Landline by Rainbow Rowell Review

Landline, by Rainbow Rowell
Publication: July 8, 2014, by St. Martin's Press
Genre: Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Fantasy
Pages: 308
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Rating: ½

Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble; it has been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now.
Maybe that was always beside the point.
Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn't expect him to pack up the kids and go home without her.
When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.
That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts...
Is that what she’s supposed to do?
Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?

Rainbow Rowell's books are like the most devouring thing in the world—better than ice cream, cake and french fries. Really. Every single thing that this woman writes is classy, intriguing, and unlike anything I've read before. She can focus the whole book on one separate romance scene, and I wouldn't roll my eyes whatsoever. I'm SO GLAD that I finally went for this one after it spent half of a year in my shelf, calling me with its yellow phone. 

I just can't even explain my feelings and emotions in this whole review, people. I was a little hesitant afterwards when I heard that this book contains some fantasy, since I've never read anything of Rowell's that contains this genre and theme, but I can tell you that I'm not even doubting or blinking my eye when I'm thinking about October's Carry On. Rainbow didn't focus the whole book on the fantasy time-traveling thing and just added it into the novel as something sweet, sassy, and extra to make readers' days and have them smiling from head to toe. I'm usually not into time-traveling books, but this wasn't a Doctor Who garbage thing. Everything by Rowell always focuses on the romance, and this was just added to create a twist in our protagonist, Georgie's life.

"If Georgie didn't talk to her kids all day, it was easier to pretend like their whole world froze in place while she was at work. She called them every day. Usually twice."

This can practically be classified as a vintage book. Since Eleanor and Park was written in the perspective of the time of the 80s, I'm used to the olden-day setting, and this book kind of had that feel when Georgie's life changed and switched in and out of the past when she met Neal to the present, and she couldn't believe her eyes either. I love the setting, and the perspectives, especially since it was difficult to realize whether Georgie was speaking to the present-day Neal or the one who she first fell in love with. And really, this book lived up to the moments where Neal came up to Georgie on Christmas Day and gracefully (and romantically in his own way) proposed to her, and I just couldn't help squealing when the moment came. And we were never sure how fast the book would lead up to that second, that millisecond where Georgie's world turned upside down. Man, wasn't that unpredictable!

This begins with a bam, a bang. When the book actually began, I felt like I was starring in an action movie where the gunshots are rung right at the start and the whole movie theatre is literally shaking like an earthquake with all of the booms. Georgie comes home from work, expecting a great start to her evening, when it simply leads up to the moments where she feels like her marriage is about to fall apart... and feels that her husband, Neal, may not love her anymore. Georgie works at a TV-show developer studio where she writes scripts and plans shows alongside her best friend, Seth, who her husband is jealous of since they've spent so much time together for so many years. Georgie now finds out that the dream that the developers of work have always had—to get a show picked up by a crazy-awesome studio, and it's happening. When her husband planned a family trip to visit his parents in Nebraska that Christmas, Georgie's plans are ruined since she has to work, but her husband and two daughters decide to go along anyways. Georgie's world now falls apart as she loses the people she loves the most and feels no connection with them anymore. What happens when you get to go back into the past, and meet the person who once loved you the most?

Man, don't I wish for that to happen to me. Now I'm literally running around my house, calling my friends' home phones, and hoping that their younger selves are picking up the phone, answering with their high-pitched childish voices, and leaving me with a smile. Or, now this makes me wish that my own younger self who was in hard times picked up the phone, and zapped me back into the past, where I know that there'd be a few things in life that I'd do differently. And all of these imaginative thoughts came out from one masterful novel unlike any other.

This deals with philosophy (the meaning of life and being with SOMEONE, my friends!), friendship, love and loss, in a way. If you look in between the lines, you'll find that there are tons of more issues that are focused on, and I just can't get over them. Hey, you'll even see some kind of cute love triangle, some diversity and LGBT aspects all over the place. But, this wasn't the main topic, but I'm so grateful and glad that the author incorporated all of these aspects here—because it's that good of a book to deserve to hold everything in place here.

"Sometimes, even when they were talking, they weren't really talking. Sometimes they were just negotiating each other. Keeping each other posted. But it had never been like this before. Radio silence. There'd always been his voice."

This book contained what you call normal adult literature. By normal, I mean something that's like YA writing, and without the dirty, sexy stuff. We didn't need that, just like Rainbow's Attachments didn't, either. I normally rarely read adult books, but I can and it's not a problem for me, and when I do, I usually make the right decision and be wise to choose the fantastic books that everyone's raving about—those who enjoy adult books in general or not. I can tell why this won a Goodreads Choice Award last year, it deserved ten of them for that matter.

When I began reading, the action was there. By action, I mean drama and sassiness and bittersweet feelings and romance that came from both me and the characters. I had a romance with this book, yes. The plot continued to be magnificent for the rest of the 308 pages, and I found that I basically read the last 85% of this in one gracious sitting. I never once looked at the time or my phone, and I can tell you that there had been distractions all around me. No temptations, no nothing—nada. This happens rarely, and I'm so glad that Rainbow Rowell saved me with this book, every book is like a guide to having a good and healthy relationship with someone since bad things happen to everyone. For humans, tragedy and loss is a norm, and we can't believe that fiction won't hold it, either, because everyone has relationship problems, even if you're with your #1 true soulmate in the world. Georgie may have not been with her soulmate (at least she hadn't felt that she was), but she wanted things to be smooth. 

I can honestly talk about the themes and the genre and message for over ten thousand hours. This probably is Rowell's most gracious book to actually talk about and have a huge wonderful discussion on, because we can go through so many things. It's raw and satisfying. It's like biting into a piece of jello, melting in your mouth with its sweet but light flavour.

Georgie was so fucking hilarious. She isn't your perfect mom or wife, and I loved how much Rowell emphasized that about her. She's differentiated from most fictional characters, and she wasn't your average person, either. She is the definition of unique and kick-ass, and although she tried to act like she doesn't, she missed everyone and couldn't stand to be alone. Even the most quiet and shy working-alone person gets lonely, and that shows in her character. Scratch that, she isn't a character, she's a person that I see walking on the street, giggling and talking on the phone, on the yellow telephone to her husband in the past. O_O

My tiny problem was Neal. No, no, I loved him—don't think I'm stating what you actually think I'm stating. I found that I actually ended up liking his character better in the end than in the beginning, when readers were supposed to feel pity and pathos for him since he was left alone with his two younger wild daughters while his wife went to work and spent her days with the guy who he's jealous of. I didn't like him—I actually began to ship Georgie with Seth. Although I'm used to Rainbow's writing, I was actually getting a little afraid that the author would purposely put Georgie and him together in the end, once I actually began to like Neal's character more. His love for his wife truly began to show more after we got to see how he had been in the past. *blushes*

This gave me the feels, and my emotions were all drained out after me once I closed the book because this was so good that I couldn't believe my eyes. Rainbow Rowell has given me the wish to go into the landline and visit the past of people I love (or once loved). Books can make you wish and put you into a wishful situation, no? Don't take this book for granted—because you won't find anything like this for a while, or ever. TRUST ME AND TRUST THE LANDLINE.

Go for this book—start off with the action scene, and you'll find yourself unable to control yourself any longer without this master's writing. She's like the ninja goddess of books, and the god of books. You'll fall in love with the outrageously hilarious but tragic (in a way) story of Neal and Georgie, two lost lovers whose love never wants to die and fade away because deep inside, they both have to know that it's meant to be for them to be together. You'll laugh, cry, and twist your ankle as you're reading this while you're going down the stairs. 

Who would you call to if you were given the chance to talk to someone in the past?