Book Review: The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick (no spoilers)

Book: The Silver Linings Playbook
Author: Matthew Quick
Publication: April 27, 2010
Source: Local Library
Rating: 5/5 Stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

Meet Pat. Pat has a theory: his life is a movie produced by God. And his God-given mission is to become physically fit and emotionally literate, whereupon God will ensure a happy ending for him -- the return of his estranged wife Nikki. (It might not come as a surprise to learn that Pat has spent time in a mental health facility.) The problem is, Pat's now home, and everything feels off. No one will talk to him about Nikki; his beloved Philadelphia Eagles keep losing; he's being pursued by the deeply odd Tiffany; his new therapist seems to recommend adultery as a form of therapy  Plus, he's being hunted by Kenny G!

 In this enchanting novel, Matthew Quick takes us inside Pat's mind, showing us the world from his distorted yet endearing perspective. As the award-winning novelist Justin Cronin put it: "Tender, soulful, hilarious, and true, The Silver Linings Playbook is a wonderful debut."

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My Thoughts:
Silver Linings Playbook what a heartwarming novel and so different from any other book I have read. I have not read a book about mental illness before so to say the least I was intrigued about this novel. It also helped that it is now a major motion picture. I have not seen the movie so I was able to judge the book while leaving the movie out of it. The movie on the other hand will be judged using the book as my reference.

I imagined the characters as Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence because there are such well known actors. I think if they were lesser known actors I may have imagined the characters for myself, but I didn't mind. Pat is the main character of this novel. He has lost his memory and spent the last 4 years in a mental health facility. His whole goal is to get his wife Nikki back. He refers to their time apart as apart time because he believes they are taking a break from their relationship. Something always felt strange to me about the way he talked about Nikki and how his parents and friends acted whenever her name was said which I later found out the reason why. I'm extremely jealous of Pat's dedication to working out. I really wish I could get myself to workout as much everyday as he does. I like that Pat isn't a perfect character besides his mental health he has many other flaws that don't ruin him as a character, but made me anyways like him more. I like when characters have flaws because you can relate to them. I couldn't totally relate to Pat, but in a lot of ways I could.

Tiffany is invited over for dinner one night when Pat is at his friend Ronnie's house. From the beginning Pat isn't sure about Tiffany. He just wants to get rid of her because he is waiting for apart time to be over and for Nikki to come back. I really thought Tiffany was an odd character and not just because of her mental illness. She had some stalker like tendencies and she always seemed like she was plotting something which I was later correct. Deep down Tiffany is a good person and we do realize that at some point.

I had to laugh at how deep of a fan Pat, his father, and his brother Jake were of the Eagles football team. Pat loved Hank Baskett who is no longer playing football. I'm guessing Quick is probably a fan also. This book has a lot of football references which truly I didn't mind at all because it didn't distract from the book.

This book is all about silver linings and happy endings. Although I know that happy endings can't always happen in life it sure is nice to read a book that promotes us to be positive. I think that is the most important thing I took away from this book. I really like Pat and Tiffany. I really enjoyed this book. The ending does not disappoint and there are so many unexpected things in this novel that I loved. Now I just hope the movie can do this fabulous book justice.


Thanks


Rachael