Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble; it has been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now.
Maybe that was always beside the point.
Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn't expect him to pack up the kids and go home without her.
When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.
That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts . . .
Is that what she’s supposed to do?
Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?
My Thoughts
I first stumbled upon Rainbow Rowell when I read her young adult novel, Eleanor & Park. I loved the story and flash back moments, so I had no hesitation jumping into her new adult novel Fangirl. As with the first, my second experience with Rowell was just as bliss. Most recently, I’ve moved on to her adult novel Landline, and I have to admit… Rainbow Rowell is not only quickly making her way to the top of my favorite authors list, but she’s immediately proven that she can pen a wonderful story for any age genre. In Landline, we meet Georgie and Neal who met seventeen years prior in college and have been married now for fourteen. They have plans to visit Neal’s family for Christmas, but that all comes to a screeching halt when Georgie lands a possible opportunity for a television pilot. Neal decides to take their two children to Omaha and leave Georgie behind to work on her project. However, that decision proves to be the culminated pressure point that might break their marriage.
When Neal leaves, Georgie realizes that her marriage is in trouble. As the days pass, she and Neal don’t communicate and Georgie begins to stay at her mother’s house because she just can’t face her empty home during the holidays. Desperate to connect with her husband, she retreats to her childhood bedroom where she can talk to Neal from the past through an magic landline phone.
Yes… yes… I get that it sounds a bit odd, and I’ll admit I was somewhat confused when it all started. However in the end, I really liked this plot device Rowell used that forced me to consider if there was something Neal and Georgie did or said in the past that contributed to their failing marriage in the present. Is there a way to fix what you have and pull the pieces together?
Bottom-line, I really enjoyed this story. It was subtle in many ways, as well as easy to relate to. A story about a marriage that becomes consumed with work, responsibilities and children is very real. The pressures and hardships are not uncommon and to hear someone else’s version and realization creates a connection that I often long for in fiction.
Landline by Rainbow Rowell is a worth story with unforgettable characters. After three pleasant experiences with Rowell, I have no hesitation diving into other stories by this author.
4 Suns
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