Jojo Moyes
Author of Me Before You
About the Author
Jojo Moyes was born in London, England on August 4, 1969. She studied at Royal Holloway, University of London and Bedford New College, London University. In 1992, she won a bursary financed by The Independent newspaper to attend the postgraduate newspaper journalism course at City University, show more London. She subsequently worked for The Independent for the next 10 years in various roles including assistant news editor and arts and media correspondent. Her first book, Sheltering Rain, was published in 2002. Her other works include Me Before You, One Plus One, The Girl You Left Behind, Silver Bay, The Ship of Brides, Honeymoon in Paris, After You, Windfallen, Paris for One and Other Stories, and The Horse Dancer. She won the Romantic Novelists' Association's Romantic Novel of the Year Award in 2004 for Foreign Fruit and in 2011 for The Last Letter from Your Lover. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Jojo Moyes
بعدك (أنا قبلك، #2) 1 copy
Bir Arti Bir 1 copy
Zvaigžņu dāvātāja : romāns 1 copy
أنا.. قبلك (أنا قبلك، #1) 1 copy
Associated Works
The Book Lovers' Appreciation Society: Breast Cancer Care Short Story Collection (2009) — Contributor — 97 copies, 1 review
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Moyes Arthur, Pauline Sara Jo
- Other names
- Moyes, Jojo
- Birthdate
- 1969-08-04
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Royal Holloway, University of London
City University, London - Occupations
- journalist
novelist - Short biography
- Pauline Sara Jo Moyes was born on 4 August 1969 and in Maidstone, Kent, England, UK, but grew up in London. She was the only child of Elizabeth J. McKee and James C. Moyes. She studied at Royal Holloway, University of London and Bedford New College, London University. She lives on a farmhouse in Great Sampford, Essex with her husband, journalist Charles Arthur, and their three children.
After a varied career including stints as a minicab controller, typer of braille statements for blind people for NatWest, and brochure writer for Club 18-30 she did a degree at Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, London University. In 1992 She won a bursary financed by The Independent newspaper to attend the postgraduate newspaper journalism course at City University, and apart from 1994 when she worked in Hong Kong for the Sunday Morning Post, she worked at The Independent for ten years, including stints as Assistant news editor and Arts and Media Correspondent. She has been a full time novelist since 2002, when her first book, Sheltering Rain was published. She is one of only a few authors to have twice won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association and has been translated into eleven different languages. - Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Maidstone, Kent, England, UK
- Places of residence
- London, England, UK
Essex, England, UK - Map Location
- England, UK
Members
Reviews
After losing the job she loved in a cafe, twenty-seven-year-old Louisa takes a job as a companion and non-medical caretaker for Will, a thirty-five-year-old man who suffered a road accident two years prior that left him a C5-6 quadriplegic. When she discovers that he is determined to go to Switzerland in six months to avail himself of legal assisted suicide, she nearly quits, but eventually she agrees to stay on and (unbeknownst to Will) try to convince him that life is worth living by show more finding him activities he can participate in and getting him out of the house. Eventually she develops feelings for him, and their friendship begins to change her life.
I liked a lot about this book. It's written well, the characters are well drawn, and Moyes's depiction of Will seems respectful, fully realized, and well researched. But I didn't like it nearly as much as I would have liked to. The narrative does that thing I can never decide whether is an editing error or a deliberate decision of dropping in minor new details in ways that read (to me, anyway) as references to things we should already know about. (I. hate. this.) But much more bothersome was my impatience with the story. Once you knowthat Will wants to kill himself, there's only two ways things are going to go. Either Louisa will successfully change his mind (I won't say this would be impossible to pull off well, but how? I mean, really, that would have such potential for sappy and for not regarding Will as a human being with choices, I just don't know how it would come together) or she won't. So I'm reading the whole second half of the book going, "This is either going to make me mad in the end or it's going to make me smad because it's heart wrenching but I've seen it coming for 200 pages." And I was never fully convinced of their love for one another (affection, yes; friendship; yes; deep respect, yes; desire for one another's happiness, yes; but not romantic love), and that made sitting through all that I knew was coming even less welcome. Finally, while I have no notion that Louisa was ever trying to use Will, I have this lingering sense that the book was. It's Louisa's story; we never get Will's point of view; ultimately Will's circumstances serve to make Louisa's life better (although, Will's life is better too . I don't know; maybe this assessment is unfair given the sensitive portrayal of Will and the reciprocal nature of the relationship, but in the end I had a bit of a sense of having been manipulated.
I will probably read more Moyes since I liked much about how this book was written and since so much of what I didn't like was probably plot-specific. But ultimately, Me Before You was kind of disappointing. show less
I liked a lot about this book. It's written well, the characters are well drawn, and Moyes's depiction of Will seems respectful, fully realized, and well researched. But I didn't like it nearly as much as I would have liked to. The narrative does that thing I can never decide whether is an editing error or a deliberate decision of dropping in minor new details in ways that read (to me, anyway) as references to things we should already know about. (I. hate. this.) But much more bothersome was my impatience with the story. Once you know
I will probably read more Moyes since I liked much about how this book was written and since so much of what I didn't like was probably plot-specific. But ultimately, Me Before You was kind of disappointing. show less
This isn't a bad book; I can understand all the hype behind it. It is well written and nicely paced, and the heroine is plain and "relateable" a la Bella Swan so that any reader can picture herself as Louisa. But Me Before You put a bad taste in my mouth. The implication here is that life as a disabled human being is not worth living. Will Traynor, the dashing quadriplegic at the center of this novel, has a supportive family (the plot is set into motion by his mother's search for a cheerful show more "helper" for Will to brighten his day), vast wealth and resources, and, by the end of the book, the love of a woman who knows exactly what she's getting into (since she's become his caretaker). However, none of that is good enough for Will, and as the reader we are supposed to understand that and even cheer him on as he ultimately makes the decision to leave it all behind. We are supposed to agree that since Will isn't able bodied, he shouldn't want to be alive. This is a very dangerous idea, and it makes me very, very uncomfortable that this is the conclusion of a popular novel that everyone seems to love. show less
Like the other books I’ve read by JoJo Moyes, this has an interesting and unpredictable plot and a cast of distinctive characters, in both primary and supporting roles. Dialog and relationships are original, complex, and believable. All good! I like this author. My main criticism with this one is the book’s structure.
At the beginning, Moyes introduces a bunch of characters in sequential, stand-alone chapters. No connection between them. This is a technique I’ve found several authors show more using lately — so it must be in vogue. The issue, for me, is that I then need to remember multiple story lines, without yet knowing how they will ultimately intersect. So just as I’m just getting to know one character, the chapter ends and that character is then set aside for some chunk of the book. And whatever emotional attachment I might have is set aside as well.
Obviously, the storylines do eventually link up and the central part of the novel follows a more linear plot line, focusing on Suzannah. She is a child of privilege from a family where she feels like an outsider and she has just returned to live in the small English town where she grew up, near that family. She is unsettled in her 10 year marriage to Neal and ambivalent about having children. Somewhat whimsically she decides she will find her true purpose by opening up a new shop (aka The Peacock Emporium).
As an entrepreneur, Suzannah (and we) gets to know a bunch of locals. A lonely old women who comes regularly to pass judgement on everything and everyone and to exercise her relentless self-involvement. A sunny young mother who becomes the cornerstone of establishing a welcoming atmosphere at the shop. A foreign-born male midwife whose darker skin makes it difficult to find acceptance in this small town. Plus, a few nearby shop owners.
Then, as we approach the end of the novel, the author employs the same writing technique as she did at the start — ending with a number of chapters that seem unconnected, where Moyes initially, intentionally obscures which character is being discussed. I’m not sure what this adds.
To be honest, I simply find this technique annoying. To me, an author should create something that so immerses the reader that they get lost inside the novel. Instead, what Moyes has done in this one is use such a heavy-handed structure that it interferes in that total immersion. Form over content. Not my preferred approach to fiction. show less
At the beginning, Moyes introduces a bunch of characters in sequential, stand-alone chapters. No connection between them. This is a technique I’ve found several authors show more using lately — so it must be in vogue. The issue, for me, is that I then need to remember multiple story lines, without yet knowing how they will ultimately intersect. So just as I’m just getting to know one character, the chapter ends and that character is then set aside for some chunk of the book. And whatever emotional attachment I might have is set aside as well.
Obviously, the storylines do eventually link up and the central part of the novel follows a more linear plot line, focusing on Suzannah. She is a child of privilege from a family where she feels like an outsider and she has just returned to live in the small English town where she grew up, near that family. She is unsettled in her 10 year marriage to Neal and ambivalent about having children. Somewhat whimsically she decides she will find her true purpose by opening up a new shop (aka The Peacock Emporium).
As an entrepreneur, Suzannah (and we) gets to know a bunch of locals. A lonely old women who comes regularly to pass judgement on everything and everyone and to exercise her relentless self-involvement. A sunny young mother who becomes the cornerstone of establishing a welcoming atmosphere at the shop. A foreign-born male midwife whose darker skin makes it difficult to find acceptance in this small town. Plus, a few nearby shop owners.
Then, as we approach the end of the novel, the author employs the same writing technique as she did at the start — ending with a number of chapters that seem unconnected, where Moyes initially, intentionally obscures which character is being discussed. I’m not sure what this adds.
To be honest, I simply find this technique annoying. To me, an author should create something that so immerses the reader that they get lost inside the novel. Instead, what Moyes has done in this one is use such a heavy-handed structure that it interferes in that total immersion. Form over content. Not my preferred approach to fiction. show less
I will never get over this book. EVER! Moyes' style is as witty, heartfelt, and moving. Her characters are unapologetically human as she addresses some of life's toughest challenges, feelings, and decisions. You feel for them and with them from start to finish.
I was happy, sad, angry, and laughed through uncontrollable tears the whole time. This book speaks volumes about the impact people can have on each other. I won't say that I was surprised to see some reviews that highlighted the "lost show more little girl shown the unlimited possibilities of life by a man, because you know she can't do it without a man." However, that is not what this story is about.
It's about how easy it is to be held back by the events that shape our lives. It's about complacency, acceptance, settling for what we think is all we will ever get/have.
More importantly, it's about how all of that can be changed because of one person. One story. One opportunity. It's about the impact relationships have on our lives, both positively and negatively. It's about how meeting people changes our perspective for ourselves and others. How people teach us to see the world in different ways. Teach us how to see something in ourselves we can't and how important it is to respect each other and our choices, no matter how different they may be.
It's about living life for you.
Read it. Love it. Read it again. Love it more! show less
I was happy, sad, angry, and laughed through uncontrollable tears the whole time. This book speaks volumes about the impact people can have on each other. I won't say that I was surprised to see some reviews that highlighted the "lost show more little girl shown the unlimited possibilities of life by a man, because you know she can't do it without a man." However, that is not what this story is about.
It's about how easy it is to be held back by the events that shape our lives. It's about complacency, acceptance, settling for what we think is all we will ever get/have.
More importantly, it's about how all of that can be changed because of one person. One story. One opportunity. It's about the impact relationships have on our lives, both positively and negatively. It's about how meeting people changes our perspective for ourselves and others. How people teach us to see the world in different ways. Teach us how to see something in ourselves we can't and how important it is to respect each other and our choices, no matter how different they may be.
It's about living life for you.
Read it. Love it. Read it again. Love it more! show less
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Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 38
- Also by
- 6
- Members
- 42,800
- Popularity
- #400
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 1,781
- ISBNs
- 1,179
- Languages
- 27
- Favorited
- 19
