I had a quiet 4th of July weekend so plenty of time to read. I started a book that my Book Club is reading for this month. It had me hooked very quickly and I finished it in record time. Me Before You was written by English author, JoJo Moyes.
The book is a love story that deals with being gravely handicapped, assisted suicide, rich vs poor, sibling relationships and more. I looked at reviews of the book and it appears that you either love the book or think it's 'cheesy and corny' as one reviewer stated.
Louisa Clark comes from a working class family in an English village. She loses her job and knows her dad may lose his any time so she is desperate for work. The only job she can find is as caregiver to a quadriplegic man whose mother hires her on a 6 month contract. Will Traynor has a man who is his medical and physical help caregiver. Lou is there to help him get something worthwhile out of his limited life.
Lou learns that her 6 month contract is tied to one Will has made with his parents. He has asked them to take him to Switzerland for an assisted suicide at the end of the time frame. Lou sets out to bring meaning to Will's life as she cannot live with the thought of what he wants to do.
The book deals also with Lou's family life, her boyfriend of six years, her willingness to stay in the small town and do little with her own life. Once they get over being nasty with one another, Will has his own program of getting Lou to reach for more in life.
I liked the characters--all quite different, coming from varied backgrounds.
Whether it's 'cheesy and corny' is a matter of opinion. I liked the book, liked the writing and I learned many things about the life of a quadriplegic. There is a movie, based on the book that was released this year. It received poor reviews. To be honest, I doubt I would have liked the story as much seeing it on the screen. Of course, I nearly always prefer a book to a film.
It's a different kind of love story. I'm looking forward to my Book Club members discussing the book, most especially the concept of assisted suicide. Both sides of that coin are presented in the book.
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