The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick
Published (this edition): 2012
Publisher: Picador
Pages: 289
I have wanted to read this book for absolutely ages and when the very lovely Laura from Laura’s Little Book Blog sent it to me for my birthday I was so incredibly happy.
From the second I began to read, I was drawn into Pat’s world and was reluctant to leave him. He is the most honest and beautiful protagonist I think I’ve ever met.
Pat has been removed from a psychiatric hospital by his mother and she brings him home to encourage his recovery. Once he arrives home, his father will not talk to him, his mother seems to be reluctant to tell him much and he wonders why all the pictures of his and Nikki’s wedding have been taken down. He believes that if he can get fit, learn how to be nice instead of right and improve himself then Nikki will stop their ‘away’ time and come back to him again.
He is determined to get his wife back but whilst Pat thinks he is living a true reality, those around him slowly show him that what he believes may not be quite right. Pat strives to see the silver lining for everything and when Tiffany, a depressed widow is thrust into his life, can he continue to see the silver lining?
Pat’s voice was incredible, he was so grounded in his own reality that it broke my heart to uncover things with him along the way about the secrets people had been keeping from him. As a reader you are automatically aware that what Pat believes may not be true and you can begin to wonder what has really happened, but it is not until the end that you realise quite how much Pat has suffered. I felt for him the whole way through and by the end I just wanted to hold him tight and protect him from the real world.
Quick has written an absolutely blinding book here that will certainly make its way into the modern classics pile. To give such an insight into the mind of someone who is mentally ill was a brave idea but it was executed with such compassion and knowledge.
It took me no time to read this book and I would suggest you make sure this book is on your TBR pile because it is absolutely incredible.
I did google the film version and found it on YouTube. I began to watch but had to stop after about five minutes because the film is nothing like the book which is always incredibly disappointing. I think you would have to take the book and the film as two separate standalone pieces. From reading the plot of the film, it appears that there have been some major changes to characters and plot to make it more marketable for the big screen, but I think sticking to the original book narrative would have made for such a powerful film.
Anyhow, that’s the film version and I’m sure thousands of people will adore it as well as the book. As for me, I’ll just stick to the book in future!
A tale of love, discovery, acceptance and silver linings by one of the greatest authors of our generation.
Publisher: Picador
Pages: 289
I have wanted to read this book for absolutely ages and when the very lovely Laura from Laura’s Little Book Blog sent it to me for my birthday I was so incredibly happy.
From the second I began to read, I was drawn into Pat’s world and was reluctant to leave him. He is the most honest and beautiful protagonist I think I’ve ever met.
Pat has been removed from a psychiatric hospital by his mother and she brings him home to encourage his recovery. Once he arrives home, his father will not talk to him, his mother seems to be reluctant to tell him much and he wonders why all the pictures of his and Nikki’s wedding have been taken down. He believes that if he can get fit, learn how to be nice instead of right and improve himself then Nikki will stop their ‘away’ time and come back to him again.
He is determined to get his wife back but whilst Pat thinks he is living a true reality, those around him slowly show him that what he believes may not be quite right. Pat strives to see the silver lining for everything and when Tiffany, a depressed widow is thrust into his life, can he continue to see the silver lining?
Pat’s voice was incredible, he was so grounded in his own reality that it broke my heart to uncover things with him along the way about the secrets people had been keeping from him. As a reader you are automatically aware that what Pat believes may not be true and you can begin to wonder what has really happened, but it is not until the end that you realise quite how much Pat has suffered. I felt for him the whole way through and by the end I just wanted to hold him tight and protect him from the real world.
Quick has written an absolutely blinding book here that will certainly make its way into the modern classics pile. To give such an insight into the mind of someone who is mentally ill was a brave idea but it was executed with such compassion and knowledge.
It took me no time to read this book and I would suggest you make sure this book is on your TBR pile because it is absolutely incredible.
I did google the film version and found it on YouTube. I began to watch but had to stop after about five minutes because the film is nothing like the book which is always incredibly disappointing. I think you would have to take the book and the film as two separate standalone pieces. From reading the plot of the film, it appears that there have been some major changes to characters and plot to make it more marketable for the big screen, but I think sticking to the original book narrative would have made for such a powerful film.
Anyhow, that’s the film version and I’m sure thousands of people will adore it as well as the book. As for me, I’ll just stick to the book in future!
A tale of love, discovery, acceptance and silver linings by one of the greatest authors of our generation.
Laura