Landline by Rainbow Rowell

 

After reading a few very serious books, I was happy that the next title in my stack was on the lighter side. Adult contemporary fiction isn't a genre I usually pick up, but I made an exception for Landline based on the author. I've been a fan of Rainbow Rowell's young adult work since I read Eleanor and Park years ago, so I was very interested to see how I would feel about her fiction for grownups. 

The plot of the novel follows Georgie McCool, a TV writer in her thirties. She is married to her husband Neal and they live in LA with their two young daughters. As the story begins, Georgie and Neal are going through some trouble in their marriage. Georgie has been focusing on her career while Neal, who is a stay at home dad, wishes she would spend more time with the family. When a big opportunity comes up that requires Georgie to work over Christmas, Neal decides to take the kids and visit his family across the country without her. Afraid that her marriage might be over, Georgie tries calling him to check in using her old landline phone and discovers something impossible. Her landline is calling Neal in the past, from just before they got engaged. Speaking to the younger version of her husband stirs up a lot of old memories and feelings in Georgie, and it also presents her with an interesting opportunity: a chance to save her present-day marriage by reaching into the past.

I ended up really enjoying this book, even though it was quite a different pick for me. Rowell's writing was easy read and felt quite relateable. The emotions were genuine and the characters were layered. I found myself torn between Georgie and Neal's issues. Georgie was often careless in the way she treated her family and should have placed more importance on being there for them. However, Neal was struggling with a personal aimlessness that made him needy and resentful, often unfairly so. Neither character was perfect but both were still sympathetic, which brought complexity to the story. I also appreciated that while the topic was a serious one, the tone wasn't too depressing. Georgie's dry sense of humor kept things from being too dark and the supporting characters (especially her mother and sister) added some lightness as well.

So, much like I enjoyed Rainbow Rowell's writing for young adults, I enjoyed her writing here too. I wouldn't say this is one of those novels that will stay with me forever, but it was a fun bit of escapism and the perfect thing to break up the serious stories I have been reading lately. This was a solid read that ended up being a sweet and emotional treat.

2023 Reading Challenges Tally:

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 9/24

Clear the Shelves 2023: 6/24

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

 

There hasn't been much rhyme or reason to my reading selections lately. I've just been picking up whichever book is next in the stack on my book cart. That was how I ended up reading The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker. It's a novel about a pandemic, which I didn't think would appeal to me at this particular point in time, but this ended up being a special one and I'm very glad I happened to pick it up.

The plot of the novels follows several characters living in a small college town in California called Santa Lora. As the story begins a handful of college students fall ill with a mysterious sickness. They fall asleep and can't be woken up. Quickly, the illness begins to spread and more and more people begin to fall asleep. Hospitals are overwhelmed and panic starts to set in. Eventually, the entire city has to be quarantined to try and stop the spread. Doctors are able to determine that the brains of those who are asleep are extraordinarily active. They are dreaming intense dreams, but no one knows what they are dreaming, what is causing it, or how to wake them. 

The chapters alternate between some of the students first exposed to the virus, two children left alone when their father falls asleep, a new parent with an infant, a college professor, and more. Each of them have to try and survive in their new reality, facing all of the fear and uncertainty that now defines their daily lives. 

This novel was beautifully written and highly engaging. Walker's prose is a pleasure to read; even a topic as freshly traumatic as a pandemic felt interesting and mysterious in these pages. She did a nice job of capturing the sadness and complexity of emotions that comes with a crisis like this and creating a world that felt genuinely real. Even though there are a lot of characters that we only get to know for a short space of time in their lives, I found that I was totally invested in their stories and was rooting for everyone to be okay. It's hard to put anything more specific about why I liked this book so much into words, but it was one of those that I didn't want to put down. Even despite my limited reading time, I moved through it pretty quickly.

It's funny how a book that I picked up totally at random ended up becoming one of my favorite reads of the year so far. The emotion, the characters, and the mystery of it all really spoke to me and made for a great reading experience. I really enjoyed The Dreamers and am definitely interested in checking out more by Karen Thompson Walker.

2023 Reading Challenges Tally:

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 8/24

Clear the Shelves 2023: 5/24