Set at the dawn of the 21st century, amidst the chaos of Y2K hysteria, Attachments is about a young IT security officer at a newspaper whose job it is to read employee emails that get flagged for personal content. He quickly finds himself drawn to near daily exchanges between two women, and ends up falling for one of them. Torn between his deep interest in a woman he’s never met, and the unethical quandary he’s found himself in, Lincoln has to decide weather to throw caution to the wind and approach her, or respect the boundaries he has been disregarding for so long.
That synopsis doesn’t make this book sound appealing. I admit it. If you told me that’s what this book was about – I probably wouldn’t read it. That just doesn’t sound like something that I’m going to be taken in by. But, Rainbow Rowell has proved to me – as she has to so many of us – that there’s nothing she can’t do. I’ve read four of her books, and fell in love with each and every one of them. The characters feel alive, like people I could be friends with. The romances are organic and familiar. The writing is crisp and witty. I’m literally struggling to remain rhapsodic over someone who’s universally acknowledge (among the cool kids, at least) as perhaps the most enjoyable writer working today. If you haven’t already fallen in love with her, you truly are missing out on someone remarkable.
While reading this, I was struck by how different these books are. While all her characters are likable, and her books tend to be filled with Beta protagonists, Rowell never feels like she’s repeating herself. Landline is the story of a relationship on the rocks. Fangirl is the story of a young woman finding her own way in life. Eleanor & Park is the story of a girl falling in love for the first time, amidst great personal turmoil. Attachments is about learning to move on from a broken heart and allowing yourself to love again.
Attachments is Rowell’s first novel – but it feels fully realized and well-formed. It’s not overly formulaic, and would still be a great read if it was her 10th published work.
Honestly, I’m just kind of rambling, here. I don’t know what to say about either this book or its author that hasn’t already been said. I enjoy her work that it almost seems unfair to measure her on in a 5-star rating system. How can I give her “only” 5 stars when I enjoy her books so much more than every other 5 star book I’ve read? If the book of hers that I enjoyed the least (Fangirl) is gets a 5 star review, how can this be any less than a six? And if she is so good that my biggest complaint is that her books deserve more stars than our ratings system allows, how can I actually sit here and pretend to critique her work?
I’ve said it before: Rainbow Rowell is my spirit animal.
This has been reviewed 21 times in Cannonball history, and has an average rating of 4.25 stars. Among books with at least 20 reviews, this ranks fifth (behind Fangirl, The Martian, Station Eleven, and Ready Player One).