Not going to lie but the actual reason I decided to read Attachments was because I couldn’t find the books I wanted for the summer. So when I saw Attachments, I decided to get it since I had already read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell which I think was a huge success.
Attachments was Rainbow Rowell’s first adult contemporary book set in the late 90s and early 20s. Unfortunately I was born in the year this novel is set so I am unable to relate to most of the technical things such as a world without/with little internet. The protagonist of this novel is Lincoln O’ Nell who works in an IT department at a local newspaper. Since the internet was a recent development, not many people understood the computer and not everyone was an expert at it.
Lincoln was the kind of guy with a small circle of friends and even smaller social skills. His life was very uninteresting and boring. Everybody worried about him. This was until Lincoln was given the job of reading people’s emails. Obviously he thought it wasn’t right that he should quit his job, he didn’t want to scare people or risk their jobs. All day long he notified everybody who ended up in his system filter, almost everyone. There was an exception: Beth and Jennifer. Since the start Lincoln was reading their chats and gradually he found himself crushing on one of the girls. The fun part was that he hadn’t ever seen them. Is this love at first sight or something even vaguer? Or maybe it isn’t vague, maybe this is real love.
Rainbow Rowell is known for writing or making very realistic characters which people can normally relate to. As a teenager I cannot fully relate to Lincoln or his situation but I can bet on the fact that if I was given an opportunity at this or at Lincoln’s age to read people’s emails I would regret the decision but continue reading anyway. And it becomes harder to resist the temptation to read after already knowing so much. After a point these daily emails became more than entertainment for Lincoln. They became the only thing that kept him working for better or for worse.
Beth and Jennifer are both very impressive characters, they are equally witty, interesting, strong and intellectual women. And yet Lincoln only managed to fall in love with one of them. Sure he cared about both of them but he just couldn’t help himself with Beth. You can only judge Attachments at the end of the book, at the very last line. And after that you will be actually fangirling really hard. Yes, we are left with some unanswered questions in the end but that’s the beauty of Ms Rowell and her writing. Readers don’t always want a happily ever after, they want a story to keep them going, something that doesn’t kill the vibe or the occasional joy they get. Maybe if she had kept the story going it would have had an abrupt but happy ending. That would spoil the book and make it less appealing.
Overall, I really enjoyed Attachments. Reading the book was a brilliant experience, it was a reality away from reality. It was not a chick–flick because there was nothing cliché about this book. It was very unexpected in the best way possible. I am currently reading Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell which so far has been wonderful. It is just that none of her books are similar. If you have read Fangirl and are interested in Attachments let me clear this up: they are not at all related! If it wasn’t for the name of the author on the cover I would have never guessed it was Rainbow Rowell.
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Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop.
