The Opposite of Love

When Emily has a dream of literally eating her boyfriend, she comes to the conclusion that she must obviously break up with him, preferably before he has a chance to propose. As a young lawyer in a very demanding firm, she feels confident that she has made the right decision. However, as she becomes involved in unethical practices at work and faces the declining health of her favorite grandfather, Emily begins to acknowledge that she is not the person she wants to be. With the support of her friends and some long overdo therapy, Emily begins the painful transformation to become more genuine and honest with herself and the people in her life. This book is laugh-out-loud funny in places and heartbreaking in others. I identified with Emily show more and enjoyed the way she changed over the course of the novel. A great book about taking risks to love deeper, actualizing your dreams and capturing every moment to fully experience your life. show less

New York-based lawyer Emily lives in a cocoon of her own creation, timidly sidestepping her own life as she pours every ounce of her energy into her position at a major law firm. Working obsessively helps drown out the sadness she feels over her complicated relationship with her father and the residual grief she's delayed over her mother's passing fifteen years before, but none of these things can stay buried for long. When her boyfriend Andrew seems ready to propose, Emily panics and breaks things off, retreating even deeper into herself. But that's when the healing really begins.

The Opposite Of Love is a complicated novel to wrap up in a tiny package, so I'm not even going to try. It's Emily's story about growth, fear, insecurity, show more miscommunication, love, redemption and, most importantly, hope -- the knowledge that the way things have always been isn't the one, true predictor for the way they'll always be. After an inappropriate run-in with her boss at the firm, Emily realizes she's become a mere observer of her own life. And with the help of best friend Jess, her grandfather Jack and his spirited neighbor Ruth, Emily emerges from a deep, numbing depression to see the world with fresh eyes.

There's so much to appreciate and love about Emily -- and Buxbaum's writing. As so much of Emily's general catatonic state revolves around her mother's death, the story could have become very maudlin -- and I wasn't really sure how much of that I was up for. But I shouldn't have worried! Buxbaum more than proved herself to me in her stunning second novel After You, which frequently reduced me to tears. While her stories deal with grief and loss, they're really about the way we continue on in the aftermath of tragedy -- and how we decide to progress past it.

Emily's attempts at reconnecting with Andrew felt like little stabs at my heart; who hasn't waited (and waited...) for an e-mail, phone call or text message that was never going to come? I could feel her desperation to make him understand, but she didn't really understand any of it herself. It's easy to point a finger and call out, as I wanted to, "Classic quarter-life crisis!" But it went so much deeper than that. And I could absolutely relate to Emily and all her attempts at building a life from the ground up, cheering her on as she unsealed the time capsule that stored all her true feelings. Like her father and grandfather, I was proud of her.

I'm not sure which words -- other than awesome -- work best to describe Buxbaum's writing, which seems to effortlessly cut to the real root of every issue. She's insightful. I constantly found myself nodding along to her descriptions of seemingly mundane events, feeling as Emily has felt about waiting and wondering and worrying. While The Opposite Of Love wasn't quite the bucket-of-cold-water-to-the-face that After You was, I still feel like she gets me. And if you grab either of her two outstanding novels, I think you'll feel like she gets you, too. show less

When I first heard about The Opposite of Love back when it was released, I thought it sounded good and added it to my ever-increasing list of books to be read. I pretty much forgot about it until I recently heard that it was being made into a movie with Anne Hathaway in the leading role. (My post about it). So I made it a point to read it, and I only have one question: Why did I wait so long to read this amazing book?

The Opposite of Love is charming, funny, sweet, and heart wrenching. It deals with love, loss, and the difficulty of life - sometimes it can be so hard to remember to live each day, rather than just exist. I can't believe this is Julie Buxbaum's first novel; she writes with the confidence and grace of someone who has been show more at it their entire life. It is beautifully written, but simple; the words don't get in the way of the emotions she is trying to convey.

I loved the character of Emily. She is so damaged without even realizing it; she goes through life in denial, afraid of losing those she loves. While I was reading, her emotions were my emotions. I laughed when she laughed, was heartbroken when she was, and yes, I even cried when Emily cried. I was amazed at the way I was drawn into the character and into the book.

I think The Opposite of Love has something for everyone; Emily's life basically comes crashing down as she has to deal with trouble in the workplace, her breakup with her boyfriend, and the deterioration of her beloved grandfather. It's not your typical chick lit book; it is about love, but not the search for a boyfriend. Instead, the love described in the title is more general; it is the love of a father, a mother, a grandfather, a friend, and a boyfriend. It is about the fear of losing those close to you. I adored this novel and I can't wait for Buxbaum's next book.

From S. Krishna's Books show less

Although this book is touted as "chick lit" I did not find that to be an accurate description.

It was a touching tale of Emily Haxby, a 29 yr old lawyer who sold her soul to work for a large law firm in NYC and is dealing with many issues. Her mother dies when she was a teenager, she just broke up with her boyfriend, her beloved Grandfather is 89 yrs old and sickly, and she has no communication skills with her father.

I loved the writing in this book, especially the scene in the hotel room with her boss, Carl; and her therapist. I thought she really captured a lost soul trying to find her way very well, and it was totally believable.

I look forward to more by Julie!

When Emily starts to suspect her boyfriend Andrew is going to propose, she decides to break up with him. Her friends think she’s crazy and it’s clear Emily isn’t solid on her decision since she keeps the break up a secret from her family. Following the break up, Emily’s life starts spiraling out of control: her grandpa is losing his memory and her boss tries to have sex with her while they’re on a business trip. Emily wants to turn to Andrew, but he wants nothing to do with her. When it all becomes too much, a friend makes Emily an appointment with a therapist; Emily is finally able to deal with the grief she has kept inside since her mother died when she was only fourteen.

I completely loved The Opposite of Love. Emily’s law show more experience seemed very real (probably because Julie Buxbaum was a lawyer) as did the family/friend relationships. I wanted to cry at times, but it helped to know Emily would end up happy as the prologue reveals Emily and Andrew will go on to have a baby. It was a bit odd to have the book start off that way though as it eliminates any suspense of “will Emily and Andrew get back together?” show less

"THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE", by Julie Buxbaum, takes one an emotional journey right along with Emily, the young lawyer who tells her own tale. Like most of us, Emily has compartmentalized deep emotional issues and functioned fairly well on a day-to-day basis. What proves to be her undoing, and ultimately her salvation, is the the tenderness with which she is loved by the good-hearted Andrew. When she realizes that Andrew is beginning to think of a permanent commitment, Emily immediately ends their relationship. Things begin to unravel for Emily without Andrew, and she must face many long-postponed issues before she is free to reach out for the joy which awaits.

Loved it. Chick-lit appeal but the writing is better and the storyline more realistic. The supporting characters were super entertaining and used perfectly to help the main character, Emily, along her path of self-discovery. Emily is a likeable character who has you rooting for her right to the end. This book had me laughing and crying at different points and often at the same time. I can't believe this is only Buxbaum's first novel. Can't wait for her next.