Forever, Interrupted: A Novel

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As the daughter of a librarian Jen's love of books started from a very early age. Her reading obsession continued throughout her teenage years when she studied both English Language and English Literature at college. I loved how you split the chapters between now and then, but I wasn’t really hooked until you got to the NOW...and that’s because Elsie isn’t a character I enjoyed. I get that she’s going through pain and sorrow, but she is a BRAT! I didn’t care for her (or frankly, even Ben) until after he died and Elsie started getting close to Susan.

That is what true love is. True love is saying to someone “Forget about us. We will be okay,” when it might not even be true, when the last thing you want is to be forgotten.” Taylor Jenkins Reid Interweaving Elsie and Ben's charmed romance with Elsie and Susan's healing process, Forever, Interrupted will remind you that there's more than one way to find a happy ending. The hardest part is that neither Elsie nor Ben introduced each other to their families. So the first time Elsie meets Ben’s Mum Susan is at the hospital following the devastating news. At first, Susan doesn’t want to have anything to do with Elsie. She is angry and grieving and confused. Elsie attends Ben’s funeral knowing one other than her best friend and support network Ana. It’s a really tough time and TJR did a really good job of showing raw, real grief. It’s not pretty and it’s not sugarcoated because that’s what true grief looks like.

I enjoyed how the story progressed and though it was obviously sad and poignant, there were moments of humour and hope too. Forever, Interrupted Book Review: Summary And now, every time I encounter a pizza restaurant, I have to have the low-level expectation that I will instantaneously fall in love with the love of my life outside said establishment, like our protagonist in this book. I start running. By the time I get to the end of my street, I can feel just how cold the concrete is on the balls of my feet. My light sweatpants are no match for the wind, but I keep going until I find the source. Moving, gorgeous and, at times, heart-wrenching. Taylor Jenkins Reid writes with wit and true emotion that you can feel. Read it, savor it, share it." The ambulance pulls away. Is he in it? Is Ben in there? Are they keeping him alive? Is he okay? Is he bruised? Maybe he’s in the ambulance because protocol says they have to but he’s actually fine. Maybe he’s around here somewhere. Maybe the ambulance was holding the driver of the car. That guy has to be dead, right? No way that person survived. So Ben must be all right. That’s the karma of an accident: The bad guy dies, the good guy lives.

Ah,” I said. “Well, it doesn’t really tell you much if I compliment you now, does it? I mean, you know that I’m complimenting you because you’ve asked . . . ” This is a beautiful story. It’s emotional but not as maudlin as I thought it might get. The book alternates between tracing the course of Elsie and Ben's relationship and the present day, as she navigates her new reality. I can hear sirens heading in my direction. I can see their flashing lights just above the rooftops on my street. Their whooping alarms sound like they are calling to me. I can hear my name in their repetitive wailing: El-sie. El-sie. Nice shirt,” I said, as I pulled my sunglasses off and sat down across from her. Sometimes I worried that my own average body looked oversize compared to hers, that my own plain features only served to highlight how beautiful she was. When I made jokes about it, she would remind me that I am a blond woman in the United States. She’d say blond trumps everything. I’ve always thought of my hair as dirty blond, almost mousy, but I saw her point.Touching and powerful...Reid masterfully grabs hold of the heartstrings and doesn't let go. A stunning first novel."