Book Club Friday: Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

Here's what I read...

via

Summary...

Something Borrowed tells the story of Rachel, a young attorney living and working in Manhattan. Rachel has always been the consummate good girl---until her thirtieth birthday, when her best friend, Darcy, throws her a party. That night, after too many drinks, Rachel ends up in bed with Darcy's fiancé.

Although she wakes up determined to put the one-night fling behind her, Rachel is horrified to discover that she has genuine feelings for the one guy she should run from. As the September wedding date nears, Rachel knows she has to make a choice. In doing so, she discovers that the lines between right and wrong can be blurry, endings aren't always neat, and sometimes you have to risk all to win true happiness. Something Borrowed is a phenomenal debut novel that will have you laughing, crying, and calling your best friend. (via)

My Thoughts…

I really loved reading Something Borrowed. While there are some clever and witty parts that made me giggle our loud, this book is more of a drama/romance. I loved the author’s writing; her way with words is pretty impressive. I also loved how deeply you got to know the characters, even the secondary ones, and that she exposed the flaws of all of the characters in addition to their best attributes. I had a hard time deciding who to root for and I was just dying to know what would happen.

Before I even considered reading this book, I saw the movie when it came out on video, uh, I mean DVD (heh, video… remember those??) a couple years ago. While it wasn’t the best movie in the whole world, I enjoyed it. And I had heard that the book was really good, but also very different from the film. So, when my local Borders was having their going out of business sale (sad face) I bought the novel and planned to read it soon. But, the sad & emotional parts of the movie discouraged from revisiting the story, so I had the book on my shelf for about a year before I even considered reading it. I am so glad I decided to pick it up!

I didn’t find as many differences between book/movie as I had expected, except for the typical skipping-of-random-scenes (usually the ones that develop characters, right?) that always happens when converting book to screen play. And, also, the significant difference in the physical characteristics of Darcy. In the book, she’s described as a dark haired, olive-skinned beauty; in the movie she’s played by the perfectly sun-kissed, and beautifully blonde Kate Hudson. I also thought Darcy was much more sympathetic in the movie than in the book. I didn’t feel as bad for her while reading because of the way the author address the turmoil in her and Rachel’s friendship… basically, Giffin did a better job of painting Darcy as a self-centered, judgmental, snot than Kate Hudson and her director. And Ethan, the male best friend of Rachel, was not as prominent in book as he was in the movie… doesn’t even live on the same continent. There’s more, but I don’t want to give it all away. :)

My only issue with seeing the movie first was that I couldn’t get the movie actors out of my heads to create the picture the author tried to paint. I hate when that happens... And that’s the reason I wish I’d read it first. The movie didn’t ruin the plot or ending for me. I was somehow able to remove myself and think, “The book is different. I don’t know exactly what’ll happen.”

At the end of my edition of Something Borrowed was a preview (prologue and first chapter) of the sequel, Something Blue. I was instantly hooked by the now-narrating Darcy, and definitely plan on reading/adding it to my collection soon.