Landline by Rainbow Rowell

[katekintailbc]

Landline
by Rainbow Rowell
(Audio)

Rainbow Rowell never disappoints. Her characters are complex, realistic, and sympathetic. This was last of Rainbow's current books I hadn't read, and I squealed out loud at the library on my last day volunteering there when I saw a copy of this book on audio sitting on the new shelves.

This is the story of Georgie McCool, a woman with an awesome name, a family, and a career writing comedy sitcoms. When her writing partner, Seth, and she strike a big deal with a network exec regarding their dream show, she is forced to work all Christmas hiatus to meet the deadline. This means not going to Nebraska with her husband and two children to celebrate Christmas. When they leave without her, she starts realizing that this might be an indication that her husband is unhappy in their marriage. But when she tries to call him, she can't reach him... until she calls on the landline from her old yellow phone... and gets ahold of him 15 years in the past. Yep. Georgie McCool has a f***ing magic phone.

The result is an honest, emotional, exploration of their past and their present, showing what their love and relationship is like. I couldn't help but fall in love with them as I got to see how they met and fell in love with each other. My favorite thing is that Georgie, a detail-oriented writer, notices details that really make the story come alive and feel real: her 4-year-old who meows cutely "Meow, Mommy!" to the way her husband draws hedgehogs lazily on her arm to the underwire of her broken bra to the feel of the old rotary phone as it dials.

There is also the big picture to think about--if she holds in her hand a way to communicate with Neil in the past, the Neil she fell in love with, the Neil who was in love with her once and maybe isn't any more, should she try to use that to repair her marriage or to let Neil go? Can she make changes to her timeline? Should she? Will she? It's fascinating and heartbreaking and heartwarming and humorous as well.

So much of this book is phone calls, but it didn't feel like a device, probably because I was reading it on audio. Because so much of the story is people talking, it was a joy to listen to on audio. I loved hearing the conversations as well as Georgie's thoughts about the situation.

A wonderful read, even though I was a little shocked at the way it ended. I kept screaming at the CDs, hoping that something would happen, and I couldn't believe it when it didn't!