Review: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Tuesday 13 October 2015

Title: Attachments
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Publication Date: April 2011
Rating:
Goodreads | Book Depository
It's 1999 and the internet is still a novelty. At a newspaper office, two colleagues, Beth and Jennifer, e-mail back and forth, discussing their lives in hilarious details, from love troubles to family dramas. And Lincoln, a shy IT guy responsible for monitoring e-mails, spends his hours reading every exchange.

At first their e-mails offer a welcome diversion, but the more he reads, the more he finds himself falling for one of them. By the time Lincoln realises just how head-over-heels he is, it's too late to introduce himself.

After a series of close encounters, Lincoln eventually decides he must follow his heart... and find out if there is such a thing as love before first sight.

There is something about the characters Rainbow Rowell creates that really resonate with me. I can always relate to them, connect with them, sympathise with them and simply fall in love with them. Attachments was no exception and I completely devoured it.

Lincoln is twenty-eight years old and kind of in a rut. He doesn't know what to do with his life and has completed a lot of education over the years as school is something he's always been good at. He is still suffering from the effects of a bad break-up with his ex-girlfriend who he thought was for forever, he's living back with his mother and has next to no social life.

Lincoln takes a job at a local newspaper who has finally introduced computers, and internet access, to their offices. (The story is set in 1999). He is in charge of monitoring employees' email accounts for inappropriate content. It is through this security program that he stumbles upon the emails of Jennifer and Beth; two best friends who use their email for personal conversations and whose emails are consequently always being flagged for review. Lincoln quickly becomes enraptured in their conversations and when he realises it's too late to send them a warning, he guiltily looks forward to reading their latest emails. Things become even more complicated when Lincoln begins to develop feelings for one of the women, Beth, and is surprised to discover she also has a crush on him (though she has no idea who he is or what he does) but how can be pursue a relationship when he has been violating her privacy for so long?

I loved the characters in this book. I found myself to be also looking forward to Beth and Jennifer's emails because I wanted to know what was happening in their lives. This makes Lincoln's actions a little less creepy since we, as readers, also can't help ourselves from reading their correspondence.

Lincoln is a lovely, easy to like character. He knows what he's doing is wrong, and we know it too, but you can also kind of understand. He's lonely and he's found someone that he likes and even though it's happened in a really weird way, it's also really hard to walk away. He's wandering aimlessly through life trying to figure out what it is that he wants to do with himself and I can truly relate to that.

Sometimes it feels like Rainbow Rowell is writing just for me because of the way her stories, and her characters, always connect with me so strongly. Attachments is well-written, it's funny, it has a believable and heart-warming story and has great characters. I highly recommend it along with everything else written by Rowell.

10 comments:

  1. Great review. Rainbow Rowell is one of my favorite authors, so this book is on my TBR list. I can’t wait to read it.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. Thank you! She is one of my favourites too. I hope you enjoy this one! :)

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  2. I think this is my favourite Rainbow Rowell book! I could just relate to it more than the rest and I really like the way it was written in emails... I'm a sucker for that sort of style, I just find it so interesting.

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    1. It's so hard for me to choose a favourite but this one is definitely up there! I could really relate to it a lot too. I'm a sucker for a quirky style too and really enjoyed that it was in email format as it keeps things a bit different!

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  3. I want to start off by saying I love your blog! It's so cute. I don't think I've ever told you that before. I should've a while back. Also great review! I want to read this book so much!

    Carrie @The Book Goddess

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    1. Aww thank you! <3
      You should definitely read it! I hope you love it as much as I did :D

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  4. So, is it weird that when I saw the MC's name, I thought of Abraham Lincoln? SUPER WEIRD... I know... 0_o Don't judge. Haha I'm glad you loved this so much girl! It seems like a really good one <3 I actually felt bad for Lincoln because I can relate to him (Pfft...social life, WHAT social life??)

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    1. Haha aw you're not weird, I'm totally not judging! It really was so good. And I know, exactly! Who needs a social life anyway?! :P

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  5. I have not read a single thing by RR, and it's a pity. I feel like I'm missing this party, and its lots of fun but I'm stuck on the train or in a car somewhere, trying to get there. I'm going to catch on hopefully soon. I love the sound of this one, and nice review!

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    1. Ahh you should definitely join the RR party! I love her books. I know what you mean though, I have that feeling with some authors too. And it's like the more books they bring out the harder it is to get started! Thank you! :)

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