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A review by usandalgona
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
4.0
- MUST HEAVILY REVISE REVIEW -
It would be five stars if I hadn't lost interest in the slower middle part of the book and hadn't taken this long to finish it (although much of this reading delay is due to school).
I appreciate the controversy that this book brings up. These ideas, especially about suicide which is a trigger and a taboo subject (thinly disguised but still disguised, even with the common and absolutely, totally ignorant comments of "Kill yourself"), are in the open and convey the blurred lines that Will and Louisa walk.
I've heard arguments that this novel has some aspects of ableism - hence the very gray and blurred lines. I disagree with that sentiment, as there are numerous instances of the book where there are very clear disclaimers and evidence that it's not. I also think it's key that Louisa and Will fundamentally change, although they still remain their own persons; it's easy to see how people who don't read the book and assume it's ableist think that they're right, instantly. But I do see one hole: when Will gives Louisa some of his money. I'm glad it wasn't all of his fortune or anything like that, and I understand the feelings behind it - he even writes it all in the letter! smack-dab for us all to see - but it is a bit iffy after only months together. Of course, my argument to that is that they see each other for a very long period of time for days back-to-back, and their interactions and the intimacy of Louisa's duties allowed them to become intimate despite having known each other for only months. I honestly understood Will's intentions with the money when I first read it, but when I heard someone else's opinions about it, it becomes questionable, I will admit that. And in the end, it was Will's choice, so I don't know if anyone else who has not gone through all that he has gone through can really speak in his stead. It's like thinking there is only one correct interpretation of a poem. And there isn't. What the poet "really" intended is not even any of your business, most of the time; it's not something you need to concern yourself with. I saw his last letter to Louisa as a sort of passing-down of legacy, perhaps, of freedom. That is how I read it. But I also think it's essential for me to keep in mind how others react to it differently, especially when they have not read the book. It's definitely fascinating and many times infuriating to see people judge this book by its surface.
It would be five stars if I hadn't lost interest in the slower middle part of the book and hadn't taken this long to finish it (although much of this reading delay is due to school).
I appreciate the controversy that this book brings up. These ideas, especially about suicide which is a trigger and a taboo subject (thinly disguised but still disguised, even with the common and absolutely, totally ignorant comments of "Kill yourself"), are in the open and convey the blurred lines that Will and Louisa walk.
I've heard arguments that this novel has some aspects of ableism - hence the very gray and blurred lines. I disagree with that sentiment, as there are numerous instances of the book where there are very clear disclaimers and evidence that it's not. I also think it's key that Louisa and Will fundamentally change, although they still remain their own persons; it's easy to see how people who don't read the book and assume it's ableist think that they're right, instantly. But I do see one hole: when Will gives Louisa some of his money. I'm glad it wasn't all of his fortune or anything like that, and I understand the feelings behind it - he even writes it all in the letter! smack-dab for us all to see - but it is a bit iffy after only months together. Of course, my argument to that is that they see each other for a very long period of time for days back-to-back, and their interactions and the intimacy of Louisa's duties allowed them to become intimate despite having known each other for only months. I honestly understood Will's intentions with the money when I first read it, but when I heard someone else's opinions about it, it becomes questionable, I will admit that. And in the end, it was Will's choice, so I don't know if anyone else who has not gone through all that he has gone through can really speak in his stead. It's like thinking there is only one correct interpretation of a poem. And there isn't. What the poet "really" intended is not even any of your business, most of the time; it's not something you need to concern yourself with. I saw his last letter to Louisa as a sort of passing-down of legacy, perhaps, of freedom. That is how I read it. But I also think it's essential for me to keep in mind how others react to it differently, especially when they have not read the book. It's definitely fascinating and many times infuriating to see people judge this book by its surface.