JOJO MOYES’ “ME BEFORE YOU”: SO MUCH MORE THAN A (BORING) ROMANCE

RATING GUIDE:

 

6 – Life-Affirming and Life-Changing!

5 – A keeper!   

4 – Very good

3 –  Passable

2 –  I’d rather read a telephone book

1 – An absolute bomb.  Read at your own risk!

0 – Nothing will compensate for what I lost reading this book 

It’s a shame that Jojo Moyes “Me Before You” is marketed as a romance, for that makes it appear as if it’s just one of those Boy Meets Girl stories that we’ve grown so used to reading about.  The truth is, “Me Before You” is so much more than your garden variety (read:  boring) romance.  It’s an extraordinary tale of love and friendship that also explores the complex and controversial issues of human dignity and the right to die.

“Me Before You” is the story of Lou, a young woman with a lot of potential … the problem is, she’s stuck.  She suddenly loses her job at the beloved café she works for, just when everyone in her family needs her to be the breadwinner.  Lou hasn’t graduated from college yet, and her prospects of finding a decent job appear dim.  She’s definitely on the road to nowhere.  Out of desperation, Lou takes on a job as a caregiver of sorts for a thirty-something man named Will Traynor.  Unlike Lou, Will has led a very rich, BIG life.  He had the kind of life every man would envy --- he had the looks, the wealth, the power, the prestige, the hotshot career, the gorgeous girlfriend … until an accident turned him into a bitter, depressed quadriplegic.  

Lou’s new role as caregiver is off to a rocky start, for Will proves to be a sarcastic bully; but as time passes, Lou and Will develop a friendship.  Then comes the startling truth about the nature of Lou’s job.  She wasn’t really hired to be Will’s caregiver. She was hired to try to convince Will not to take his own life at the end of six months.

Like I said, “Me Before You” is wrongfully marketed as a romance.  It really isn’t a book about “kilig” moments (even though there are a few sweet moments here and there).  It’s not something to cry about, however, for Moyes gifts her readers with characters who are so well-thought of, they seem to be real, like people you might actually know.  None of them are stereotypically good or bad.  All of them are people you might not necessarily like, but definitely people you can relate to and maybe sympathize with. 

“Me Before You” is a highly moving and thought-provoking book that stays with you long after you’ve turned the last page.  In my experience, it raised a lot of questions about many things --- about love and sacrifice (What are you willing to give up for love?  Can you compromise your own principles for love?), about what defines a well-lived life (Is it living large but living mainly for yourself, or living an ordinary life in service of others?), about the dignity of human life (What do you consider to be a dignified existence?  Can you be dignified even if your health is failing?), and of man’s rights (Is it really one’s right to take one’s own life?).  

RATING:  5 1/2

“THE HUSBAND’S SECRET” BY LIANE MORIARTY: THE UGLY TRUTH ABOUT PEOPLE IN GENERAL AND WOMEN IN PARTICULAR

RATING GUIDE:

 

6 – Life-Affirming and Life-Changing!

5 – A keeper!   

4 – Very good

3 –  Passable

2 –  I’d rather read a telephone book

1 – An absolute bomb.  Read at your own risk!

0 – Nothing will compensate for what I lost reading this book 

“THE HUSBAND’S SECRET” BY LIANE MORIARTY:

THE UGLY TRUTH ABOUT PEOPLE IN GENERAL AND WOMEN IN PARTICULAR

If you are brave enough to face your own “dark side,” then you might want to read “The Husband’s Secret” by Liane Moriarty, a complex tale about lies, secrets and compromises.

“The Husband’s Secret” is essentially the story of three Australian women.  There’s Cecilia, who appears to have the Picture Perfect life.  Everything about her life seems Martha Stewart-perfect.  She’s married to a gorgeous guy (considered a great catch by everyone), has beautiful children, a flourishing career selling Tupperware.  She and her family are model citizens of the community.  Then, there’s Rachel, a woman in her twilight years.  She used to have the big career and the wonderful family, but now, she’s just an aging widow who can’t get over the death of her daughter, Janie, thirty years ago.  Finally, there’s Tess, who hates change but is forced to change her husband has an emotional affair. 

One day, Cecilia stumbles upon a letter written by her husband, Jean-Paul.  Despite his written instruction that the letter must only be opened after his death, Cecilia’s curiosity gets the better of her.  She opens the letter and discover’s Jean-Paul’s deepest, darkest secret which totally turns her life upside down.  If she tells the truth, it will destroy her family.  If she doesn’t, she destroys someone else’s family --- Rachel’s. 

If you are able to get past the endless, confusing changes in point of view, and can overlook Liane Moriarty’s tendency to give her readers too much information (for example, does it really matter what kind of food her characters ate?), then you have a story that is deeper, darker and more complex that it initially appears to be. 

At first, “The Husband’s Secret” irritated me.  The story and the characters seemed shallow and frivolous.  However, further reading shows that “The Husband’s Secret” is a laser-sharp, unpleasant presentation of the secret thoughts, desires and pain of people.  Whether they’re ordinary people or “special” people, Lainie Moriarty’s book shows us that many times, what we think is real truly isn’t.

Lainie’s characters are painfully shallow, nasty, irritating, hypocritical, but sadly, very real.  As a woman, these fictional women made me cringe.  I found them so terrible that I think my overall view of humanity went down several notches.  I particularly disliked Tess’ character, who was such a hypocritical, mean-spirited bitch compared to her adulterous cousin, Felicity.  In fact, it is ironic that the characters who initially seem to be the “bad guys” (Will and Felicity) turn out to be the “purest” of them all.  And yet, despite these, it’s still easy to sympathize with the characters because they seem so real.  I’m pretty sure there isn’t a reader out there who has been as shallow or mean or hypocritical --- flawed --- as the characters in the book.

Ultimately, Liane Moriarty’s “The Husband’s Secret” presents us with so many thought-provoking questions.  How far would you go to protect what is yours?  Are people inherently good or evil?  Will you forgive someone who betrayed you and took away what you love the most?  How sure are you that you will do the “right” thing in a given situation?  Do you know how to forgive yourself and others?  What does it take to move on from a painful experience?  These are just a few of the serious questions that Liane Moriarty asks in her seemingly trashy but ultimately profound book.

RATING:  4