Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Rating : 3.5 stars

Rainbow Rowell has slowly but surely made her way into my book shelf and I now own almost all her books, without even realising it. I can't seem to put my finger on what it is about her books that draw me in and really engage me. For me, she isn't one of my favourite writers of all time and I have yet to read a book from her that is life-changing and truly thought-provoking. But the active word here is "yet". I love her simple yet thought-ful way of writing and I am confident that I will find a story by her that will resonate with me.

Attachments is an unlikely love story between two people who have never met. Lincoln has an out-of-the-ordinary job of reading "flagged" emails and keeping the corporate environment of a newspaper publishing firm, well, corporate. Beth and Jennifer's emails to each other were constantly flagged due its personal contents and slowly, Lincoln learns more about these women than he probably should.

Wait. I feel like this is sounding like a synopsis to some raunchy soft porn.

Rewind.

Beth and Jennifer were basically talking about their own personal problems in life via their company email and Lincoln, as the firm's internet security officer found out. What Lincoln found out is that the more read from Beth, the more he liked her and her sense of humour. But it's not like he can just go over to this woman who he has yet to meet in person and tell her that he liked her. That is the main dilemma that Lincoln has. Never mind the fact that Beth and her rockstar boyfriend have been together for 9 years and counting.

This book was a really easy read and I honestly should've breezed through it. The chapters switch between Beth and Jennifer's hilarious email conversations and Lincoln's life in regular narrative. Lincoln is such a lovely character. It's really hard to NOT like him. There is really nothing not to like. He isn't pretentious, isn't too handsome, is a kind and gentle human being who is sort of an introvert and is in the midst of getting his life back on track. He was a twenty-something, still living with his mom and working the night shift, reading people's emails. Although it was a long time ago, the wounds from his previous relationship were still fresh in his mind.

Lincoln is the main reason I enjoyed this book. I feel many in the current generation, especially in Asia, will understand Lincoln's plight. His dissatisfaction with his current job, his lack of freedom despite being an adult. He is like pseudo-adult, still attached to his umbilical cord. Similar to many young adults now. His thoughts on socialising and making friends. Not just any friends, but "adult" friends. It's tough. But not like "I-have-survived-war" tough. Just ordinarily so, and that is what makes Lincoln so relatable.

The book is beautifully written although there many aspects that were quite strange and unrealistic. I was not quite satisfied with the ending, because it was rather confusing and strange. How everything fell into place so suddenly. After waiting AGES for Lincoln to grow the balls to approach Beth, it all somehow worked out in the end and they began making out with each other. Which irked me a little, because it made Lincoln lose that relatable nature he had going for him. It also didn't seem organic. I wish Lincoln had done SOMETHING and really overcome his fear of confrontation and really facing the situation. That would've been inspiring.

Otherwise, I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a light read. It is refreshing to see the world through a male, young adult protagonist. There were parts in the book where I laughed out loud and parts that were so romantic, it made me want to marry Lincoln, if I could. Overall, enjoyable, but nothing revolutionary in the world of young adult romances.

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