Attachments

"Jennifer to Beth: The little blonde one?

Beth to Jennifer: That's her, all right.

 Jennifer to Beth: She's not just short. She's like a normal-sized person who's been miniaturized so that everything about her is still in perfect proportion.  She's like something you'd find in an elaborate dollhouse, so tiny and yet so lifelike. Have you noticed her waist? It's infinitesimal.

 Beth to Jennifer: I could put my hands around her waist. If standing next to me makes me feel strong and masculine, she must make My Cute Guy feel like a God.

Jennifer to Beth: She's Lilliputan.

Beth to Jennifer: They wouldn't let her ride Splash Mountain."

I should preface this review by saying that I was born and raised in Omaha. I grew up reading Rainbow Rowell’s witty columns and enjoy subtle references to the places that I remember growing up. However, this did not lead me to immediately favor Attachments. If any of her references had been just a little dreary or her quick banter was not top-notch the way her column has been for years I would have been thoroughly disappointed.

But I wasn’t. Because Rainbow Rowell nailed it! 

Attachments, according to the reviews is a love story. And it is. It’s a love story between Beth and Lincoln, IT security guy and movie review gal. But, it is also the story of a genuine friendship between two women who work in The Courier newsroom, Beth and Jennifer. They talk about what’s going on in each other’s lives. They talk about what scares them. They talk about anything, and that’s what originally gets them noticed.

They say all these things over e-mail at work and their conversations get red-flagged. This is how Lincoln begins to fall for Beth. He’s been hired to do IT security, meaning he makes sure people in the office aren’t gambling, watching porn or bad-mouthing the supervisors on company computers. He doesn’t fall for her good looks (which she has), but instead for who he sees her as through her e-mails. He starts reading her quick-witted conversations with Jennifer and because he’s entranced by her writing (smart, sassy, sweet, and funny), he forgets to send either of the girls a warning. As he continues his reading, he only falls further head over heels. That’s where the problem begins for him. He cares about her. He thinks she’s funny. He even feels better about himself because of her, but meeting and explaining the whole thing may get uncomfortable. Mainly, because he will come across looking like a creep.

Attachments is a quick read. It is told through (Beth and Jennifer’s) e-mail conversations intermixed with prose that allows the reader to further understand Lincoln or My Cute Guy/Your Cute Guy as he is so lovingly referred to by the women. Pop culture references are abound in this book, as are hilarious one-liners. Beth is like a machine. She just can’t stop. (I secretly wish she was more than a character in a novel.) And for those of you from or living in Omaha, there are several locations that will make you a little sentimental (Indian Hills Cinema, Fenwick’s, late nights at Village Inn, the Ranch Bowl, etc.). I missed the book release party at The Bookworm (by a few hours), but am crossing my fingers that I will get the chance to meet Rainbow Rowell and thank her for this book and all the calories I burned laughing my way through it.