Me Before You - am I the only person in the world not to love it?

[EleanorofProvence]

Just over half way through this book and finding it a bit of a chore to read. It seems like everyone else loves it & pretty much all the reviews I've read have raved about it. Why? What am I missing?

[TheEagle]

Little Black

Ah, I read this when heavily pregnant with twins and it still failed to stir up any emotions in me.

Stupid characters, cardboard cutouts of real people. The rape subplot just seemingly thrown in and badly managed.

[loobylou10]

Nope not the only one. Did nothing for me at all - found it tiresome and predictable.

[AmysTiara]

No I didn't like it either. Put me off reading any of the authors other books.

[ImperialBlether]

I didn't mind the relationship between the couple (can't remember their names) but the depiction of her family was terrible, as was his.

[ThenLaterWhenItGotDark]

I quite enjoyed it as a less-shoes-and-shagging chick lit fest, but I shan't be reading the sequel or watching the film.

I suppose it proves yet again the point that a heavy subject matter does not great literature make (Splendid Suns and Kites thingy I'm looking at ya)

I do love a good tearjerker though if anyone wants to recommend any? we could all sob in unison?

[ThenLaterWhenItGotDark]

His parents reminded me of Dexter's dreadful snotty mother in One Day. (another one which didn't make me cry, or run to the cinema. I hated Dexter.)

[HamaTime]

I hated it for all the reasons you summed up in your second post. The jolliness of her family with their cups of tea and a bedroom with no window and the granddad and roast chicken. He was like Henry Higgins, but more twatty and his parents were ridiculous stereotypes too. And she was a shit carer.

[HamaTime]

Yes to also hating One Day

[EleanorofProvence]

I'm feeling genuinely uplifted by this thread

Maybe she was challenging herself to see how many tiresome WC stereotypes she could chuck in

(I come from a genuinely WC background - coal mining - and that part of the book really pissed me off.)

[EleanorofProvence]

The Kite Runner? Didn't like that either...

[cissyfuss]

Hours of my life I'll never get back...

[gincamelbak]

I cried. But then I always do.

I had actually separated, in my mind, the Dignitas section from the rest of the book. That was all nonsense amd badly written as though it had been created from the offcuts of other badly written chick lit books. Bad boyfriend, money problems, quirky dress sense, dark secret that changed the heroine, then redemptive love conquers all, bit of sex amd wahey! Book sorted. Then a surprisingly sensitive bit about assisted dying. Then awful bit about heroine learning what life is really about or what have you. Tosh.

I don't think I'll watch the film. Not sure I can take danaerys targaryen on top of the rubbish plot...

[TheEagle]

The main character in The Kite Runner was a self centred, weak, loathsome fellow! Hated it too.

The Snow Child is beautiful and sad but not a traditional romance.

[EleanorofProvence]

I don't really do tearjerkers but two of the most emotionally wrenching novels I've read are The Siege by Helen Dunmore & The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell.

[AlmaMartyr]

I cried, but I once cried at Chuggington so that's no indicator. Yy to this thread. I quite enjoyed it as a very light read one evening, but very surprised to hear some of the raving over it. No depth to it and very one dimensional characters (Lou really irritated me). The stereotypes were deeply irritating. I hate-read the sequel as well, and thought it was even worse. Very glad I'm not the only one.

[ootsideinbacktaefront]

It was a bit rubbish but the books she had out after were a million times worse, I can't remember name I think I tried to blank it out

[woody2976]

well if you think the books shit you should see the film trailer!!!

[ThenLaterWhenItGotDark]

I can't remember, but I bet her hair smelt of lemons like all of Freya North's ridiculous heroines do.

Tell you which chick lit I did recently like- not a tearjerker though- You Had me at Hello. That was nice enough for something lobbed into my trolley in Asda.

[ImperialBlether]

Oh I loved that, too, ThenLater! It's here if anyone's interested.

[FiveGoMadInDorset]

I read the blurb and put the book back down

[crapfatbanana]

I thought it was cack.

[Quogwinkle]

I hated One Day too (but really enjoyed Us). The Kite Runner I enjoyed up to the point they left Afghanistan. After that I loathed it, and hated the ending. Not read Thousand Splendid Suns. Didn't think that much to Mountains Echoed either. Oh and while I'm on the didn't likes - Brooklyn and Nora Webster by Colm Toibin. I really don't like his pared down to the bones writing style.

[CoteDAzur]

A friend told me what Me Before You was about and I ran in the opposite direction. You could tell from the outline of the plot that it was going to be nothing but chick-lit.

1000 Splendid Suns's plot tricked me into thinking it might be good but it was terrible. Superficial rubbish full of mistakes, with zero insight into Afghanistan (which the author left as a child).

[BennyTheBall]

My friend recommended this book to me - she'd loved it.

I thought it was a pile o'shite.

I hate chick lit.

[RalphSteadmansEye]

I hate chick lit, too, but so do loads of people, and yet some of these people - including people whose opinions I usually value - all went on about how brilliant MBY was and talked about it in completely different terms.

Until this thread I thought I was missing something...