Customer Reviews

THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

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IN The Silver Linings Playbook, Mr. Quick has done something very difficult for literature to do: inspire hope. As the unflinchingly and endearingly honest main character notes, many of the greatest classics in American literature end in despair, or are such thorough condemnations of life as it is that it is difficult sometimes to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The lives of the authors often mirror the grim reality of their novels. Hemingway shoots himself dead with a shotgun and Plath sticks her head into an oven. Pat Peoples' explanation? They never looked up at the clouds at sunset.

It is this simple kind of appreciation for beauty which distinguishes Pat not just from his literary contemporaries, but from all of the other characters in The Silver Linings Playbook itself. He appreciates characters like Hester Prynne and Holden Caulfield who, like himself, hold onto their values and nobility in a harsh world that seems bent on stripping them of everything they hold dear. Though Pat himself is slightly deluded - he is not just on 'apart time' with his wife, there is no 'inevitable reunion' as the first chapter title suggests - his honest, everyman's struggle, epitomized by the apt adage of 'practicing being kind rather than right', against all the forces in the world conspiring to break his hope is so convincing that the reader starts to believe in silver linings himself.

This book will make you happy, though, because of the way it is written. Most of the chapter titles will make you laugh in a different way than the next. Mr. Quick's apt use of detail, allusions, and brilliant comparisons bring the story to life. That a chapter should be called "Like he was Yoda and I was Luke Skywalker training on Dagobah" is a very precious thing. Meanwhile periodic interludes such as advice from Pat's 'black friend Danny', and even the whole introduction of the death of Veterans Stadium as a new thing, bring bits of humor just when the story may seem to be becoming sad. The author has an eye for quirks and intricacies of language and a gift for conveying them in a readable yet still emotional and romantic manner. More than just the ease of identifying with Pat, Mr. Quick's simple, declarative prose, highlighted by brief, nostalgic-filled, almost Hemingway-like sentences, reels in the reader.

Peoples seems to represent the Hemingway ideal of masculinity: courage as grace under pressure. Pat has much grace under pressure. Slips from this grace he deeply regrets, and is always molding himself into a good person, even when no one is watching and no one cares. His entire self-improvement program was aimed towards a person who would never know he had ever changed a bit.

But there is no tragic ending to match this altruistic ideal, as there is in many Hemingway stories. Though there is bad in life, there is good also, and Pat, like his author, knows where to find it.

Excellent book that both men and women would enjoy. Very fast read and one that I could not put down. I was late for a lot of appointments and stayed up late because I had to finish just one more chapter. Although Pat Peoples has just been released from a psychiatric hospital, he appears to be the only "sane" character in the book compared to his family and friends. The book weaves the reader through the Eagles 2006 season as Pat struggles to fit in and resolve many of his personal issues. Pat always tries to "be kind rather than right" and is confident that with hard work, on his part, that his life will lead to a happy ending. I would highly recommend this book and can't wait to read Mr. Quick's next novel.

Philadelphia is not only the home of the quintessentially American Liberty Bell, cheese steak, and Rocky, but now Philadelphia offers us another American original: Pat Peoples, the neurologically-damaged, ex-wife pining, mother-loving, uber Eagles fan protagonist of Matthew Quick's dazzling debut novel The Silver Linings Playbook.

You might think that a book about a guy who has lost so much--his wife, his home, his job, and many years of his life in a mental health facility--would be depressing. Far from it. In fact, this book is uplifting. For what Quick offers us is not just the brutality of life--a father who won't talk to his son, a cheating wife, many violent tempers--but also the beauty of it--finding love in unexpected people. Basically, Quick shows us that no matter how far down you fall, there are people willing to help you pick yourself back up. Quick gives us hope.

Does everything turn out the way Pat wanted it to? No. But it does turn out just as it should: with two broken souls coming together, hoping, and believing in the silver lining.

In short: a gorgeous, poignant, funny and uplifting book. Read it.

This book offers what everyone is in search of...hope! Insightful, witty, moving and soul searchingly honest, this well written story stirs up so many emotions, ultimately causing the reader to look up and find their own ever present "Silver Lining". Looking forward to the movie. Hope they don't change a thing!

I've never met a character like Pat Peoples before, and now that I have, I won't forget him. This story is funny and sad, wonderfully endearing, slightly mysterious, and equal parts sacred and profane. The author has a distinctive voice, one utterly without pretense.

We meet Pat on the day he is being discharged from a mental health facility into the care of his mother. Pat is obsessed with reconciling with his estranged wife and everything he does has a single focus -- to bring about the end of "apart time" (as he calls it).

As the story unfolds, we begin to understand Pat and he begins to understand himself. One has the odd sensation of helping him along as we read along. If we stop reading, what will become of Pat? (That feeling probably explains why I literally could not stop reading this book until, alas, there was no more to read.)

The descriptions of male friendship are brilliant, and the supporting characters equally vivid. Buy this book! It is a great read.

I read an article in the Courier Post(a South Jersey newspaper) about the book and I thought it looked very interesting. Let me tell you, this book is awesome. The characters are so real. I related to all of the Philly references as I was born and raised there as was the author. I'll be telling my friends and family to buy this book. Great First Novel! I'm looking forward to more from this author.

This is a story you will like, a lot ! It touches in many unexpected ways - Pat Peoples and his world are created with tight crisp writing.

If you really enjoy being moved by a fun, quirky and very real emotional story, then this one is for you, big time. I had to put it down for a while whenever I thought things might be bad for unlikely hero Pat !

You cannot miss with this debut novel packed with heartbreaking pathos. You will root for the book's central character, Pat Peoples, to move forward in his life and become the kind person he strives to be. The author, Matthew Quick, has created a page-turner of a story peppered with characters both lively, interesting, and well-developed, all whom you will cross your fingers for, as you silently cheer for their success.

Even though this book was on NPRs "recommended" list, I was skeptical that I would enjoy it. To be honest, I have no experience with mental illness; any book that was told from the first-person perspective of a mental patient began with a distinct lack of empathy from me.

I was wrong.

In the end, the books that I find most interesting are those that expose me to some corner of humanity that I haven't explored before. The perspective can be alien to me, but what a pleasant thing it is to reach outside the limits of my own experience and discover an honest and real common chord. Such a book is this.

I must admit that I wondered just how Matthew Quick would use a title and a theme about "silver linings" and not be finally stabbed with the point of his own irony. He eludes his own trap brilliantly.

I will reserve five stars for life-changing books. This isn't that. But, it is truly life-nudging. I recommend it highly.

I cannot do anything else but agree with everyone. This was a great book.

The narrator was a character I really cared about and who gave tremendous

insights into his life as an offbeat but basically good guy. Some of his

lines were truly funny but it was not a funny book. It was a book that made me root for Pat to get his "silver lining". I was riveted to the final few pages.