If anybody asked me what three things I’d like to take with me on an island, I would say two books and a sunscreen lotion. I had two books with me on my trip to Koh Chang (Elephant Island), and one of them was Thanks for the Memories.
The reason I bought this book was P.S. I Love You, the movie. I just loved that movie (I must confess Gerard Butler helped a lot in that regard) and even though I haven’t read the book this movie was based on or any other book by this author for that matter, I decided it was time to break the ice.
Thanks for the Memories is what I like to refer to as ‘light reading’. After “The Poisonwood Bible” and “The Passage” I felt the need for something different, something romantic and more optimistic.
The story is pretty uncomplicated and even though you can see where it’s going, it’s the journey that counts and not the destination, as the saying goes.
Joyce and Justin (it almost sounds like Jack and Jill, doesn’t it) are two people at a crossroads in their lives and it almost felt like fate said, let’s take these two and put them together, they would do just fine. How that happens is a bit out of the ordinary and without giving too much away I can safely say it was quite fun to read as Joyce decided to follow her instincts and walk the path that would eventually take her to Justin.
Even though the book doesn’t start on a lighter note, there are quite a few scenes and characters too, that soon change that. Joyce’s father spices things up a bit in a very old fashioned and endearing way, followed closely by Justin’s sister in law whose “inch-long leopard print nails and skin-tight leather-trouser-clad hips” brought back to mind Peggy Bundy from the “Married with Children” tv series.
All in all an entertaining read, just perfect for a day on the beach under a big tree with the sun winking cheerfully through the leaves above and the sound of the waves in the background.
*Read in March, 2011
I don’t normally read these types of novels, but I must say your words convey a sense of it being a charming story. And combined with your beach imagery, how does one refuse?
I don’t normally read them either but after watching that movie I was curious to see how this author tells a story. I should have probably read P.S. I Love You, as I find that idea more appealing than the one this particular book was based on.
What happens in some cases, is that some films turn out better than the source material. One example is ” The Bridges of Madison County”. The novel was widely torn apart by critics, and yet the film was very good, and heartbreaking. Meryl Streep was wonderful in it.
I may have seen the movie. I remember a scene with Meryl Streep in the bathtub but not much more. 😀
I can’t remember of a lot of movies that turn out better than the books. It’s usually the other way around.