The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick

© SLPTWC Films, LLC.

Picador
2009
ISBN 978-1-4472-1989-7
289 s.
☆☆
Oma

I have to admit that the reason for my interest in this book was solely thanks to Jennifer Lawrence winning the Oscar for the movie. I've always associated the Oscars with mainstream movies which always contain the same elements and always have the same sort of storyline. Hence I was a tad disappointed when the book wasn't anything like what I expected it to be. Maybe I should be ashamed of myself, finally finding a book that is almost completely free of clichés and then not liking it just because of that, but I couldn't help myself.

The Silver Linings Playbook tells the story of Pat Peoples who has lost his memory of his time spent in "the bad place", or neural health facility. His mother gets him out of the facility after three years or so, and nothing is quite the same as it used to be. His father is still the football geek he always was, so is his brother, and his apart time from his wife Nikki is still going strong. Motivated by his will to be reunited with his wife, Pat works out ceaselessly, takes ten mile runs and practices being kind rather than right. He always tries to see the silver lining to everything and strives to be everything his wife always wanted him to be. Due to his dedication to this sole purpose, he becomes blind to what's right under his nose.

What I expected was a book in many layers. Yet once again I was let down by a male author. Some people just can't write multiple story lines at the same time, but must handle one thing at a time. The first 3/4 is filled with Pat's exercise routines, his father's crankiness, American football and anger management issues. The love story (if you can call it a one) is cramped into the last 1/4 of the book. I just hope the movie was better. This book left me cold. It's been a while since I read something that had so little impact on me, and for this I grant this book whole of two stars. Suck on that, angry Patrick Peoples who is so stuck in his stupid football fantasy that he can't even talk to his son!