LANDLINE by Rainbow Rowell Book Review
Publication Date: July 8th 2014 by St. Martin’s Press
Rating: 
– Exceeds Expectations
Book Summary: Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it’s been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems besides the point now.
Maybe that was always besides 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 to 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?
Landline by Rainbow Rowell Book Review Overview:
- Not too plot heavy, but rich in character development
- Realistic romance
- Rainbow Rowell delivers another winner
I don’t usually read adult novels that aren’t historical romances. But I do make the exception for Rainbow Rowell. After enjoying her adult debut, Attachments, I vowed to read everything she’s published – both adult and young adult.
The concept of Rainbow Rowell’s newest novel, LANDLINE is quirky and simple: what happens when a magic telephone allows you to talk to someone from the past? Georgie McCool realizes her marriage is in trouble when her husband and children leave without her to spend Christmas in Nebraska. While Georgie struggles to figure things out, she discovers a magic telephone at her mother’s house that allows her to talk to her husband, Neal,before they ever got married. Georgie is faced with the opportunity to either fix her marriage or decide if Neal is better off without the marriage ever happening.
Rainbow Rowell’s strengths lie in her ability to create such vivid and realistic characters. While the novel isn’t plot heavy, LANDLINE is rich in strong character development. Rowell paints vivid pictures of every character in the novel. I felt that it was really easy to relate to Georgie and see why it isn’t easy for her to discover what is most important at the moment.
In addition to character development, the interpersonal relationships amongst the characters are also strong. We fall in love with Georgie and Neal’s relationship just as she flashbacks to the past. I also found Georgie’s relationships with her daughters to be sweet and endearing.
With any novel that has a bit of time travel, the concept of fate almost has to come up. I really enjoyed how Georgie always questioned everything that was happening. Does she still have the chance to change the present? Or has her conversations with Neal already happened?
The ending of Landline by Rainbow Rowell was realistic and sweet. The resolution was not grandiose, and it ended with just the right amount of subtlety and romance. I continue to enjoy Rainbow Rowell’s work, both adult and young adult. Landline by Rainbow Rowell is a strong character-driven novel about rediscovering love.
About the Author
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Find the Author
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Rainbow Rowell writes books. Sometimes she writes about adults (ATTACHMENTS and LANDLINE). Sometimes she writes about teenagers (ELEANOR & PARK and FANGIRL). But she always writes about people who talk a lot. And people who feel like they’re screwing up. And people who fall in love.
