Books are made of paper, string, glue, and ink. When these materials are alone they don’t seem very significant, but when put together they can be life altering… For years I’ve been exploring binded stacks paper for “The Best Book of All Time”; perhaps I’ll never find it, but the search will be legendary. I’ve been to Tudor England with Philippa Gregory, through the French Revolution with Charles Dickens, I’ve fought for American Independence with Thomas Paine, and died in the Holocaust with Anne Frank, I’ve even learned about war from Sun Tzu.

But this post isn’t about the ‘best book’, it’s about my favorite book: Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick. You’ve probably seen the movie; Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence are in it. No disrespect to Brad or Jen (who are two of my favorite actors), but the book kills the movie.

Humans are such a crazy phenomenon. We are all different, but also the same. We all desire a happy ending. We all want to seem nicely put together like the pieces of a puzzle, even when we’re falling apart… Some of us are just more honest about it than others. I mean, not everyone is clinically diagnosed as bipolar, like Pat (the main character), but if you read this novel with an open mind you’ll realize that we’re all like him in some way. I know I am.

Needleless to say, Pat is certifiably crazy, I’m not crazy per say, but I’m proud say that we share likenesses. He believes that if you do everything you can, work as hard as you can, and stay positive, you’ll have a shot at a silver lining. Pat is passionate and driven; despite his jaded and overwhelmingly negative past.

We all have outlets, things that help us get away, control the chaos, feel rejuvenated; this is where Pat and I are even more alike, we both binge read and workout. We both feel sorry for Holden from “The Catcher in the Rye”, and are both outraged at Ernest Hemingway for the end of “A Farewell to Arms”. I wonder how Pat would feel about “A Tale of Two Cities”?

Oh yea, and Pat compares his therapist to Yoda and himself to Luke Skywalker (Empire Strikes Back) when Luke carries Yoda on his shoulders during training on Dagobah. An unorthodox comparison, but I understand what it feels like to carry a lot on your shoulders, all while hoping you don’t let anyone you care about down. It’s a heavy burden.

And then, all the sudden, Tiffany enters Pat’s life and everything starts getting better, everything starts getting more positive and hopeful. My husband; Parker, is my Tiffany… I not going to say anything else, I don’t want to ruin the ending.

Life is messy, but at the same time life is wonderful…. And there is always a Silver Lining.

-Elizabeth

Like This Post? Check Out My Thoughts on Reading a Series: Reading the Last Book of A Series