PS, I Love You

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't stop laughing and crying
Review: I read this book straight through in one giant sitting and alternated between laughing out loud and sobbing. It's sweet and funny, and the ending was a real surprise and yet so perfect. I've recently discovered Marian Keyes and have been racing through her books. I think anyone who loves Marian Keyes will also love PS I LOVE YOU.

Rating:
Summary: awful just awful !
Review: Dear oh dear

this makes the "devil Wore Prada " look like Ann Tyler !
it's that badly written .
AVOID !

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable (3.4 on a scale of 1 o 5)
Review: "PS, I Love You" is an entertaining and enjoyable read.

Holly, the thirty year old heroine, lives in Dublin and loves her life. Then fate delivers a brutal blow: her beloved husband dies and leaves her a very young widow.

The book recounts Holly's first year after her husband's death. His final gift to her is a series of notes to be opened at the beginning of each month. Each note contains one suggestion to help Holly move on with her life. And each note is signed "PS, I love you."

The book is quite moving as it depicts Holly's struggle to follow her husband's suggestions-give away his clothes, take a trip with her friends-and continue living. She realizes that her life had centered almost completely on her husband--not necessarily a good thing-and now, for the first time, she has to create a life for herself.

My only complaint with the book is that I found the writing amateurish at times. The plot, the characters and the ending were all satisfying and fully developed. However, I winced at some of the writing.

Still I would recommend this book to chick lit lovers everywhere.

Rating:
Summary: Ho-hum
Review: When I heard about this book, I thought it was a really interesting premise. Chick lit as a genre suffers from a lack of originality (the formulaic three-women's-lives-intertwine-as-they-overcome-various-crises plot, anyone?) and is generally given bad press - unfairly as there are some chick lit gems out there. This isn't one of them, however.

After a couple chapters I started wishing that Marian Keyes or someone had written the darned thing - at least she'd have injected some life into an admittedly great plot idea. It was repetitive (check out the clumsy chapter in which Holly goes through her husband's stuff) and the humour was horribly flat. I didn't laugh (or indeed cry), though I may have smirked once or twice.

As for the characters, I rather liked Holly and her odd mix of strong and fragile. Her friends were stereotypes and the banter between them was painful at times. There seemed to be too many siblings - Jack in particular had no real purpose, his supposedly close friendship with Gerry introduced suddenly out of nowhere. Ah yes, Gerry. Holly's dead husband is extremely dull. How is buying a lamp supposed to be life-affirming?

All that said, there are some deft touches, especially towards the end of the novel; for example, the scene in the travel agent's and the part where Holly's boss tells her about visiting the botanical gardens in remembrance of his late wife.

I don't think it made any difference that Cecelia's father is the Taoiseach (that's TEA-shock for any non-Irish people; I suppose it's alright to call him PM, but I almost wept with happiness when an American referred to Bertie as his Irish title on TV recently). She admitted in an interview that it meant she "jumped the queue" at the publisher's, but it hardly accounts for the phenomenal sales worldwide. Bertie Ahern's not THAT much of a power-player; if Chelsea Clinton wrote a book, it'd be different.

Overall? Pretty disappointing.

Rating:
Summary: I felt as if I was reading my own journal...
Review: My husband was killed in an accident when I was 32 years old, and reading this book was like reading my own journal...the thoughts and emotions that the character has, and the things that she goes through are amazingly true-to-life. I could not believe that the author had not gone through a similiar experience herself.

I highly recommend this book, if not only for the things-can-work-out-in-the-end-feel-good entertainment value alone, but for a glimpse into what it is truely like to lose your husband at such a young age - something I hope you will never have to go through first hand.

Rating:
Summary: My new Favorite Book!
Review: I really liked chick lit when it first came out...then everyone jumped on the ban wagon and before I knew it book stores were full of books with the same plot and differently named characters. So I moved on to try and find a new genre that was light and fun to read. This book fits the bill. It is a nice girlie read considering the female bonding throughout the book but it is much more than that. I cried, I laughed and my heart ached while reading. The characters were easy to identify with and although the situation was foreign to me I was able to relate to feelings of the characters and even relate it to my own life. The best part of the book was that the ending was not predictable although it did leave me with a happy, hopeful heart. I'd definitely recommend this book and plan on reading her newest.

Rating:
Summary: Couldnt put it down...
Review: This was a wonderful book. I enjoyed reading it very much. I was at a bookstore with my husband complaining how I never find any books that seem interesting. I saw this book on the shelf...and picked it up to read the back cover. And I couldnt help but buy it and read it. It made me remember what brought my husband and I together...I couldnt stop crying...I bought it on a Sunday evening and finished reading it by Thursday. The author did a wonderful job...I would definiatley recommend it for others to read...

Rating:
Summary: I fell in love with this book!
Review: I love this book sooo much. I could hardly put it down. Very touching and funny a found myself rereading parts over again because it was so wonderful. I rooted for Holly they whole time!

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down
Review: In 'P.S. I Love You', Holly is coping with the death of her husband, Gerry. From the flashbacks we read, they are a typical couple with the same little fights, annoyances, and happy events. After suffering from headaches, Gerry soon learns he has a brain tumor and unfortunately passes away as a result. Gerry and Holly had an ongoing joke that because Holly was a little dense when it came to certain things he would leave her a list in case anything happened to him. A few months after his death, her mother reminds Holly that she received an envelope for Holly entitled "The List". The List turns out to be a series of envelopes for different tasks and requests that Gerry wants her to carry out over several months. There are several envelopes, each labeled for a particular month, and for which she cannot open until midnight of the said month. For Holly, The List helps her reconnect and feel close to Gerry, but in the process it also helps her grieve and heal.

I loved this book, I really did. It's a fast read, and when it ended, I was actually sad. There were times I even found myself tearing up, I couldn't believe it. I truly loved all of the characters. Holly has a great group of people around her, from her eccentric family to her friends, particularly Sharon. If only I had such good friends (I know, I know, it's a book). At times Holly was a little snotty, but I suppose I can't expect her to be nice and congenial all the time considering the circumstances.

Quite a bit has been mentioned of the style of writing, i.e., young, amateurish, and at times, yes, the writing can be a little 'young' for lack of a better word. But those moments are few and far between, and if you look beyond that, this is a truly wonderful book detailing a woman's struggle to move past the tragic loss of her husband and forge a new life for herself. I will say that I was surprised that the book ended a little differently than I expected (not in a bad way). I plan on keeping this book and re-reading it in the future, which shows just how much I loved this book.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful new author!
Review: I first came across this book when I saw it highlighted in Cosmo one month. So the next time I was in the library, I snatched it up off the shelf.
I love the way this book takes such an honest look into a woman's life. And not just a woman, a YOUNG woman. There are pop culture references in this book that young women can appreciate, as well as true emotions that anyone could relate to. And the story of how Holly goes through her mourning period is just brilliant. I am still wowed that someone so young (only 22!!) wrote such a deep and insightful story about the life of a young widow.
I would reccomend this book to just about anyone. And not just women, either, because I really think that men could get something out of it, too.