly, I have met very few lawyers who don't say that what they really want to do is write. Like you, I can say with certainty that I will never practice law again. Not that anyone would want me to. But I still keep my Bar membership up...just in case this whole writing thing doesn't work out. And yes, in the past few years, I have finally begun to put some of that law school education to work for me. I find that I'm really enjoying adding legal issues to my work. Of course, I have to talk to real lawyers to make sure I'm getting it right...
Read more of the conversation between Emily Giffin and Kristin Hannah(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Apr 2011 05:12:44 -0400)
After a night of indiscriminate partying, Rachel sleeps with a close friend's fiancâe and is consumed with guilt, until the intensity of her feelings forces her to make a difficult choice.
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Sadly, the betrayal has spilled over into the real world, where author is subtly sending her fans to argue with reviewers on amazon. (