Book Review: The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick.

Book: The Silver Linings Playbook

Author: Matthew Quick

Pages: 289

Read On: Kindle

How Long it Took Me To Read: 3 hours

Plot Summary: Meet Pat. Pat has a theory: his life is a movie produced by God. And his God-given mission is to become physically fit and emotionally literate, whereupon God will ensure a happy ending for him -- the return of his estranged wife Nikki. (It might not come as a surprise to learn that Pat has spent time in a mental health facility.) The problem is, Pat's now home, and everything feels off. No one will talk to him about Nikki; his beloved Philadelphia Eagles keep losing; he's being pursued by the deeply odd Tiffany; his new therapist seems to recommend adultery as a form of therapy. Plus, he's being hunted by Kenny G!

In this enchanting novel, Matthew Quick takes us inside Pat's mind, showing us the world from his distorted yet endearing perspective.

General Thoughts: I have had this book on my Kindle since the movie came out in 2012. I have wanted to read it since then but I never got around to it. I started the book once or twice but I didn't get very far in. Not because the book wasn't nice but..honestly there is no real good reason. 

But one night when I couldn't sleep ( story of my life!) and I looked through my Kindle and started the book and I just breezed through this book. I read it in one sitting..or in my case one lying down. Loved it! 

Things I Loved: 

1. The writing was a spark of joy. This is the third Matthew Quick book I've read and I love his writing. 

2. The way he writes his characters is absolutely fantastic. He writes real people, people that are completely human and flawed and eccentric and brilliant and are such a joy to read and get to know. This book is full of absolutely wonderful characters- Pat, his family, his therapist, Tiffany and pretty much every single character is perfectly crafted. 

3. Pat Peoples--- where do I begin? He isn't your typical leading man. He isn't perfect. He is confused, angry, unstable and trying his very best to be better, a better human being and trying to woo back his wife. My heart went out to him and broke for his earnestness even though I knew he wasn't perfect and in his past he must have been a not-so-nice husband yet  I was rooting for him. 

4. This book is full of wonderful and kind and good people. :) 

This is Matthew Quick's genius writing wonderful people who are good and kind and it is such a joy to spend time with them. 

5. Tiffany--- Jennifer Lawrence played her in the movie (and played her so well) but in the book she is so much more quirkier and vulnerable and I really liked her. She was strange and odd and just really nice to get to know. 

6. Oh..the book is so much better than the movie and the movie was pretty damn good. I really enjoyed the movie but the book was better, it was richer and it had so much more to offer. 

7. Pat's family was written about so honestly and all of it's rhythms and relationships seemed  so genuine. I really liked Pat's mother and his brother who were going above and beyond to help him. His father was also an interesting person to read about, he wasn't the kindest and seemed gruff and unreasonable yet he was so believable. 

8. The book has so many mentions of classics  as Pat is reading them and it made me want to read them ASAP. Book mentions in books are some of my favourite things. 

9. There is some confusion and some very slight mystery about what went down in Pat's marriage and why it all went downhill and I found myself wondering and guessing. 

10. The good thing was that I didn't remember the movie very much, I have seen it only once and 3 years later I only remember the highlights, which was a good thing because this book largely felt like a new book to me. Also the book is a whole lot different and doesn't end at the dance competition. 

Things I Didn't Like: 

1. There is so much football in this! I am not  fan of football at all and American football even less. I wish there was less of it in the book..though it is not a deal breaker. 

2. The book does massively spoil all of the classics it talks about..so beware. 

3. A lot of the plot points were very predictable. 

Rating: 4.5/5 

I loved this book and just couldn't put it down. It was a quick and easy read and I enjoyed the time I spent with these people.