Landline

by Rainbow Rowell

Rebecca Lowman (Narrator)

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 besides 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 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?

• ISBN10: 1427239339
• ISBN13: 9781427239334
• Publish Date: 8 July 2014 (first published 2 July 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: MacMillan Audio
• Format: Audiobook
• Duration: 8 hours
• Language: English

Reviews

[sarahjay]

I love Rainbow. For me her books are pretty much all studies in how to create characters that seem utterly real, because hers always do. I didn't love this one as much as I loved her other books - the story was not very interesting to me, so hence the lower rating - but I don't regret reading it.

[Ashley]

I liked it.. But I feel like the ending could have been better. It didn't feel like a great ending and I still had unanswered questions.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

Georgie McCool is on the verge of getting her big break in TV. She and her writing partner, Seth have received the opportunity to pitch their show to a TV station, but this means there is a lot of writing to do in preparation for the meeting. Only problem is, she was about to fly to Omaha to spend Christmas with her husband, Neal’s parents. Their marriage is in trouble, not from the lack of love but from continuous tension and distance. Now her family is in a different state and things take a weird turn when Georgie picks up the landline and is able to talk to Neal, from before they were married.

First of all I must admit that I’m never going to be the target audience for a book like Landline and I don’t think I can ever enjoy a book like this. It just feels predictable and I know that Georgie and Neal will work things out before even starting the book. Being a literary explorer, I still feel the need to read book in the chick-lit genre and sometimes they surprise me. However for something like Landline, I felt the urge to yell at the characters to “use your words!” during the entire novel.

This is my first Rainbow Rowell book but I think I should have started with something nerdy like Eleanor & Park or Fangirl. I like the idea of nostalgic and nerdy references throughout a novel and while Landline did offer this, I was just too annoyed with the characters. The whole subject of relationships falling apart due to lack of communication doesn’t interest me too much; I just find myself getting frustrated with the characters and expect the plot to do something new and interesting. Landline didn’t give me anything I wanted.

This isn’t to say Landline was a bad novel; in fact it was entertaining, I just prefer some complexity. However this does bring up an interesting moral issue; there is a scene within the book where Georgie and past Neal are talking about her writing partner Seth. Georgie asks Neal not to make her choose between him and Seth, which brings up a fundamental problem in the relationship, she acknowledges that he is causing unease in the relationship but she is not willing to make an effort to solve the problem.

The idea of talking to Neal from fifteen years ago is an interesting plot device, it adds a little magical realism or science fiction into the novel but it does something more. This concept of holding onto the past seems to be a major problem, they don’t seem to understand people change over fifteen years and you have to evolve with them. It is also a really creepy plot device. Also the fact that Georgie has to try calling the landline because Neal is ignoring every call to his mobile from her is a whole other issue.

One last moral issue I found in the novel involved the relationship between Georgie and Seth. There was a point in Landline where I thought they should get together, they seem to be an easier more logical fit but then I realised what I was thinking. I would never want something like this to happen in real life; why would I want to characters in a novel to make this choice. This got me thinking about morality. As humans we expect people to do the right thing but in books, movies and TV we don’t have the same reaction when a character makes the wrong choice. We do react but I think we prefer to explore infidelity, murder and immorality via a work of fiction than in real life, but does this say something about humanity?

As soon as I finished the book I was angry and wanted to give the book a low rating but then I began thinking more about Landline. I don’t think it is a bad book, it has a nice and happy ending but I don’t think the underlining problems in Georgie and Neal’s marriage was actually solved. My initial impression to rate the novel with 2 stars ended up being the correct choice. Now I need to find a book in the chick-lit genre that I like; any suggestions?

This review originally appeared on my blog: http://literary-exploration.com/2014/09/11/landline-by-rainbow-rowell/

I adore Rainbow Rowell's writing, both her YA and adult books (ATTACHMENTS is my favorite). Her characters are always alive, often uncomfortably so. She is a master at creating smart and authentic dialogue, and as with all her books, the dialogue was my favorite part of LANDLINE.

I wanted to fall head over heels with LANDLINE the same way I did with her other adult book, ATTACHMENTS. It sounded like a magical blend of FREQUENCY and a Hallmark Christmas movie (which it kind of was). And both do have a charming yet full of depth romantic comedy tone to them (ATTACHMENTS more so than LANDLINE). They feel very cinematic and are easily visualized, and of course, the dialogue is stellar and prolific (like in all her books, both YA and Adult). The reason that I'm only giving LANDLINE three stars is due to Georgie.

She's a mess, somewhat endearingly in the beginning. She's hyper consumed with work and her BFF writing partner, Seth. Her husband and kids get whatever dregs are left of her at the end of long days. It's unfair and she recognizes that. Her husband is unhappy and she knows that's her fault. She doesn't know how to take care of her kids or even connect with them. She's an absentminded slob who wears old clothes until they literally fall off of her.

In contrast, her husband, Neal, is a figurative rockstar. He quit his job to raise the kids, he cooks and cleans and gardens and paints and bikes and a million other things all without coming across as a doormat. Oh and he loves her to an awe-inspiring degree.

The problem began to manifest, for me as a reader, when Georgie kept acknowledging the gulf between herself and her husband. She sees all the sacrifices he makes for her and their family and over and over again notes how unfair that is and how unhappy she is making Neal with her choices. Cue the redemption, right? Where Georgie realizes she has to change her life and start trying to balance her dreams with the happiness of those she loves? Wrong. She just tells Neal this is the way she is and she won't change. Work and her flirty best friend/partner and going to always come first (she literally says stuff like that to him). At the very end, she vows to try harder, but without anything concrete to back it up. It feels like all her other promises: empty.

How is it okay for him to give everything and her to give nothing in their relationship? I can't imagine anyone accepting this if the roles were reversed and Neal was the ever absent spouse with the 80 hour work week and pretty best friend and Georgie was the miserable one who was just supposed to accept that he would never change. Who would put up with that?

I still love Rainbow Rowell, and many of the things I love about her writing are on display in LANDLINE, but ultimately, this story and the protagonist left a sour taste in my mouth instead of the wistful smile I've come to expect from this author.

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

I can't even begin to tell you how this book has affected me. It moved me. It made me think. It spoke to me on such a personal level, I don't know if I should even be writing a review, because my reading experience is clouded by all it's made me feel and question about things in my own life. But I am writing this review, because I feel I owe to to Rainbow Rowell. As a thank you. Because Landline is unbelievable, in the best possible way.

Despite the time-bending phone calls, Landline is a very real book. Georgie and Neal's marriage is in the roughest of rough patches, and it's something they just don't talk about. When Neal decides to stick with the plans to take the girls his mother's for Christmas, but without Georgie, it all comes to ahead. They still don't talk about it, because Georgie can't get ahold of him. At least not in the present. The emotions in this book - the fear, the doubt, the deep and beautiful love Georgie has for Neal and her children - it's so real, it's palpable. It's a Rowell novel, so there is humour and lightness running throughout, but as awesome as that is, it's the emotional side of things that really stood out for me.

The way this story is told, with Georgie thinking back on her life with Neal as she worries about their future, you see various points within their relationship. Almost like flashbacks. We see them meet, we see their relationship start, and their relationship progress, but not chronologically. It's awesome to see the sweetness that once was in their relationship, and even the moments of tenderness during the tough times. It makes the possibility of the end of their marriage that much more heartbreaking. These are two people that are so deeply in love, they just turned down lots of tiny, wrong corners, and somehow got lost. I spent the whole time hoping for them, thinking, "Pick up, pick up, pick up," whenever Georgie calls Neal in the present. Their's is not a relationship you want to fail. There is so much love, and it's so worth fighting for.

As I had, I had a deeply personal reaction to this book. It felt like it was written for me. There were lines that felt like they were speaking to me personally. There was an argument between present day Georgie and 1998 Neal that I often have with myself. From then on, though my life is nothing like the book, I related time and again to situations, conversations, thoughts. I took so much from it. Or at least it made me think and question a lot, but I've yet to come to any conclusions. Except maybe sometimes, you just need to change how you do things, change your priorities, and decide what it is you're going to fight for.

And despite the fact the whole story is about a marriage that is going wrong, I spent the whole book thinking, "I so want this!" Even with the hard times, the family in this book, the love between all four of them, is just so beautiful. I so want my own dysfunctional family (because who's family is functional, right?).

This review has not nearly even scratched the surface of how incredible this book. I don't think it's possible for me to write a review that would do this book justice. But maybe this next line will give you an idea of just how amazing it is: Landline is on par, if not better, than Eleanor and Park - and I completely adore Eleanor and Park. Landline is so, so beautiful, and I feel like I've been given a gift. Rainbow Rowell, thank you.

Thank you to Orion for the review copy.