Picture Credits: Lozza’s Book Corner
“I am hungry for something to do, somewhere to go.”
Oftentimes, certain parts of our life end up meaning more to us than others, sometimes more than life itself. But is it healthy to give such unconditional importance to one part of our lives or does it automatically mean that we’re ignoring another? And most crucially, what happens when the most significant part of our lives is taken away from us?
Introduction
Book’s Name - The Year I Met You (2014)
Author’s Name - Cecelia Ahern
Genre - Romance, Fiction
Language - English
Synopsis - Spoiler Alert!
Jasmine is an independent young woman who’s only ever done one thing- helped build business start-ups. It seems to be where her life begins and ends. So when she’s forcefully put on gardening leave for a year, her whole life falls apart in front of her eyes.
No idea how to function bereft of a job, Jasmine struggles to find herself and learns that help from certain people can make one’s journey far more enjoyable.
Matt is a talk-show host who, similar to Jasmine, is taking mandatory time off work owing to one of his controversial chat shows. His drinking problems have contributed to his family leaving, and he is struggling to stay sane.
As insomnia strikes Jasmine, she finds herself looking out of her window and into her neighbor, Matt’s. Both instantly despise each other, as they have multiple reasons to.
But what is seeming is that their hate may soon transform as the characters transform as people, into a blossoming friendship and maybe even more.
About the Author
Picture Credit- Goodreads
Cecelia Ahern was born in Dublin, Ireland on 30th September, 1981 to former Taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland, Bertie Ahern. She is a novelist who has sold over 25 million copies, published in nearly 50 countries.
In 2002, she wrote her first novel, ‘PS, I Love You’, at the age of 21. The bestseller was published in 2004 and sold in over forty countries in Ireland (for 19 weeks), the UK, the United States, Germany and the Netherlands.
The novel was adapted as a motion picture released in the United States on 21 December 2007, directed by Richard LaGravenese, starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler.
Her second novel, ‘Where Rainbows End (U.S. Love, Rosie)’, was the number 1 in Ireland and the United Kingdom and received the German Concern Award in 2005. It has been adapted by director Christian Ditter, starring Lily Collins and Sam Claflin as a film titled ‘Love, Rosie’, which was released in 2014.
About the Book
‘The Year I Met You’ is Cecelia Ahern’s 11th novel and was published on 9th October, 2014 by Harper Collins. Set in Ireland, this paperback consists of 432 pages of true support, with a whopping 3.63 out of 5 star-rating, based on 12,199 ratings at goodreads. The book also won the prestigious Irish Book Award for Popular Fiction.
Learning Outcomes
‘The Year I Met You’ leaves readers with a plethora of learning opportunities, as Jasmine goes on to learn important life lessons throughout the novel.
It is endearing to look at how being a lonely daughter has turned her into a parentified sibling to her sister, who she loves more than anything in the world.
Her motivation to protect her sister from anything that may upset her points towards the fact that even if you lose what’s most important to you (her job in the case of Jasmine), there will always be something truly important that will force you to be the best version of yourself.
"I always thought that being helped was a loss of control, but you must allow someone to help you, you must want someone to help you, and only then can the act begin."
The novel imparts one of the easiest yet most rare life lessons - accept the help you might need. No one gets through life alone, no one possibly can. Accepting that you will need help to get through life will make life easier, less stressful and more fruitful.
Famous Quotes
“Miracles only grow where you plant them.”
“Silent people hold a magic and a knowledge that less contained people lack; that their not saying something means that more important thoughts are going on inside their head. Perhaps their seeming simplicity belies a hidden mosaic of fanciful thoughts.”
“If you have to say something, you have to say it now. And now more importantly, you have to do it yourself. It's your life, you're the one who dies, you're the one who loses it.”
“You are a circus act all of your own and I cannot help but be your audience.”
“In order to fly one must first clear the shit off one's wings. First step is to identify the shit.”
“I've learned that there are two always two stories to one event: the public story and the truth.”
“When you don't have a next place to go, time slows down enormously.”
“I feel now like I'm living in a goldfish bowl and all I can see and hear from every window in my home is you. You, you, you.”
The Bottom Line
More than anything else, this book is about giving yourself enough time to find yourself, accepting the help you might need along the way. If you’ve been stressed with work, and worried about who you might be without it, it’s time you gave this heartwarming novel a chance!
My Ratings for the Book - 3 on 5
You can buy a copy from Amazon - The Year I Met You
Written By - Kristi Mazumdar
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