A book review of P.S. I love you – by Cecelia Ahern

“sometimes it’s just about living one letter at a time”

This is a story that starts where most of the contemporary love stories end. It’s a story not about the characters but the bond that binds them. The author could not have devised a better way of portraying this one more expression of undying and sometimes vaguely unjustified love and this time the expression portrayed in this novel is ‘dedication’. Whether it’s the dedication to live for the loved one or the dedication to savor each one of the memories so as to resist forgetting the lost love the message is clear ‘true love is hard to come by, even harder to live by its standards, and hardest to let go’ .

The story is about the girl Holly who losses her husband Gerry and is left alone in the journey of life,  hoping to cross the tide of time by tethering onto the letters left by Gerry for her. Completely devastated , a forlorn Holly makes up her mind to never go out with anyone again leave alone, the question of marriage. In the midst of all this there are her friends who try to coax Holly to realize the truth and move on. But Holly’s months pass only to bring her closer to the time when on the 1^st of every month she would get to open Gerry’s letter  for her, one letter for each month. These letters are the only incentive for Holly to pass the time. These letter’s are also a medium by which the reader gets to know about Gerry and his life. The author successfully creates an apt image of Gerry in the mind of the readers. In between Holly’s family problem and the story of her big brother Richard and sister Clara is what engages the readers till the end. But the question is what is in those letters that Holly is so desperate to read?. And will Holly remain committed to Gerry or will she be cajoled into that thing called ‘love’ once again. Will she remain tied down to Gerry’s memories or does she take a more practical approach towards and move on.

The novel although showers you with the colors of love but it fails to engage the reader. The story is interesting in parts and the tempo goes down with each read letter. The vivid description of the characters is excellent and it actually lets you recreate the happenings in front of your eyes. The novel is a delight for anyone who wants to engage in a simple, relaxed and enjoyable reading time. The predictive nature  is the  only let down in an otherwise tragic  and emotional love story .

“Some people wait their whole lives to find their soul mates. But not Holly and Gerry”

Were Holly and Gerry really soul mates? Are love stories eternal as they say or is it one more decision or relationship gone wrong. Read the novel to know the answers.