P.S. I Love You - Cecilia Ahern

I really enjoyed this book. I like chic lit anyway because it tends to be cheerful, to have characters I can relate to (i.e., normal people), and because it’s set in the world I live in (or something like it). It focuses on real people with real problems – in this case, most notably, how you cope when the love of your life has just died and you’re not yet 30. Sounds heavy, but it’s not – I never felt that the main character’s situation was trivialized in any way, and yet this is a really fun read.

I also like that this book has rather less (obvious) sex compared to most chic lit I’ve read. Maybe that’s an Irish thing? Either way, it works for me as it means I don’t have to try so hard to suspend my own moral values in order to enjoy the story. Certainly the book doesn’t feel very Irish – this doesn’t feel like someone writing about Ireland, just about home, and people are the same all over the world.

I sometimes complain about unrealistic coincidences in novels, and there was one little one in this book – but then, I think it gets away with it, because it’s not important to the plot and it’s really funny. And of course, coincidences happen all the time in real life.

Another thing I liked in the book was its attitude to work. Work in this book is not merely something you put up with so you can go out and party. Well, it is to start with – but part of the character’s journey is that she learns for the first time the joy of having the right job and doing it well.

I also really liked the ending. This book is not predictable, and as with the rest of the book, it didn’t go with the obvious twee answer. But it’s a happy ending and very positive.

One more thing about this book that amazed me – I can’t believe she was only 21 when she wrote this! I found it really thoughtful and perceptive, and definitely not the writing of someone who only got published because her dad was the prime minister! Ah, what have I been doing with my life ...