PS, I Love You (novel)
 UK cover | |
| Author | Cecelia Ahern |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Romance |
| Publisher | Thorndike Press |
Publication date | April 2004 |
| Publication place | Ireland |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 655 pp (hardcover) 512 pp (paperback) |
| ISBN | 0-7862-6164-1 (hardcover) ISBN 0-00-716500-5 (paperback) |
| OCLC | 54374542 |
| Followed by | Where Rainbows End |
PS, I Love You is Irish writer Cecelia Ahern's first novel, published in 2004. The book reached No. 1 best-seller status in Ireland (for 19 weeks), Britain, the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands. Holly and Peter being the protagonists, this book reached the best-seller status quite early.
Plot
Holly and Gerry are a married couple who live in Dublin. They are deeply in love, but they fight occasionally. By winter that year, Gerry suddenly dies of a brain tumor and Holly realizes how much he means to her as well as how insignificant their arguments were.
Deeply distraught, Holly withdraws from her family and friends out of grief until her mother calls her informing her of a package addressed to her. Within the package are ten envelopes, one for each month after Gerry died, containing messages from him, all ending with "P.S. I Love You". As the months pass, each new message fills her with encouragement and sends her on a new adventure. With Gerry's words as her guide, Holly slowly embarks on a journey of rediscovery.
Characters in "PS, I Love You"
- Holly Kennedy – The main character
- Gerry Clark – Holly's husband
- Sharon McCarthy – Holly's best friend
- John McCarthy – Sharon's Husband
- Denise Hennessey – Holly's best friend
- Tom O'Connor – Denise's fiance
- Daniel Connolly – Holly's friend
- Elizabeth – Holly's mother
- Frank – Holly's father
- Richard – Holly's older brother
- Meredith – Richard's ex-wife
- Timothy – Richard's son
- Emily – Richard's daughter
- Jack – Holly's brother
- Abbey – Jack's girlfriend
- Ciara – Holly's younger sister
- Mathew – Ciara's Australian boyfriend
- Declan – Holly's younger brother
- Leo – Holly's hair stylist
- Barbara – A travel agent
- Chris Feeney – Holly's boss
- Alice Goodyear – Holly's colleague
- Charlie – A bartender
- Laura – Daniel's ex-girlfriend
Reception
Despite the hype and commercial success, (Irish political figure Bertie Ahern's daughter) Cecilia Ahern's debut novel drew mixed-to-negative reception. Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) gave it three out of five stars, stating that Ahern's book is "funny and emotional" but criticised his impression that the message of the book was one of getting over the death of a loved one by "getting drunk and shopping".[1] The Guardian wrote a satirical review in which Ahern's shallow characterisation and melodramatic plot were lampooned.[2] The Clare County library called the book "overhyped", "predictable" and "full of stock characters", but lastly an "easy read... and a nice holiday read".[3] Amazon.co.uk calls it "at times repetitive and her delivery is occasionally amateurish [but] Ahern deserves credit for a spirited first effort".[4]
Movie adaptation
A film adaptation of the book was released in 2007 with Hilary Swank as Holly, and Gerard Butler as her husband, Gerry. James Marsters plays John McCarthy and Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays William Gallagher. The cast included Kathy Bates, Harry Connick, Jr., Gina Gershon and Lisa Kudrow. Filming began in October 2006 in New York City and Ireland, and the movie was released on 21 December 2007 in the United States (see below for other release information).[5]
Although box office numbers were high, critics gave the film negative reviews.[6][7]
Differences between novel and film adaptation
The major difference between the novel and its film adaptation is that, in the novel, the main characters Holly and Gerry Kennedy are Irish. In the film, only Gerry is Irish, Holly and her family are Irish Americans, and the two live in New York. Also in the novel, Holly has numerous siblings, but in the film she has one. The film adds a character called William, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Another change is that in the books, the letters arrive all in a package together and Holly is expected to open them once a month. In the movie, the letters are delivered by mail. The film remains fairly true to the novel, and all of Gerry's letters are virtually unchanged.
Notes
- ^ PS, I Love You by Cecelia Ahern, rte.ie
- ^ PS, I Love You by Cecelia Ahern, The Guardian, 16 February 2004
- ^ "P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern". Clarelibrary.ie. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
- ^ "P.S. I Love You (Paperback)". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
- ^ "P.S. I Love You". Imdb.com. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
- ^ "P.S. I Love You – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
- ^ "P.S. I Love You (2007): Reviews". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved 21 December 2007.