Credits
Author: Jojo Moyes (follow)
Release Date: December 31st, 2012
Publisher: Penguin Random House (Penguin Books)
Editor(s): Mari Evans, Pamela Dorman, Julie Miesionczek.
Cover: Robert de Vicq de Cumptich (website)
Purchase: https://amzn.to/3nNi7ZI
Length: 376 pages
Remember to go read the book first! The breakdowns below contain spoilers and observations that won’t make sense until you’ve experienced the source material.
LOUISA
“Lou” is a relatable character for any of us who are non-fashionistas or those who are idling in life without any set plan or goals. She’s also bound to strike a chord with people who have experienced trauma. Lou’s journey to survive the man she’s employed by and then save the man she loves was put together in an organic, compelling way.
WILL
Being quadriplegic has to be one of the most physically and emotionally difficult ways to live. Maybe it would be easier if you were born that way. But to be fully healthy and then have your health and mobility taken away—not because of your heavy drugging or risky life choices or mafia ties or anything you have direct control over—but because of an accident, would crush most people. And Will is in that camp, without a doubt. Can Lou’s love bring him back to a place where he can learn to see the silver linings in his life (one of which being that fact that he survived the accident at all)?
This is the question hovering over the entire book.
THE STORY
This is a classic opposites-attract romance between two people living in two different decades of their lives (20s and 30s) and two different socioeconomic status, coming into contact with each other through necessity.
SELLING POINTS
Romance: It’s got this in spades, of course! The struggle for Lou’s attention between Patrick and Will, the tension over Will between Patrick and Lou, and the budding love between Will and Lou gives you all the romance feels you’re looking for.
Wit Battles: Pretty low definition in most cases, but I found Will and Louisa’s head-butting hilarious and organic. Especially the scene when she tried to hide vegetables in his food.
Peel-Away Plot: There’s more to this story than first meets the eye. If you enjoy a layered plot that breaks your heart and makes you gasp at each level, this book will be a joy to read. We learn what the job is, we learn why other caretakers have left, we learn how harsh Will can be, we learn about, we learn about the assisted suicide plan, and then about Mrs. Traynor’s effort to thwart Will’s desires.
The Ending: So beautifully done! I like the way that Moyes mixed love, respect, realism, and loss by choosing an ending that was unconventional, yet realistic.
Premise
Louisa wants to save the life of the man she loves, but must overcome her own emotional reservations, distractions in her personal life, and his wishes in order to do so.
Plot Points
- Louisa needs a job and is having trouble finding one through an unemployment agency because she doesn’t have any major talents or skills, other than being really nice and pretty (though you can hardly tell with the wacky way she dresses).
- Louisa lands a job as a caretaker for the quadriplegic son of a wealthy magistrate because the magistrate has rejected (or her son has offended) every other caretaker who has tried to do the job.
- Louisa eventually gets into a groove with Will, the magistrate’s son, and his male caretaker, Nate (for the more intimate and complex issues like his colostomy bag and bathing), until she finds out that Will has set a schedule for when he will die by assisted suicide in a country that offers that service.
- Louisa has fallen in love with him at this point, and tried everything in her power to make him change his mind. But when the six months he allowed his parents is up, he notes that he appreciates everyone’s effort, but can’t go on living this way.
- The appointment is kept, Louisa accompanies him.
- After his death, Louisa follows instructions in a letter left by Will for her.
Lessons Learned
HEA is Not a Hard Rule
There are many readers of romance novels who believe that any romance book is flawed or incomplete if it doesn’t end with everything being pleasant and comfortable. However, Moyes did a fantastic job in this book with showing a realistic ending (the simple fact is that people DO opt for assisted suicide when dealing with chronic conditions that impair their ability to live a full life, and that’s nothing to hide or feel ashamed or guilty about) that respected Will’s wishes and showed the depth of Louisa’s love for him.
So, obviously, ending your romance with a “happily ever after” scene is not mandatory. But, it will likely take rigorous editing to make sure that the story remains satisfying, without getting preachy, and feels organic as it explores such a touchy subject. For that reasons, I wouldn’t recommend starting of your writing career with this kind of story. But new writers are encouraged to view this anomaly of literary success as an reminder to not get too boxed in to following a formula if you have an idea that would take a book in a slightly off-market direction.
Bringing Together the Opposites
There are much more stark ways that Louisa could have been brought into contact with someone as unlike her as Will. But I thought this method was logical and unobtrusive. How your two lovers first into contact with one another doesn’t always have to be some wild and crazy story. Sometimes, it’s just part of what’s normal for their lives. Louisa needed a job. Will needed (didn’t want, of course) a companion. Simple and straightforward. You don’t always have to bend over backwards to link characters and get your story started, but you also don’t have to make their meeting completely coincidental (convenient for the writer, of course, but staid for most readers).
Normalizing Normalcy
Something I found particularly interesting about Louisa is that she’s so basic. She could be any random woman off the street. Moyes brought together a lot of components of the common person, adding to how relatable Louisa is for so many. She lives with her parents instead of being on her own, she has a boyfriend that she likes a lot (versus is madly in love with), she has a job that she enjoys that doesn’t pay her six figures, she still had fights with her sister, she doesn’t have huge dreams or ambitions in life. She is satisfied and settled in a life that resembles closely that of many people in the world.
Even at the end of her character arc, she hasn’t actually changed all that much. She has made some specific adjustments to her life in the name of work (moving into the Traynor house) and love (breaking up with Patrick), but I didn’t see her as being fundamentally different from the girl we meet in the first chapter. And that’s okay! Some characters are relatively flat and don’t have a true arc. But you’ll notice that, when this happens, it’s usually because there is so much nonsense going on around them. In this case, the struggle to cope with a boss like Will, learning to be a caretaker for someone who is paralyzed to his extent, the cold war between Patrick and Will, falling in love with Will, and scrambling to both mentally come to terms with AND stop his assisted suicide. Yes, she became good at her job. Yes, she got to experience what deep, romantic love feels like. But these are pretty common things that happen to the average person anyhow.
Take from this the lesson that your main character doesn’t always have to be some big, dynamic character. A book can revolve around an average girl who just cares about the people around her to the best of her ability. On the flip side, consider telling your story from the perspective of someone who isn’t the biggest personality in any given room. Many times, because they can fade into the background as things unfold, this person may have the most fascinating standpoint from which to tell the tale.
In general, while not without any flaws, Me Before You is impressively well written. The language, the ability to write different characters in distinct voices and balance details with plot progression makes for a fantastic study if you’re going to be attempting a work along the same vein.
What’s masterful about the topic and setup is that this book explores the core of what love is. It’s not just about becoming royalty, living a life of luxury, or finding someone you’re sexually attracted to. The structure of the plot forces the writer, and the reader, to dig deeper into what it really means to say you “love” someone.