Review | Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Author: Rainbow Rowell
Published: July 8th, 2014
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Genres: Adult, Contemporary

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 beside the point now.

Maybe that was always beside 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?

To be honest, Landline isn't something I'd normally pick up on my own. I'm not that into adult books (especially contemporaries), but I developed a sense of trust in Rainbow Rowell after reading and loving Fangirl. It was easily one of my favorite books to read this year, and with Landline, Rowell has cemented herself as my favorite contemporary author.

Landline follows the story of Georgie McCool (what a name) a screenwriter for the popular sitcom, Jeff'd Up, as her marriage finally hits a rut approaching the holidays. She chooses work over her family, and her husband, Neal, takes the kids back to Nebraska, leaving her to lament over every past mistake since their relationship started. When she finds a magic phone in her childhood bedroom that allows her to communicate with past Neal, it's either a gift from the heavens or a sign that she's finally lost it.

Yep, you heard me. Magic fucking phone. 

The magical realism aspect was done really well here. The book didn't dwell too much on the phone's origins or how it works, allowing for us to focus on more important thing: that Georgie has a chance to fix her marriage, no matter how absurd.

The best thing about this novel were the characters. I don't know what kind of voodoo Rowell practices before she writes, but I immediately fell in love with Georgie within the first few pages (same with Cath). I usually have trouble relating to adult characters because they have problems I don't care about, but not only did I understand Georgie's plight, I was sympathetic to it, too. The rest of the cast were wonderfully entertaining. Finally, side characters that I actually remember. From the mom to past Neal, Seth, Heather, and Scotty, I wanted to know more about them. The dialogue between characters was witty and fun without sounding forced. They sounded like actual people instead of comedians constantly cracking jokes. Rowell gets people.

I also liked that this is an adult book where I actually understood the references, especially that Family Matters one. As someone who's out of tune with pop culture, nothing annoys me more than a bunch of references I don't understand.

If there's one thing I do dislike about Landline, it's Neal. We get a clear idea of what past Neal was like, who honestly sounds like a cool bro (c'mon, Railroad detective?), but future Neal, the one Georgie wants back, the one we're suppose to care about, is super vague and saint-like. I get that, in the eyes of Georgie, Neal is The One of All Ones, but he didn't even seem real, and what we did see from him wasn't too likable. I've always been told that a marriage is about sacrifices from both parties, but it seems Neal did the most sacrificing, and was super bitter about it too. I hate passive-aggressive people (even tho I am one). If you have a problem, just outright say it instead of keeping it in for fourteen years and only letting it out in short, bitchy, bursts. Trust me, it doesn't help.

And the ending felt so un-ending like. I couldn't believe that was really it. After becoming closely entwined in Georgie and Neal's relationship, this is what I get. Naw.

Verdict