Customer Reviews

After You: A Novel

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

About a hundred pages into this book, I was wondering how I got caught reading chick lit (nothing against chick lit) and one with a very unlikable main character. BUT somewhere along the way, I was pleasantly surprised by the turn the book takes and I found myself engrossed.

Ellie's best friend Lucy has just been brutally murdered while walking her daughter to school. Ellie flies out to Notting Hill to comfort her husband Greg and daughter Sophie. She is overcome with grief at the death of her closest friend and she deals with her grief by wrapping herself in Sophie. They read The Secret Garden together as Ellie tries to get Sophie to begin speaking again, something she stopped doing after her mother's death, and as a way for Sophie to lose herself in a world outside of her present one that contains mostly grief and the violence of her mother's death.

My problem with Ellie was that as admirable as her flying half way around the world to help her dead friend's family may have been, she abandons her husband under the guise of "Sophie needs me". I found myself rolling my eyes through at least 100 pages as it was hard to believe that this devotion to Sophie was totally selfless. There was something in there that felt very self centered and exceedingly selfish. What kind of person abandons their job and husband for an untold amount of time and expects everyone to just understand?

But somewhere along the way as Ellie becomes more honest with herself, I began to understand her better and feel more compassionate toward her. It was obvious that she idolized her friend Lucy and in her mind Lucy had the perfect life: beautiful, rich and handsome husband, intelligent daughter, fabulous job and living in one of the best parts of London. But as Ellie begins to get a grip on the life she is loosing by her choices, she begins to examine herself and discovers things about her friend that she may never have allowed herself to see before now. Ellie begins to see how both she and her husband had lost themselves after the loss of their baby and despite living in the same house, they had become strangers to each other. This book tackles some very hard and compelling lessons about marriage and all relationships in general. While its not a "and they lived happily ever after" kind of end, it is hopeful and leaves the reader pondering it long after you are done.

Julie Buxbaum's The Opposite of Love was one of my favorite books of 2008. I'm a huge fan of Buxbaum's writing, so when she told me that she had a new book coming out in August, I couldn't wait to read it. I was a little nervous because I had very high expectations, but I shouldn't have worried. After You is a thoughtful and touching book that I couldn't put down.

I loved so many things about After You that I don't even know where to start. The character of Ellie was wonderfully written. I sympathized with her completely - her panic at the death of her best friend Lucy, her unconditional love for Lucy's daughter Sophie, and her inability to move on with life after the death of her unborn child, Oliver. Though we are in very different places in our lives, I saw a lot of myself in Ellie, a lot of my own hesitation and fears. I think that is what I love most about Julie Buxbaum's writing - her ability to develop three-dimensional characters that are completely real.

I also really enjoyed Buxbaum's use of the children's novel The Secret Garden in order to help Sophie overcome her grief at her mother Lucy's death. As a child, I absolutely loved The Secret Garden. But more than that, Buxbaum's premise that books can help us cope, even in the darkest times, really spoke to me. It wasn't just Sophie who healed through The Secret Garden; Ellie used it as a way to deal with her grief as well. That was a wonderful message that permeated through the book.

Additionally, Julie Buxbaum's writing is absolutely beautiful. She has a way with words that is difficult to describe, so I'm just going to share some passages here with you.

"Perhaps these are the most frightening moments of married life, when you turn to your partner and realize you have promised to spend the rest of your life with someone you no longer recognize. Someone you can no longer even see.'"

"Wanting may be the worst feeling of all, next to hope. But hope is the worst. Hope is the moment before peeing on the negative stick. Hope is the moment before they tell you they can't find a heartbeat. Hope is a setup, a bait and switch, an illusion."

The literary quality of Buxbaum's writing elevates After You to an entirely different level. As a result, I believe that even if you aren't a fan of chick lit or women's fiction, you will find something to love in After You.

I can't gush enough about how wonderful Julie Buxbaum's novels are, or how much I enjoyed After You. The characters were wonderfully drawn and the story was compelling. I couldn't put the book down because I was so anxious to find out what happens to Ellie, to make sure that she learns to live again after Lucy's death. This was an absolutely wonderful book that I highly recommend!

Let me start by saying that I haven't finished the book yet. I don't have to finish it to know how I feel about it and I LOVE it. Other reviewers tell you what the story is about so I won't repeat it.

I don't have alot of time to read, I have a very active 2 year old but I've been picking it up when he goes to sleep and I find myself very much looking forward to it even though that means I don't get to watch the news.

I've never read this author before but I will most definitely look at her other books. This is so emotional and it pulls you in. I almost hate to go to bed when I want to read! It's been a really long time since I've read a book that had that effect on me.

This story is so emotional, I can "see" the characters and Sophie is a beautiful, struggling little girl. I want to hold her and soothe her, I want to hug Ellie and thank her for taking care of a child who isn't her responsibility. I can't wait to get even further into this book but I'm not looking forward to it ending.

I'm so glad I chose this book to read, I love to read and this book is a good example of what a great book should be.

I just finished the book. It's a GREAT book, probably the best I've read in a few years. I didn't see the way it ended coming at all and it's good to have a surprise once in a while! I wish it went on and on, letting me watch Ellie's life unfolding even further. I will definitely hold onto this book so I can read it again later. Love it!!

As the blurb says, Ellie leaves her husband and home in suburban Boston to take care of her recently-murdered best friend's daughter. Only as we get to know Ellie do we realize how totally out of character that deceptively simple act truly is.

Ellie is mind-numbingly self-absorbed. She resents her husband for apparently picking up the pieces and carrying on with his life after their tragedy yet is equally annoyed with Lucy's widower, Greg, for wallowing in his grief. Totally unprepared for the task she finds before her, Ellie turns to the children's book The Secret Garden in desperation. This was a brilliant move on her part, as Sophie slowly begins the healing process as she and Ellie share this book night after night.

Over the course of the next few months, we learn more about Lucy and the devastating secret she kept. Once confronted with the truth, Ellie slowly lets go of her idealized version of her best friend. After that, it becomes easier to examine her other assumptions about the people she loves.

The character development is amazing, as I found myself slowly warming up to Ellie. In the end, I was cheering for her. There is not a neat and tidy "happily ever after" ending but the reader is left feeling hopeful.

Kudos to Julie Buxbaum for that! Highly recommended.

Ellie Lerner, is a 35 year old woman in the midst of great turmoil and loss. She just lost Lucy, her best of friend of 30 years to a random act of violence, her son Oliver was lost in utero at 8 months, and her marriage to the love of her life Phillip is ending. On top of all of that, Ellie has lost herself. The core sense of who she is, and has no idea how to find her way back.

Ellie heads for London, to help Lucy's husband Greg, and daughter Sophie through the devastating loss. During her time in London, Ellie begins to deal with the stifling pain of having lost her baby. She realizes that the depression she has suffered since doomed her marriage, that she forgot to lean on her husband Phillip. Life intervenes once again in a glorious way and she hopes it's not too late to save her marriage.

The absolute love that Ellie has for Sophie is palpable and proves, that you can love a child deep down in your spirit even if she/he were not born to you. Ellie also encounters some things she did not know about her dearest friend. Mostly, she realizes that love is indelible, and that the heart may break. But it can heal.

I really can't believe how much I liked this book. I read Buxbaum's "Opposite of Love", which I liked, but this book just blew me away. Her language is beautiful. I stopped many times to reread a sentence or a metaphor. She is able to write amazing sentences while never taking away from the urgency of the story. I couldn't put the book down. I had to know what happened next. Beside a tiny plot point near the end of the book that I felt was a bit superfluous, the book was perfect. Definitely one of the best books I've read in a very long time.

I didn't want to like this book, but I did! I thought it was going to be formulaic and predictable, and at times it was, but overall it was a page turner without a packaged ending. Warning...if you like Jodi Picoult books, you won't like "After You" because Ms. Buxbaum cleverly leaves story lines unfinished. You'll actually have something worth talking about at book club! Ms. Buxbaum raises many questions, including do we ever really know those closest to us, and do they ever really know us? Do we give people a fair chance to know us? There are no answers, but it does give you pause for thought, and a rewarding story line too.

I stayed up late three nights in a row reading this book, and the sleep deprivation was worth it. I had trouble putting it down.

The author examines the effect of the murder of Lucy on the various people in her life in a very natural and believable way so that the reader empathizes with the loved ones who she left behind. This includes her eight year old daughter, Lucy, who witnessed the murder; her perfect-on-paper husband (on whom she was cheating); and her best friend since elementary school, Ellie, who is the book's narrator.

We learn that Ellie didn't know Lucy as well as she thought she did and struggle with her as she tries to help Lucy's daughter cope with the loss of her mother. We also learn of the problems in Ellie's marriage and the tragedy that haunts her and her husband. Stories about Ellie's family, including her parents who are dating again after divorcing, provide a quite a few light moments within the story of how the people in Lucy's life collect themselves and try to move forward.

I was initially drawn to this book since I read the The Secret Garden too many times to count when I was little. I liked how Ellie relies on the book to reach Sophie when she withdraws immediately after her mother's murder. There are parallels between the young characters in Secret Garden and Sophie, and the message of surviving -and even surmounting- unfortunate circumstances is timeless.

The book moved me to tears several times. What particularly impressed me was that the story was told in a very authentic way without being maudlin or overly depressing.

I strongly recommend After You: A Novel and will lend my copy to my best friend (who I know will also love it).

We all know that the choices we make now will determine the course of our future. But how does one decide what to do? What if this were to happen to you: Your best friend Lucy is brutally murdered, and her little girl, Sophie, witnesses the whole thing.

Obviously, after the horror of watching her mother's lifeblood ooze away, Sophie's needs are huge. Plus, her father is in tatters, opting to retreat into his work and find solace in a bottle. But you have a life, not here in London with Lucy's family, but in New York. Your husband is waiting for you to come back. In truth, he has been waiting for you to come back for a long time, since your baby died, and that was a couple of years ago. So be honest: Are you helping Lucy's child because you were Lucy's best friend, or because you lost your own child and you want to play mother? Are you taking care of Lucy's bereaved husband because you don't know how to take care of your own?

Those are the questions Ellie Lerner is facing --- and avoiding. Helping Sophie through each day becomes a comforting habit. When Ellie's husband, Phillip, breaks the news to her that he has filed for divorce, she feels like she has been run over by a truck. Or, more properly for her location, a lorry. How could she have not seen this coming? Phillip has been pleading with her to rejoin their life together, and Ellie has been absent. Her excuse: Beautiful little Sophie needs her.

Of course Sophie needs her. What child wouldn't under such circumstances? Sophie makes a conscious decision not to talk anymore. She withdraws from this world to a place inside herself, where it seems safer. And her Auntie Ellie is patient and loving and there for her.

Both Ellie and Sophie need to get beyond this time in their lives. In observing how Sophie copes in her everyday routines, Ellie discovers a wonderful, simple cure: a book, THE SECRET GARDEN. Reading together allows them both to escape for a while, and it begins to work its magic on Sophie. She starts to respond.

But what about Phillip? It may seem unfair to ask Ellie to choose between him and a traumatized child, but Ellie has forced him into that position. She left immediately upon hearing th e news of Lucy's death, flew to London for the funeral --- and to help out. But Phillip never expected her to stay on. For weeks. Without any promise of coming home. In fact, quite the opposite: She leaves Phillip with a vague sort of statement that she's likely not coming home.

In AFTER YOU, Julie Buxbaum shows a wonderful talent for probing emotions and examining complicated feelings. She takes her readers deep inside the pain and loss Sophie feels, the sense of desperation Ellie has, and the frustration Phillip experiences. How the characters ultimately come out, well, you'll have to read for yourself to find that out. You can't help but sympathize with each of them, but keep in mind, each of them has a choice to make. It will be tough, but that's what life demands of us.

This is a book absolutely everyone can benefit from. By listening to Sophie and Ellie and Phillip, making our own choices can become less a crippling obstacle and more an interesting challenge. AFTER YOU literally can change your life.

--- Reviewed by Kate Ayers

After a very slow start because the main character is a self-absorbed doofas, the book really picks up and, about halfway through, I started seeing it as a movie. Of course, they'd need to get rid of the 200+ times that the characters use that "f word", which I HATE and make the characters use an actual vocabulary. But profanity aside, once you get used to the character and she begins to change, you really get caught up in the story. I won't go into the plot since so many others have, but will just add that it's really about grown up people finally managing to actually.... grow up. Once Ellie stops thinking about herself all the time, she learns to really love and to move past her fears. Even her parents, a father who's stuck with who he loves and a mother who is a nut, learn what loving really is and that life isn't just about what's in it for you. In trying to help Sophie live through the horror of her mother's murder, Ellie actually helps herself through it. Remember, though, that this is not an action book. It's a take-it-slow-and-analyze-everything book. And it doesn't hurt if you really do love to read and are especially fond of "The Secret Garden"!