Okay, since this is the FINAL discussion post for the Attachments Read-Along- there will be spoilers. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Here is another warning. Stop if you haven't read Attachments. STAHP.
(By the way, this is Nara.)
Okay, with three warnings, I'm assuming that people who are still reading this post have read Attachments and my first question is therefore what did you think overall? Did you like how Beth ended up with Lincoln?
Personally I thought it was a leeeetle bit cliched, which was why, while I did really like the book, it's not one of my favourites. While I do say that it was cliched, I honestly don't know how else Rainbow could have ended it so that it wasn't cliched..so...in that way it was a necessary cliche. I don't even know what I'm talking about anymore haha.
I've read all three of Rainbow Rowell's books and while Fangirl is definitely my favourite of the three (and incidentally, is in my favourites), I'm not sure whether I like Attachments or Eleanor and Park more. I probably need to reread E&P, I don't remember that much about it lol.
Overall though, this was definitely a great book- and it's one I can certainly see myself rereading in the future when I feel like a light contemporary. The banter between Beth and Jennifer was so entertaining. One thing I would have liked is to have met Mitch. He sounds awesome.
Anyway, moving on, we see Beth with two very different people. We have Chris and we have Lincoln. These two have very different views about love and marriage and the idea of "space".
Chris:
"I don't want to love someone so much that they take up all my head, all my space. If I knew I was going to feel this way about you, I would have left a long time ago, while I still could."
Lincoln:
"I didn't know someone could love me like this," she said. "Could love me and love me and love me without...needing space."
Lincoln wasn't asleep. He rolled on top of her.
"There's no air in space," he said.
My question to you is: what do you think about the idea of needing "space"?
I mean, personally, I think a bit of space would be good haha. I don't know if I'd want someone so devoted- I like having a bit of time to myself (by which I mean my various books + book boyfriends). Then again, I am a bit of an introvert, I suppose.
And lastly, Chantelle asks why do you think the book is titled "Attachments"?
Interesting question, and while I've discussed it a bit with Chantelle, I won't answer here because I want to see what you guys think!
Oh, and remember to enter the giveaway and claim the extra entries if you've commented here :)
I just finished it and I think I like it much more than Eleanor & Park, but not as much as Fangirl (Cath and Levi are my favorites).
ReplyDeleteFor a while, I actually thought that I wouldn't be able to finish it. I'm usually not used to reading contemporaries like that - no mystery or anything, but after I commanded myself to continue, I ended up liking it much more than I thought.
Even though Lincoln is described as big and tall, I kept imagining him as Matthew Gray Gubler (seriously, he's really cute). And I imagined Beth as Zooey Deschanel.
There were some characters that pissed me off, though. Sam, for instance. I couldn't see what Lincoln liked about her. She came off as so self-centered sometimes that I just wanted to skip all the parts with her. Chris, Beth's boyfriend, was a pain in the ass. I mean, talk about a lame excuse to break up with someone. And Lincoln's mother - while it was nice that he was on good terms with his mother, I got fed up with her quickly. I mean, HELLO! Your son is twenty-nine. It's time for him to fly away. You know, leave the nest. Start his own. Whatever. She got better, though.
I do think the way Lincoln and Beth got together was creepy. I mean, the whole book was basically them stalking each other. If someone read my emails like that, my reaction would be much more violent than Beth's. That's an invasion of privacy that I did not appreciate. I guess the blow was softened by the fact that we knew that Lincoln was completely harmless, but still. I don't appreciate any kind of stalking.
As for the space issue... When you're in a relationship, you HAVE to have some space. Being with someone all the time (esp if you live together) can be annoying. After a while, you're just going to start making excuses to be away from this person and it dooms the relationship. Of course, this doesn't justify Chris's lame explanation, but it does sound like something a guy would say.
Also, I forgot to say that I loved Lincoln's sister and I loved that we shared a name. I usually end up hating characters with my name, but this was one of the exceptions!
DeleteCath and Levi are definitely my favourites too :3
DeleteI don't think any of Rainbow Rowell's books really have any mystery or anything, they're pretty much pure contemporary romance. I don't mind it though, because she writes them so well :)
Zooey Deschanel! hahaha I can actually see that!
I don't know, I think maybe Lincoln wasn't really all that confident, so when Sam was all taking control sort of thing he was like "I'll roll with that". But I do have to agree, I personally didn't see the attraction haha. I think Chris' lame excuse was about why he said he didn't want to marry her, not that he was breaking up with her, but I have to agree it was the stupidest excuse I've ever heard...
haha but the mother was such a good cook! It would be awesome to live with her :P
Yeah, it was a bit creepy. I feel like if it happened in real life I'd be creeped out, but I was okay with it in the book because it's in the book, if that makes sense. As in, I knew it wasn't real, so I was like, yeah that's fine.
I completely agree! I honestly think I would feel a bit smothered if there's no space...
I really enjoyed this book. I found myself smiling every time I picked it up, and I found myself making excuses for me to read one more chapter. I loved reading Beth and Jennifer's emails, because they reminded me of the types of emails I would send to my friends while we were working. Also, I really related to Lincoln not knowing what he should be doing but also feeling like he should be doing.
ReplyDeleteHowever, after the happiness hormones wore off, I started thinking more critically about this book. (1) Although Lincoln was starting to figure stuff out by the end, I wasn't sure if he had figured himself out enough not to get lost in another relationship. He was blindly in love with Sam, and it kind of felt like he was doing that again with Beth. I am all for being in love, but I am not cool with losing yourself in the love. I was worried that Lincoln was making the same mistake (I do think Beth wouldn't be cruel to him like Sam was though). (2) The way that Beth and Lincoln got together in the end was creepy. I kind of wished that Chris was going to man up and be a better boyfriend to Beth. I was hoping they were going to have a conversation and he was going to propose and maybe get some better friends. I was also hoping that Lincoln was going to meet a nice girl and go off into the sunset with her. I guess I was hoping that he and the two ladies were never really going to meet. That they helped each other out without knowing it sort of thing.
I have not read E&P or Fangirl before, so I am excited to see what they have to offer!
It really is a fun read isn't it! I can definitely see myself rereading it in the future. The emails were great :D
DeleteThat's a really great point about Lincoln and Beth's relationship. It didn't really start off in the greatest way, but I think it was still pretty cute. I feel like I'm only ok with it because it was fictional though haha.
Oh, that actually would have been a nice way to end things as well! Not a bad idea, actually. But I still feel like I'd be unsatisfied if they didn't end up together haha
YAY!! I really loved Attachments; it was everything I expected it to be, and much more!! I want to post a review for it soon :) Thanks so much for hosting this, Nara and Chantelle!! (and sorry that I didn't add your name into the banner, Chantelle ><)
ReplyDeleteI think I loved the banter between Beth and Jennifer, it was so funny! Though I do think like Eve said, the way Lincoln and Beth met was pretty creepy, stalker-ish >< I still think their relationship was really sweet though :3 But I think the the thing about space was... I feel conflicted about it. But in a relationship, there certainly needs to be a certain space of intimacy, yet there needs to be some space as well, I suppose.
Thanks for sharing, both of you, Nara and Chantelle! <33
Rainbow Rowell is so amazing :D
DeleteReally looking forward to her next book! It's another adult one, I think.
haha Chantelle's name probably wouldn't have fit on the banner anyway :P
The emails were definitely the highlight of the book for me! They were so fun to read through (so I can't really blame Lincoln for wanting to read them too haha).
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