LANDLINE
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Description
From New York Times bestselling author of Eleanor & Park and Fangirl, Rainbow Rowell, comes a hilarious, heart-wrenching take on love, marriage, and magic phones.
Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it's been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply-but that almost seems beside the point now.
Maybe that was always beside the point.
Two days before they're supposed to visit Neal's family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can't go. She's a TV writer, and something's come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her-Neal is always a little upset with Georgie-but she doesn't expect to him to pack up the kids and go without her.
When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she's finally done it. If she's ruined everything.
That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It's not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she's been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts. . . .
Is that what she's supposed to do?
Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?
Book Information
Posts
I really loved it. I loved it so much, I can't even. RTC ____________________________________ You can read the review here as well: http://storypals.net/book-report-landline-by-rainbow-rowell/ LANDLINE BY RAINBOW ROWELL “The future was going to happen, even if he wasn’t ready for it. Even if he was never ready for it. At least he could make sure he was with the right person. Wasn’t that the point of life? To find someone to share it with? And if you got that part right, how far wrong could you go? If you were standing next to the person you loved more than everything else, wasn’t everything else just scenery?” You know you love a book when all you do is quote it again and again! You think of it even after a month of reading it, you read more books in the midst of finding a book similar to it, also when you are smiling like an idiot throughout! I have been missing Rainbow Rowell in my life so much. This was the only book left for me to read by her and I was saving it for a long long time and then I just couldn’t stop myself from reaching for it and just devouring myself in the world of Rainbow Rowell. “You never know when it’s going to be the last time you see somebody and don’t want to miss your chance to say good-bye.” WHAT IS LANDLINE ALL ABOUT? Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble; it has been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now. Maybe that was always beside the point. Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn’t expect him to pack up the kids and go home without her. When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything. That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts… Is that what she’s supposed to do? Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened? MY REVIEW FOR THE BOOK LANDLINE I just love Rainbow Rowell’s writing. I like the world she builds, the characters she has in her stories. You can never feel anything negative, you will feel everything is positive and yet empathize with the characters the situations. I love how she shows us how imperfect world can be just perfect if you wish for it to be. Besides the fact that this novel was just perfect- my only complaint was at times it was slow, I wish it wasn’t. I wish I got to know more of Seth. “Nobody’s lives just fit together. Fitting together is something you work at. It’s something you make happen – because you love each other.” MY OVEREXCITED HORMONES HAVE THIS TO SAY ABOUT LANDLINE. The characters were so real, I could imagine the scenario in my head even though the landline scene would have been way too magical. This book was like my Christmas. It made me laugh, it made me worry. A book should make you feel things and this one definitely did so many things. The big airport scene– I think the biggest trope in any romance book/ film is the airport and yet here it didn’t feel cliched or done to death. It was needed. YES, IT WAS NEEDED NO ARGUMENT THERE. “Flying across the country to reunite with your true love was always the right move. (Always.) (In every case.)” The sibling relationship is awwww. The kids in this book are adorable, I want to cut their cheeks and eat them alive. 😀 What else? Neal and Georgie, the fit together and they made everything else fit together as well. Thank you Rainbow for writing, thank you for everything. Please never ever stop writing.
1,5 stars. I'd give it one star, but it's a Rainbow Rowell book. This was the only Rainbow Rowell book I haven’t read so far and I wouldn’t have picked it up if it had been written by someone else. I wasn’t a fan of the premise and I don’t know what went wrong here. Usually, I am absolutely immersed in her books, but this wasn’t the case here. After reading the book, I still didn’t really understand the entire point of this landline. It left me confused and annoyed. I couldn’t feel for the characters and the only chapter I enjoyed was the one in which the pug has puppies or should I say puggies. Her previous books have set my expectations too high, since there were really interesting and lovely characters in them. But I couldn't connect to a single character in Landline . The only character I liked was Heather, and she didn't even play a big role. I wouldn't recommend this book unless you're a fan of the author and want to read all of her books.
"Zwei Worte vor und eins zurück" habe ich vor einigen Wochen zusammen mit Kerstin bei einem Ausverkauf entdeckt und gleich mitgenommen. Anfangs wusste ich nicht, dass es sich bei dem Buch um das später, anscheinend in einer Neuauflage, erschienene "Landline" handelt, aber irgendwann ist auch bei mir der Groschen gefallen. "Landline" stand schon eine Weile auf meiner Wunschliste, weswegen ich mich natürlich sehr auf die Geschichte gefreut habe. "Zwei Worte vor und eins zurück" bzw. "Landline" hat mich im Allgemeinen aber leider eher ernüchtert zurückgelassen. Ich habe das Buch zwar mehr oder weniger schnell durchgelesen und auch der Schreibstil hat mir gut gefallen, aber ich habe bei der Geschichte mit jeder Seite mehr auf das Besondere gewartet. Kennt ihr das? Wenn ihr ein Buch zuklappt und feststellt, die Geschichte hat euch überhaupt nichts gegeben? Keine Moral, keine besondere Unterhaltung, kein Mehrwert? Ich hatte "Zwei Worte vor und eins zurück" beendet und mich gefragt, was die Autorin mir mit der Geschichte sagen wollte und wieso sie den Plot so geschrieben hat. Hat die Hauptprotagonistin wirklich ein "magisches" Telefon gebraucht um zu erkennen, dass ihre Familie ihr wichtig ist und dass sie über Weihnachten nicht alleine sein sollte? Hat sie wirklich diese Krise gebraucht, um zu erkennen, wie wichtig die Weihnachtszeit ist und wie sehr ihr Mann sie für ihre Entscheidung, lieber zuhause zu bleiben und zu arbeiten, verurteilt? Die ganze Zeit habe ich mich gefragt, was dieses "magische" Telefon überhaupt sollte, was es für einen Zweck und Sinn hatte, außer den Rahmen dafür zu bieten, die Gegenwart und die Vergangenheit gleichermaßen zu erzählen. Außerdem hatte ich so meine Probleme mit den Charakteren wirklich mitzufiebern oder mitzuleiden. Das lag zum einen daran, dass Georgie mir sehr lange unsympathisch erschien und die Autorin bei mir auch den Eindruck vermittelte, dass das auch genauso sein sollte. Sie macht sich sehr oft schlecht, zählt ihre Verfehlungen der letzten Jahre auf und rückt sich selbst in ein schlechtes Licht. Zum anderen lag es daran, dass Neal für mich nicht wie ein eigenständiger Teil der Handlung schien. Es wird ÜBER ihn geschrieben, es gibt auch kleine Dialoge, aber im Großen und Ganzen blieb er mir zu befremdlich und distanziert, als dass ich mich hätte mit ihm identifizieren können – auch wenn ich seine Position in der ganzen Geschichte sehr gut verstanden habe. Ich hätte sehr gerne mehr über ihn erfahren, vor allem über den Gegenwarts-Neal. Dieser blieb leider aufgrund des Vergangenheits-Neal eher im Hintergrund. Natürlich gibt es auch einige Punkte an dem Buch, die mir gut gefallen haben. Die Plotidee an sich hatte auf jeden Fall Potenzial. Sie hat mir gefallen und stellenweise konnte mich die Autorin damit auch packen. Außerdem mochte ich den Schreibstil von Rainbow Rowell. Gerade am Ende des Buches habe ich mich gefragt, wie sie es geschafft hat, dass ich doch Spaß beim Lesen hatte, obwohl ich mich kaum mit den Charakteren identifizieren konnte und ich den Plot als sehr durcheinander und wenig überzeugend empfand. Außerdem mag ich es, wie Rainbow Rowell in ihren Büchern alle Handlungen sehr realistisch darstellt. Klar, ein magisches Telefon ist nicht realistisch, aber die Eheprobleme, die Georgie und Neal haben, ihr Dilemma und auch Georgies Gefühle fand ich gut dargestellt und authentisch geschildert. Letztlich glaube ich, dass die Autorin mit einem roten Faden in der Geschichte und einem klaren Sinn sehr viel mehr aus der Plotidee hätte rausholen können. Fazit "Zwei Worte vor und eins zurück" ist kein schlechtes Buch, denn es lässt sich aufgrund des Schreibstils sehr gut lesen und es gibt auch einige Stellen, die mich gepackt haben. Aber im Großen und Ganzen betrachtet hat mich der Plot enttäuscht und ich fand es schade, dass ich keinerlei Mehrwert aus dem Buch mitnehmen konnte. Meiner Einschätzung nach ist dieses Werk von Rainbow Rowell ein Buch, das man lesen kann, aber nicht muss.
I enjoyed Rainbow Rowells books tremendously, but sadly one specific aspect made me hate this book. The characters! Especially NEAL! I've never seen such an unlikeable character in my entire life. Georgie herself was funny at times, but for an adult women she didn't seem to really think like an actual adult. Her husband has no redeeming qualities, but she loves him because? Apart from Heather there were no likeable characters in this book, which is a shame to me since Rowells characters were always filled with life and flaws. The writing style was as usual very good and made me continue reading, but sadly only 2 stars from me :/
Landline is a beautiful book. The story is heart-warming and honest and so realistic. Only the magical landline is out of the ordinary but it's a beautiful element used to remind her about the reasons why she loves Neal so much. For people who say this is an adult book - I don't agree. I think this book is for everybody who wants to read about a realistic relationship and about "real" love. Love is not the only thing you need in a relationship. Love is not enough. And Rainbow Rowell portrayed this truth so well that I'm speechless. “Nobody's lives just fit together. Fitting together is something you work at. It's something you make happen - because you love each other.” ― Rainbow Rowell, Landline For those of you who say that the characters are unlikeable than I need to ask you - WHY? They're just humans - totally normal humans that make mistake and that have trouble communicating their problems in their relationship. For everybody who never went through a long-time relationship than read this book and don't be fooled by Hollywood or YA. Landline portrays the essence of a relationship so well and I'm totally in love with this book! I was able to relate to the whole scenario, maybe that is the reason why I loved it so. Because it is raw and honest. Yes, a relationship is hard work. Yes, people make mistakes. Yes, the "in love" feeling is hard to hold on to. Yes, it is easy to take people for granted. AND YES, you need to fight for your relationship and talk about the things both of you don't want to talk about! So I take my hat off to Rainbow Rowell and for her abilities to write lovely stories that focus on real problems. Her writing style and storytelling are on point and if you want to read an amazing story than pick up "Landline". And if you think the characters are unlikeable or the plot is boring, than I think you need to take a step back and reconsider. Maybe you can't relate to the whole thing. Maybe you need to get out of this "unrealistic fairytale love bubble" that our society has created and take a look at Georgie and Neals relationship. Rowell takes this young first love and puts it through all the problems a relationship has to face and she does it beautifully! The plot isn't boring. It's realistic. It's about life. It's what everybody has to face in a certain degree if he/she doesn't want to end up alone.
I'm kind of really, really disappointed because usually I love Rowell's writing. Here, however, she did not manage to make me care for the characters even the tiniest bit. I did not care for Georgie (McCool?!? - seriously???), Neal, their marriage, not even what would happen to their meowing daughters. I feel like the most exciting scene is the puppy birth.
Description
From New York Times bestselling author of Eleanor & Park and Fangirl, Rainbow Rowell, comes a hilarious, heart-wrenching take on love, marriage, and magic phones.
Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it's been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply-but that almost seems beside the point now.
Maybe that was always beside the point.
Two days before they're supposed to visit Neal's family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can't go. She's a TV writer, and something's come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her-Neal is always a little upset with Georgie-but she doesn't expect to him to pack up the kids and go without her.
When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she's finally done it. If she's ruined everything.
That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It's not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she's been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts. . . .
Is that what she's supposed to do?
Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?
Book Information
Posts
I really loved it. I loved it so much, I can't even. RTC ____________________________________ You can read the review here as well: http://storypals.net/book-report-landline-by-rainbow-rowell/ LANDLINE BY RAINBOW ROWELL “The future was going to happen, even if he wasn’t ready for it. Even if he was never ready for it. At least he could make sure he was with the right person. Wasn’t that the point of life? To find someone to share it with? And if you got that part right, how far wrong could you go? If you were standing next to the person you loved more than everything else, wasn’t everything else just scenery?” You know you love a book when all you do is quote it again and again! You think of it even after a month of reading it, you read more books in the midst of finding a book similar to it, also when you are smiling like an idiot throughout! I have been missing Rainbow Rowell in my life so much. This was the only book left for me to read by her and I was saving it for a long long time and then I just couldn’t stop myself from reaching for it and just devouring myself in the world of Rainbow Rowell. “You never know when it’s going to be the last time you see somebody and don’t want to miss your chance to say good-bye.” WHAT IS LANDLINE ALL ABOUT? Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble; it has been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now. Maybe that was always beside the point. Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn’t expect him to pack up the kids and go home without her. When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything. That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts… Is that what she’s supposed to do? Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened? MY REVIEW FOR THE BOOK LANDLINE I just love Rainbow Rowell’s writing. I like the world she builds, the characters she has in her stories. You can never feel anything negative, you will feel everything is positive and yet empathize with the characters the situations. I love how she shows us how imperfect world can be just perfect if you wish for it to be. Besides the fact that this novel was just perfect- my only complaint was at times it was slow, I wish it wasn’t. I wish I got to know more of Seth. “Nobody’s lives just fit together. Fitting together is something you work at. It’s something you make happen – because you love each other.” MY OVEREXCITED HORMONES HAVE THIS TO SAY ABOUT LANDLINE. The characters were so real, I could imagine the scenario in my head even though the landline scene would have been way too magical. This book was like my Christmas. It made me laugh, it made me worry. A book should make you feel things and this one definitely did so many things. The big airport scene– I think the biggest trope in any romance book/ film is the airport and yet here it didn’t feel cliched or done to death. It was needed. YES, IT WAS NEEDED NO ARGUMENT THERE. “Flying across the country to reunite with your true love was always the right move. (Always.) (In every case.)” The sibling relationship is awwww. The kids in this book are adorable, I want to cut their cheeks and eat them alive. 😀 What else? Neal and Georgie, the fit together and they made everything else fit together as well. Thank you Rainbow for writing, thank you for everything. Please never ever stop writing.
1,5 stars. I'd give it one star, but it's a Rainbow Rowell book. This was the only Rainbow Rowell book I haven’t read so far and I wouldn’t have picked it up if it had been written by someone else. I wasn’t a fan of the premise and I don’t know what went wrong here. Usually, I am absolutely immersed in her books, but this wasn’t the case here. After reading the book, I still didn’t really understand the entire point of this landline. It left me confused and annoyed. I couldn’t feel for the characters and the only chapter I enjoyed was the one in which the pug has puppies or should I say puggies. Her previous books have set my expectations too high, since there were really interesting and lovely characters in them. But I couldn't connect to a single character in Landline . The only character I liked was Heather, and she didn't even play a big role. I wouldn't recommend this book unless you're a fan of the author and want to read all of her books.
"Zwei Worte vor und eins zurück" habe ich vor einigen Wochen zusammen mit Kerstin bei einem Ausverkauf entdeckt und gleich mitgenommen. Anfangs wusste ich nicht, dass es sich bei dem Buch um das später, anscheinend in einer Neuauflage, erschienene "Landline" handelt, aber irgendwann ist auch bei mir der Groschen gefallen. "Landline" stand schon eine Weile auf meiner Wunschliste, weswegen ich mich natürlich sehr auf die Geschichte gefreut habe. "Zwei Worte vor und eins zurück" bzw. "Landline" hat mich im Allgemeinen aber leider eher ernüchtert zurückgelassen. Ich habe das Buch zwar mehr oder weniger schnell durchgelesen und auch der Schreibstil hat mir gut gefallen, aber ich habe bei der Geschichte mit jeder Seite mehr auf das Besondere gewartet. Kennt ihr das? Wenn ihr ein Buch zuklappt und feststellt, die Geschichte hat euch überhaupt nichts gegeben? Keine Moral, keine besondere Unterhaltung, kein Mehrwert? Ich hatte "Zwei Worte vor und eins zurück" beendet und mich gefragt, was die Autorin mir mit der Geschichte sagen wollte und wieso sie den Plot so geschrieben hat. Hat die Hauptprotagonistin wirklich ein "magisches" Telefon gebraucht um zu erkennen, dass ihre Familie ihr wichtig ist und dass sie über Weihnachten nicht alleine sein sollte? Hat sie wirklich diese Krise gebraucht, um zu erkennen, wie wichtig die Weihnachtszeit ist und wie sehr ihr Mann sie für ihre Entscheidung, lieber zuhause zu bleiben und zu arbeiten, verurteilt? Die ganze Zeit habe ich mich gefragt, was dieses "magische" Telefon überhaupt sollte, was es für einen Zweck und Sinn hatte, außer den Rahmen dafür zu bieten, die Gegenwart und die Vergangenheit gleichermaßen zu erzählen. Außerdem hatte ich so meine Probleme mit den Charakteren wirklich mitzufiebern oder mitzuleiden. Das lag zum einen daran, dass Georgie mir sehr lange unsympathisch erschien und die Autorin bei mir auch den Eindruck vermittelte, dass das auch genauso sein sollte. Sie macht sich sehr oft schlecht, zählt ihre Verfehlungen der letzten Jahre auf und rückt sich selbst in ein schlechtes Licht. Zum anderen lag es daran, dass Neal für mich nicht wie ein eigenständiger Teil der Handlung schien. Es wird ÜBER ihn geschrieben, es gibt auch kleine Dialoge, aber im Großen und Ganzen blieb er mir zu befremdlich und distanziert, als dass ich mich hätte mit ihm identifizieren können – auch wenn ich seine Position in der ganzen Geschichte sehr gut verstanden habe. Ich hätte sehr gerne mehr über ihn erfahren, vor allem über den Gegenwarts-Neal. Dieser blieb leider aufgrund des Vergangenheits-Neal eher im Hintergrund. Natürlich gibt es auch einige Punkte an dem Buch, die mir gut gefallen haben. Die Plotidee an sich hatte auf jeden Fall Potenzial. Sie hat mir gefallen und stellenweise konnte mich die Autorin damit auch packen. Außerdem mochte ich den Schreibstil von Rainbow Rowell. Gerade am Ende des Buches habe ich mich gefragt, wie sie es geschafft hat, dass ich doch Spaß beim Lesen hatte, obwohl ich mich kaum mit den Charakteren identifizieren konnte und ich den Plot als sehr durcheinander und wenig überzeugend empfand. Außerdem mag ich es, wie Rainbow Rowell in ihren Büchern alle Handlungen sehr realistisch darstellt. Klar, ein magisches Telefon ist nicht realistisch, aber die Eheprobleme, die Georgie und Neal haben, ihr Dilemma und auch Georgies Gefühle fand ich gut dargestellt und authentisch geschildert. Letztlich glaube ich, dass die Autorin mit einem roten Faden in der Geschichte und einem klaren Sinn sehr viel mehr aus der Plotidee hätte rausholen können. Fazit "Zwei Worte vor und eins zurück" ist kein schlechtes Buch, denn es lässt sich aufgrund des Schreibstils sehr gut lesen und es gibt auch einige Stellen, die mich gepackt haben. Aber im Großen und Ganzen betrachtet hat mich der Plot enttäuscht und ich fand es schade, dass ich keinerlei Mehrwert aus dem Buch mitnehmen konnte. Meiner Einschätzung nach ist dieses Werk von Rainbow Rowell ein Buch, das man lesen kann, aber nicht muss.
I enjoyed Rainbow Rowells books tremendously, but sadly one specific aspect made me hate this book. The characters! Especially NEAL! I've never seen such an unlikeable character in my entire life. Georgie herself was funny at times, but for an adult women she didn't seem to really think like an actual adult. Her husband has no redeeming qualities, but she loves him because? Apart from Heather there were no likeable characters in this book, which is a shame to me since Rowells characters were always filled with life and flaws. The writing style was as usual very good and made me continue reading, but sadly only 2 stars from me :/
Landline is a beautiful book. The story is heart-warming and honest and so realistic. Only the magical landline is out of the ordinary but it's a beautiful element used to remind her about the reasons why she loves Neal so much. For people who say this is an adult book - I don't agree. I think this book is for everybody who wants to read about a realistic relationship and about "real" love. Love is not the only thing you need in a relationship. Love is not enough. And Rainbow Rowell portrayed this truth so well that I'm speechless. “Nobody's lives just fit together. Fitting together is something you work at. It's something you make happen - because you love each other.” ― Rainbow Rowell, Landline For those of you who say that the characters are unlikeable than I need to ask you - WHY? They're just humans - totally normal humans that make mistake and that have trouble communicating their problems in their relationship. For everybody who never went through a long-time relationship than read this book and don't be fooled by Hollywood or YA. Landline portrays the essence of a relationship so well and I'm totally in love with this book! I was able to relate to the whole scenario, maybe that is the reason why I loved it so. Because it is raw and honest. Yes, a relationship is hard work. Yes, people make mistakes. Yes, the "in love" feeling is hard to hold on to. Yes, it is easy to take people for granted. AND YES, you need to fight for your relationship and talk about the things both of you don't want to talk about! So I take my hat off to Rainbow Rowell and for her abilities to write lovely stories that focus on real problems. Her writing style and storytelling are on point and if you want to read an amazing story than pick up "Landline". And if you think the characters are unlikeable or the plot is boring, than I think you need to take a step back and reconsider. Maybe you can't relate to the whole thing. Maybe you need to get out of this "unrealistic fairytale love bubble" that our society has created and take a look at Georgie and Neals relationship. Rowell takes this young first love and puts it through all the problems a relationship has to face and she does it beautifully! The plot isn't boring. It's realistic. It's about life. It's what everybody has to face in a certain degree if he/she doesn't want to end up alone.
I'm kind of really, really disappointed because usually I love Rowell's writing. Here, however, she did not manage to make me care for the characters even the tiniest bit. I did not care for Georgie (McCool?!? - seriously???), Neal, their marriage, not even what would happen to their meowing daughters. I feel like the most exciting scene is the puppy birth.