I don’t usually like weepy novels, and this is one where I
alternated between reading a few pages and shedding a few tears. For some reason, though, I kept seeking out
opportunities to pick up this book and embark on another crying jag. The book is about Louisa, a young woman who
has just lost her job at a café and taken on the daunting duties of a caregiver
to Will, a handsome young quadriplegic.
Will is resentful and bitter and wants to end his own life, for a
variety of reasons—helplessness, hopelessness, pain, fear of further
complications and/or further helplessness.
Mostly, however, he just laments that his life is not the way it used to
be, where he orchestrated corporate takeovers and participated in a variety of
high-adventure activities. His family is
obscenely wealthy, but there’s not much they can do except perhaps grant Will
his wish to die after a mutually-agreed-upon 6-month period. Plucky Louisa seems to be just the antidote
to Will’s depression, bringing a breath of fresh air to Will’s miserable
existence. She desperately races against
time to try to convince Will that he has something to live for, devising all
sorts of outings meant to demonstrate that he can still lead a full and
enjoyable life. Not all outings have the
desired effect, and an undesirable adventure is worse than no adventure at all. Is this trite, formulaic and
predictable? Quite. Enjoyable?
Definitely. Louisa is sort of a
Bridget Jones without the madcap mayhem and assorted vices. Like Bridget, she can hold her own in a
conversation, tossing out barbs and witty comebacks when Will tries to bait her
into giving up on him. The growth of
their relationship is enough of a reason to keep reading, but the question
becomes, “Who is really helping whom?”
Theirs is a Pygmalion sort of
mutual education, in which Louisa expands her horizons, thanks to Will’s
worldliness, and Will finds some level of fulfillment as a catalyst to Louisa’s
awakening.
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