Disclosures: I bought this book for my personal library. *The purchasing link at the end of the review goes through my Amazon Affiliates account.
Love the One You’re With
Emily Giffin
St. Martin’s Griffin (2009), Paperback (ISBN 0312348673 / 9780312348670)
Fiction, 368 pages
Opening Lines: “It happened exactly one hundred days after I married Andy, almost to the minute of our half-past-three-o’clock ceremony. I know this fact not so much because I was an overeager newlywed keen on observing trivial relationship landmarks, but because I have a mild case of OCD that compels me to keep track of things.”
Comments: I’m on the picky side when it comes to the often-maligned “chick-lit” genre, but Emily Giffin is one author who always makes the cut. Her books have many of the chick-lit trappings – designer labels, glamorous careers, fancy restaurants – but they’re overlaid to stories and characters with some depth and substance. Love the One You’re With is her fourth novel; I’ve read them all, and this may be my favorite one yet.
It took Ellen Dempsey a couple of years to sort herself out again after the abrupt end of her intense post-college relationship with Leo, the journalist she met during a stint at jury duty. But when she was ready, there was already someone waiting – Andy Graham, her best friend’s brother. Their relationship may lack some of that intensity, but it’s compatible and comfortable, and Ellen’s genuinely happy with it…until she unexpectedly runs into Leo on a New York City street, and the encounter makes her start asking herself a lot of questions. Meanwhile, Andy’s asking questions of his own, but his involve leaving their New York life behind and moving back to his hometown, Atlanta. His family is there, along with a position in his father’s law practice – but aside from that, what does the upscale suburb of Buckhead hold for Ellen and her photography career?
I liked most of the characters in this novel, which is narrated in the first person by Ellen – and I really liked Ellen. The character has a lot of self-awareness, even as she does things that she realizes are probably not in her best interests and could very well backfire on her. She has a tendency to idealize her husband’s family and their background, but I think it’s understandable to anyone who’s ever felt their own upbringing to be lacking somehow; for her, much of that sense of lack is the result of the early death of her mother, and it colors many of her relationships. The most important women in her life are her best friend/sister-in-law Margot and her older sister Suzanne, but mother loss plays a role in how she relates to men as well; it’s part of the intensity and insecurity in her relationship with Leo, and a factor in the comfort of her marriage to Andy – the same comfort that makes her wonder if she’s somehow “settling.”
Emily Giffin does a fine job of drawing believable, human characters who have to make choices that aren’t always black and white, and that rarely turn out to be final or perfect. I related to Ellen a lot, and I think other readers will too – most of us have had reason to wonder about our relationships and who we are in their context, at one time or another, haven’t we? Giffin’s brand of chick-lit is lower on the fluff and melodrama than some examples of the genre, and I’m sure that’s part of its appeal for me. Love the One You’re With is a smart, character-driven novel, and its author remains on my must-read list.
Reading Challenges Qualified: #16 of 20 for the RYOB 2009 Challenge; Clear off Your Shelves Challenge
Buy Love the One You’re With at Amazon.com
Other book bloggers’ reviews:
DearAuthor.com (includes very detailed plot recap)
A Novel Menagerie
Nomad Reader
Me, My Book, and the Couch
Kristina’s Book Blog
S. Krishna’s Books
Find more reviews via the Book Blogs Search Engine
If you’ve read and reviewed this book, please leave your link in comments or e-mail me at 3.rsblog AT GMail DOT com, and I’ll edit this review to include it!
I agree. . .Emily Griffin is one of my favorite chick-lit writers as well! I can always imagine having a cup of coffee and a long chat with her main characters.
This sounds like a fun read! I seem to enjoy books like this in the summer, though.
Amy RGB – Her characters are very well-developed and human, except for maybe Darcy from Something Blue, who was so self-involved and shallow at first, and whose change of heart never entirely rang true for me. Overall, though, her books have all been well worth reading.
Kathy (Bermudaonion) – I see your point; it has that "beach read" vibe. I'm sure you'll be able to find a copy of it next spring or summer, though :-).
I haven't read this one, but I did really like "Something Borrowed". I thought the author did a really great job with touchy subject.
I liked this one. I think she really nails the feelings in the relationships she writes about–I love Something Borrowed for that alone.
Jennifer – I have to agree. I liked that one much better than I expected to, and I liked the way she picked up the story from a different perspective in Something Blue – they're definitely companion pieces.
Amy – I think so too, and I think that's one of the qualities that makes her books stand out.
Sorry Florinda, I thought this book was terrible. I thought the main character was whiney and predictable. Giffin's only good book was Something Borrowed. Her books have gotten progressively worse as she's written more.
I've read a couple of Emily Giffin's books. One I really didn't like, the second I thought was better. I have borrowed this once, but ended up returning it to the library unread.
Cheryl – Wow, it's been a long time! Great to see you here again, but sorry we'll have to agree to disagree about this book and its author :-).
Marg – I think it's worth reading if you get the chance, but your life will go on just fine if you don't :-).
I tend to be like you. Picky about the chick-lit I read. I haven't read anything by Emily Giffin yet though. I admit the description of the book doesn't entice me, but then your mention of Ellen and the type of person she is has me curious. She sounds like a character I would like.
Wendy (Literary Feline) – In some respects, the plot's been done before, so I'm not sure it would have grabbed me either if I didn't already like the author. I tend to give the benefit of the doubt when that's the case, and it worked out this time. Since I wasn't as impressed with Giffin's last novel before this, I'm glad.
I love the way Emily Giffin writes. Glad you liked the novel– I was so excited to see it on the shelf I even bought it hardcover, which I never do.
Maria (Mme. Meow) – I waited for the paperback myself, and then it took a while to get to it :-). I like her writing too, and the way she gets a bit more ambitious every time.