by Rainbow Rowell, Rebecca Lowman (Narrator)
DETAILS:
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Publication Date: July 27, 2020
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 8 hr., 55 min.
Read Date: May 31-June 2, 2022
A Bit of Backstory
I read this back when it was first published—I stumbled upon it browsing my library’s New Release shelf and decided to give it a try. I have no idea why—it’s been over a decade, and I couldn’t tell you. It probably seemed like something in the Hornby/Tropper/Gayle-vein, which was/is good enough for me.
It led me to read the next few books that Rowell put out, too—I had to give up on her stuff once she wrote a book set in the universe that Fangirl wrote fan-fic about. It got too meta for me, and honestly, I couldn’t get into that part of Fangirl in the first place.
A few weeks ago, my library added the audiobook to its digital shelf, and so it came up again as I was browsing New Releases. Needing a break from my typical listens, I decided to revisit this. I think if I’d thought about the story a bit, I wouldn’t have. But who knows.
What’s Attachments About?
I’m not going to be able to give my synopsis, because I’m going to end up tying myself in knots (see below), so I’m just going to appropriate the Publisher’s:
Beth and Jennifer know their company monitors their office e-mail. But the women still spend all day sending each other messages, gossiping about their coworkers at the newspaper and baring their personal lives like an open book. Jennifer tells Beth everything she can’t seem to tell her husband about her anxieties over starting a family. And Beth tells Jennifer everything, period.
When Lincoln applied to be an Internet security officer, he hardly imagined he’d be sifting through other people’s inboxes like some sort of electronic Peeping Tom. Lincoln is supposed to turn people in for misusing company e-mail, but he can’t quite bring himself to crack down on Beth and Jennifer. He can’t help but be entertained—and captivated—by their stories.
But by the time Lincoln realizes he’s falling for Beth, it’s way too late for him to ever introduce himself. What would he say to her? “Hi, I’m the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you.” After a series of close encounters and missed connections, Lincoln decides it’s time to muster the courage to follow his heart . . . even if he can’t see exactly where it’s leading him.
Written with whip-smart precision and charm, Attachments is a strikingly clever and deeply romantic debut about falling in love with the person who makes you feel like the best version of yourself. Even if it’s someone you’ve never met.
The Other Attachments
Obviously, Lincoln and Beth are the central characters of this novel and the relationship/lack thereof/whatever-you-want-to-call-it between them is the important bit. But the title is Attachments, and it’s the other attachments where this novel shines brightest (and least problematically…but that’s for later).
The e-mails between Beth and Jennifer are what hooks the reader—as much as they hook Lincoln. Their friendship, the support, the advice—that link is what’s going to get the reader invested in Beth.
Lincoln’s lack of attachments to others—other than his sister and mother, anyway—is what’s going to draw the reader in. You feel for him—you know he’s pretty much alone in this world—defined mostly by the broken attachment to his ex-. And that was, what, almost a decade ago? He can’t move on yet—and you see that in his relative lack of attachments. The closest thing he has to a real relationship (of any kind) is with his D&D group. It’s when Lincoln starts putting energy (spurred by reading these emails and realizing he needs something else in his life) into building/strengthening attachments/relationships with others that Lincoln is able to move on from his ex- and turn into someone that would attract Beth (or anyone else, and there are possibilities). Not just attract, but would be good for—he needs to remember how to be a good friend/romantic partner.
This aspect of the novel deserves more space, but someone else needs to do that.
So….How Did this Age?
When I mentioned to my wife that I was listening to this book (that she also enjoyed a decade ago), she asked, “How did that age? Does it work today?” And…I’m not sure.
I reflexively grant the benefit of the doubt to a book written in another period—yes in Classic book X, a character might use a term no one would use today, but that doesn’t mean the book/author is whatever -ist we’d call them now. The most counter-cultural novel of 50 years ago will seem regressive today. So, there’s a little bit of that going on.
Still, there’s no getting around the fact that Lincoln reading private correspondence and basing his infatuation off of that is creepy with a capital EEP. In 2022, there’s no way Rowell gets this published. It’s arguable that she shouldn’t have got it published in 2011.
I’m not saying Beth’s actions toward Lincoln before they meet are less creepy, but they’re negligible. Especially if you compare the two. (really not endorsing moral equivalence the way that it looks there…I don’t think).
But…ugh. This is where I reveal that I’m a horrible person, I guess. The way Rowell presents it, and the way the characters are frank about the wrongness of what he did, kind of wins me over. The last couple of chapters are so sweet that you want to see them get past this horrible hurdle. Rowell’s charm and wit carry you to this point and then you just want these two crazy kids to get past this and live a happy life together.
It’s horrible, it’s terrible, and it’s problematic in more ways than I can express in this post if I talked about nothing else. And that should not be minimized. Buuuut, it’s cute and charming and funny, and you kind of melt. (which probably does that minimizing that I just said shouldn’t be done…)
On the Other Hand…
So I wrote the above section, as honestly as I could, set it down, and did something else. And a voice started yelling in the back of my head. “But Lincoln was wrong!” He cyber-stalked Beth, invaded her privacy, violated his job duties, and probably should be prosecuted.
If I came at this fresh today. If I listened/read this without the baggage of remembering that I enjoyed this, enjoying what Rowell produces (unless it involves adolescent wizards), and generally trusting her—I wouldn’t finish it. I’d have definitively DNF’d this, given it a 1-Star, and written Rowell off forever, not even glancing at anything else she wrote.
How was the Narration?
None of the problems of the work should be laid at Rebecca Lowman’s feet—she knocked this out of the park. It can’t be easy portraying someone reading the emails of others and letting that bring out a personality, but she does it. Also, she makes you believe the emails are dialogue, not extended monologues. Really good job by Lowman (and the director/editor, too).
Lowman also did the Eleanor parts of the Eleanor & Park audiobook. I remember thinking she crushed that, too, a few years ago when I listened to it. Basically, I need to keep an eye out for audiobooks by her.
So, what did I think about Attachments?
I…I just don’t know. I gave this 4 1/2 stars when I first read it. And I can absolutely see why. But I also know that I’d give it 1 1/2 stars as I DNFed it today (Rowell’s wit would’ve forced me to give it that extra half, no matter what moral bankruptcy existed).
I did find it interesting that I remembered the plot so poorly—the last hour or so felt like I’d never read it before. I’d remembered a completely different plotline for the last third or so of the book (and have spent a week trying to figure out what novel/movie’s plot I’d unconsciously merged with this one). I got the broad overview right, but wow…the things I got wrong. But then again, it has been a decade-plus.
I can’t recommend this book, and probably shouldn’t have. But if you read it (and can get past the hero being a stalker), you’re going to enjoy it. If Rowell gets back to writing things that don’t involve teen magic users, I will gladly read it. I love her style, her humor, her references, and the way she damaged characters finding love—particularly the way they express that love. Her dialogue is some of the best around.
I just feel icky that I enjoyed this so much.
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