P.S. I Love You

It's emotionally manipulative bathtub reading. I enjoyed it as I read, but I didn't take anything away from it when I was finished, except that I didn't think I'd be buying another Ahern book. Even the movie adaptation was so-so, but at least it had Gerard Butler. The book didn't even have that.

I get that Holly was grieving, and that she was upset -- but a book this thick with this many self-pitying crying jags and this much selfish behavior out of the main character just doesn't do it for me. I didn't like Holly at all; nor did I like many of the supporting characters.

15 years ago, I rated this book 5 stars. 4 years ago I bought the sequel and was surprised I couldn’t remember reading the first one.

Fast forward to today when I [allegedly] re-read PS I Love You and…I think I outgrew it.

The dialogue is so terrible. Every person has to say the name of the person they’re talking to every other sentence. Like, no one does that.

Holly is a pretty terrible person. Even outside of her grief. She’s a brat to her friends. She lies to her family on the regular. And she started out by weaponizing her widowhood to get people to do things (or not do them, as it so pleases her).

I skimmed most of this to get the highlights. And I am not looking forward to reading the sequel now that I remember what happened show more here. Predicting that both books will wind up in the donate box. show less

I thought it started well, and the concept was excellent. It could have been brilliant and moving. Many readers seem to consider that it is, but somehow I can't see it. I didn't find it very well-written: the dialogue isn't very realistic, and informal language seems to creep into the narrative rather often, but not frequently enough that it works as a style. I also found it annoying that viewpoints seemed to chop and change rapidly even within one scene. Holly is the main viewpoint character, so the majority of the events are seen from her perspective, but every so often we're given a glimpse into someone else's mind - sometimes even quite minor characters - in a way that disrupts the flow.

Overall, I felt there were too many characters show more with not enough depth, too much sordid detail about trivialities, rather a lot of introspection from Holly which would have been better shown in action, and too little about the main plot. I didn't find any of the book amusing (although many reviews claim it's witty) nor emotionally moving (despite being told on the back that it would guarantee to tug on my heartstrings).

Not really recommended, although for anyone who enjoys light-weight chick-lit, this is certainly above average. show less

Holly and Gerry Kennedy were supposed to live happily ever after but after losing Gerry to a brain tumour, Holly is left wondering what comes after that. As Holly deals with being a widow, she is left with only a small part of Gerry, a series of envelopes he left her to help her through the rest of the year that she lost him. As Holly works to figure out who she is now and what to do with her life when the most important part of it is gone, she still faces the realities of family and friend dramas and the shocking reality that life goes on no matter what.

I went into this book knowing that it was different from the film that was adapted from it and wanting very much not to compare them. I failed. This falls into the case of rare show more exceptions where I prefer the film to the book. The writing is occasionally clunky and despite the emotional content, for most of the novel I felt at a remove from Holly. The character conflicts feel almost awkward at times and some of the plot points didn't really add or subtract from the book. I likely would have ditched the book before finishing for the writing quality if I weren't using the book to satisfy a reading challenge. All that being said, I'm still willing to pick up another Ahern novel and hope that maturity and better editing will improve her books. show less

I tried reading this once before, a few years ago now. I put it down about a quarter of the way in because, frankly, I was bored. I saw the movie several months ago and actually found it a lovely mix of sweet and sad. I thought maybe I'd missed something in the book and not only that, but I've become well acquainted with such loss in the time that has passed. Thinking that my new perspective might change my mind, I decided that at some point I'd give it another go.

Well this week I gave it another go and I can tell you that I only got about 20 pages further than last time. Now I find the book not just boring, but immature. This book is Ahern's supposition of what it must be like to lose your significant other at a young age. She clearly show more has no experience with loss, even of a friend or close relative. There is no real grief, or heart, in this book, nor are the characters' actions very realistic. Yes, grief is unique to both the circumstance and the person feeling it - but there are so many moments in here that are simply unbelievable.

Some authors have the talent to write what they don't know. Ahern isn't one of them. My advice: don't waste your time. If you want to read about grief and lost loves, go read The Year of Magical Thinking instead. show less

I find it very difficult to believe Ms. Ahern wrote this book at the age of 21. Her understanding of people and how they cope with a tragedy such as young widowhood is astounding. All of the characters in this book are incredibly believable and genuine. Holly is easy to relate to even if you haven't been in her situation and has such an unique voice. The only detail that might reveal the tender age of the author is in the simplicity of her prose, but in a book like this, it reads as well. The message is more important than the words used to convey it.
This book goes beyond "chick lit" to entrance most any reader.

Коли я почала читати книгу і дізналася, що в головної героїні помер чоловік, то очікувала, що ця історія буде досить важкою емоційно, сумною, може, навіть депресивною. Але сталось не так. Шлях, який я пройшла разом з Холлі, - а саме так звати головну героїню - хоча і був моментами меланхолійний, та загалом відзначився оптимізмом та бажанням жити далі.
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Письменниця дуже реалістично змальовує героїв, здається, show more ніби знаєш їх особисто. Цікаво було спостерігати за рідними Холлі. Вони всі такі різні, іноді їм важко ладнати один з одним, але все ж вони готові підтримати рідних у будь-якій ситуації. Важко було читати про те, як Холлі згадує про свого чоловіка, Джеррі. Такі моменти розчулювали мене до глибини душі. Читаючи про їхні сварки через дрібниці (як наприклад, кому виключати світло в кімнаті), хочеться робити все залежне від себе, аби не марнувати часу з рідними на такі дурниці. show less