Me Before You: A Novel
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best Books of the Month, January 2013: Before Louisa met Will, her plans didn't reach beyond their tiny English town. Will, when he wasn't closing multimillion-dollar deals, blew off steam scaling mountains, leaping from planes, and enjoying exquisite women--until an accident left him paralyzed and seriously depressed. When his mother hires Lou to keep his spirits up, he meets her awkward overtures with caustic contempt, but she's tenacious and oddly endearing. Their fondness grows into something deeper, gaining urgency when she realizes his determination to end his life, and her efforts to convince him of its value throw her own bland ambitions into question. Plumbing morally complex depths with comedy and compassion, Jojo Moyes elevates the story of Lou and Will from what could have been a maudlin weepie into a tragic love story, with a catharsis that will wring out your heart and leave you feeling fearless. --Mari Malcolm
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Booklist
In The Last Letter from Your Lover (2011), Moyes presented a heavily plotted novel that spanned decades and featured parallel romances. Her newest work dials down the intricacy, and the result is a far more intimate novel. Moyes introduces us first to Will Traynor, a formerly high-flying, thrill-seeking executive now confined to a wheelchair as a quadriplegic. Twentysomething Louisa “Lou” Clark has been hired as his caretaker, despite a total lack of experience. As the prickly Will and plainspoken Lou gradually warm to each other, she learns that the six-month length of her contract coincides with the amount of time Will has agreed, for his parents’ sake, to postpone his planned assisted suicide, a subject Moyes treats evenhandedly. Armed with this information, Lou sets about creating adventures for Will, hoping to give him a reason to live. Simultaneously, Will encourages Lou to expand the expectations of what her life could be. All signs point to romance and a happy ending for the pair, but Moyes has something more heartbreakingly truthful in mind: Sometimes love isn’t enough. --Patty Wetli
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
262 of 283 people found the following review helpful
By
Miss Bonnie
on December 31, 2012
Format: Hardcover
25 Comments
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My heart was not prepared for those kind of feels... *sigh*
'The thing about being catapulted into a whole new life - or at least shoved up so hard against someone else's life that you might as well have your face pressed against their window - is that it forces you to rethink your idea of who you are. Or how you might seem to other people.'
Louisa's life is lackluster and she's completely content with 'playing it safe' at life. Not that she's ever allowed herself to contemplate how different things could possibly be. She goes to her job at the tea shop, she goes home to her windowless room at her parents house, and she occasionally spends time with her boyfriend Patrick who is far more concerned with his exercise regiment than he is with her. But when she loses her job at the tea shop she accepts a temporary 6 month position as a caregiver to a quadriplegic, Will Traynor.
Louisa and Will are complete opposites and the first few weeks of them knowing each other the quite truly hated each other. Will was oftentimes irrationally difficult and Louisa was ready to quit, but she stuck it out and slowly they developed an extremely touching friendship.
All I can say is that you make me...you make me into someone I couldn't even imagine. You make me happy, even when you're awful.I would rather be with you- even the you that you seem to think is diminished- than with anyone else in the world.'
Their blossoming romance was one of the most convincing I've read in a long time and was truly uplifting. They changed each other in massive ways in such a short period of time. Louisa gave Will happiness that he hadn't experienced for a very long time and Will gave Louisa the determination to do something with her life and not let it go to waste.Read more ›
'The thing about being catapulted into a whole new life - or at least shoved up so hard against someone else's life that you might as well have your face pressed against their window - is that it forces you to rethink your idea of who you are. Or how you might seem to other people.'
Louisa's life is lackluster and she's completely content with 'playing it safe' at life. Not that she's ever allowed herself to contemplate how different things could possibly be. She goes to her job at the tea shop, she goes home to her windowless room at her parents house, and she occasionally spends time with her boyfriend Patrick who is far more concerned with his exercise regiment than he is with her. But when she loses her job at the tea shop she accepts a temporary 6 month position as a caregiver to a quadriplegic, Will Traynor.
Louisa and Will are complete opposites and the first few weeks of them knowing each other the quite truly hated each other. Will was oftentimes irrationally difficult and Louisa was ready to quit, but she stuck it out and slowly they developed an extremely touching friendship.
All I can say is that you make me...you make me into someone I couldn't even imagine. You make me happy, even when you're awful.I would rather be with you- even the you that you seem to think is diminished- than with anyone else in the world.'
Their blossoming romance was one of the most convincing I've read in a long time and was truly uplifting. They changed each other in massive ways in such a short period of time. Louisa gave Will happiness that he hadn't experienced for a very long time and Will gave Louisa the determination to do something with her life and not let it go to waste.Read more ›
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212 of 230 people found the following review helpful
By
jordan
on January 13, 2013
Format: Hardcover
Verified Purchase
3 Comments
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throw away your shades of gray books and read about a real romance- one where individuals ultimately valued each others' wishes and allowed the other party to grow. I began reading with much trepidation, but quickly learned to love the quirky characters of Lou and Will. This is a life affirming book. You will feel better after reading it.
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152 of 170 people found the following review helpful
By
Victoria G.
on March 14, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
12 Comments
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(There's some spoilerish stuff in here)
I realize I am massively in the minority on this one. 99.9% of the people who have already read Me Before You absolutely disagree with me. Prior to reading, I read no other reviews. As I was aware of how rabidly people love this book, I wanted my initial opinion to be unadulterated. So when I finished reading, I started skimming reviews. A lot of positive reviews have valid points, especially ones that applaud Moyes' writing style (though I have issues with its tone and unoriginal bent, it does strike me as capable). Where positive reviews jive most with my thinking is their emphasis: Will's decision, how sad this book is, and the touching lessons we can learn from it. Huh. Gave me pause. I went back and thought, while reading, did I feel changed by this book? Has this in some way altered my perspective on living? I did give it a fair thought, and no is still the answer. For the people who did feel that way, I think that's great and I wish Me Before You could have resonated on so personal a level for me. But it just didn't.
So here I am, teetering out on a limb, amidst the blinding praise, contemplating why this was such a tepid read for me. Here's where I'm at...
Reason 1: The first half was intriguing, the second half was boring. I'm not gonna lie, I gobbled up the first 135 pages or so. It seemed fresh to me and had a bit of that self-deprecating humor that makes me wish I was British. But then it got increasingly predictable and trite, and I found myself skipping whole paragraphs, and then pages, just to get to the place where the main action cuts through all the expected lead-up. Lou describing every facial movement, every little mundane activity multiple times throughout the novel started wearing on my patience.Read more ›
I realize I am massively in the minority on this one. 99.9% of the people who have already read Me Before You absolutely disagree with me. Prior to reading, I read no other reviews. As I was aware of how rabidly people love this book, I wanted my initial opinion to be unadulterated. So when I finished reading, I started skimming reviews. A lot of positive reviews have valid points, especially ones that applaud Moyes' writing style (though I have issues with its tone and unoriginal bent, it does strike me as capable). Where positive reviews jive most with my thinking is their emphasis: Will's decision, how sad this book is, and the touching lessons we can learn from it. Huh. Gave me pause. I went back and thought, while reading, did I feel changed by this book? Has this in some way altered my perspective on living? I did give it a fair thought, and no is still the answer. For the people who did feel that way, I think that's great and I wish Me Before You could have resonated on so personal a level for me. But it just didn't.
So here I am, teetering out on a limb, amidst the blinding praise, contemplating why this was such a tepid read for me. Here's where I'm at...
Reason 1: The first half was intriguing, the second half was boring. I'm not gonna lie, I gobbled up the first 135 pages or so. It seemed fresh to me and had a bit of that self-deprecating humor that makes me wish I was British. But then it got increasingly predictable and trite, and I found myself skipping whole paragraphs, and then pages, just to get to the place where the main action cuts through all the expected lead-up. Lou describing every facial movement, every little mundane activity multiple times throughout the novel started wearing on my patience.Read more ›
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457 of 555 people found the following review helpful
By
Dee18
TOP 1000 REVIEWER on January 29, 2012
Format: Paperback
10 Comments
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Louisa Clark has lived in the shadow of her town's tourist attraction, the Castle, all her life. She has never left her small town, and has worked at the Buttered Bun cafe for so many years, she knows the in's and out's of all her regular customer's lives. So when the Buttered Bun is closed to make way for more Castle-associated tourist cafes, Louisa `Lou' finds herself jobless in the middle of Britain's recession. She has no schooling or qualifications other than waitress. She needs a job, and fast, because her parents, Alzheimer grandfather and single-mother sister rely on her paycheques. Her boyfriend, Patrick, can't help her out either - he's obsessed with the `Viking' marathon and fat-ratio-body-count zero-carbs dieting.
So when the job centre recommends Lou try for a job as carer to a quadriplegic, she reluctantly goes for the interview. But Lou really isn't qualified to `wipe bums' - she's not even very good at helping her mother take care of her grandfather who suffers from Alzheimer's. Lou's interview takes her to the affluent side of town, to the Traynor family mansion. The Traynor's own the Castle, are descendants of the original royal occupants. They are moneyed and infamous in Lou's small town, but she never knew about the troubles they've had at home . . . the eldest Traynor child, Will, was in an accident two years ago that has left him a quadriplegic. He has movement of his neck, but minimal control of his hands and fingers. Everything else is paralysed, and he is confined to a chair and needs 24/7 care, especially after a suicide attempt put the family on high-alert.
Lou doesn't think she's qualified to be Will's carer, at all. But Mrs Traynor is adamant that she does not want a nurse-maid for her son.Read more ›
So when the job centre recommends Lou try for a job as carer to a quadriplegic, she reluctantly goes for the interview. But Lou really isn't qualified to `wipe bums' - she's not even very good at helping her mother take care of her grandfather who suffers from Alzheimer's. Lou's interview takes her to the affluent side of town, to the Traynor family mansion. The Traynor's own the Castle, are descendants of the original royal occupants. They are moneyed and infamous in Lou's small town, but she never knew about the troubles they've had at home . . . the eldest Traynor child, Will, was in an accident two years ago that has left him a quadriplegic. He has movement of his neck, but minimal control of his hands and fingers. Everything else is paralysed, and he is confined to a chair and needs 24/7 care, especially after a suicide attempt put the family on high-alert.
Lou doesn't think she's qualified to be Will's carer, at all. But Mrs Traynor is adamant that she does not want a nurse-maid for her son.Read more ›
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