1. Cecelia Ahern, the 22-year-old daughter of Irish Prime Minister
PS I Love You by Cecelia Ahern
Bertie Ahern, writes with insight beyond her years in her debut
novel,
P.S. I Love You, a book at once poignant and comical, introspective and
farcical.
Holly Kennedy, 29, has just become a widow when the novel opens, her
husband Gerry her best friend, lover and soul mate having succumbed to a
brain tumor. Holly slogs through aimless days and nights with only
memories to keep her afloat until her mother reminds her of an envelope she
received in the mail just before Gerry's death. The notes inside are labeled
with the remaining months of the year, March through December, and each
one contains a tip, written by Gerry as he was dying, to help Holly get on
with her life. The first instructs her to go shopping for a new outfit, which
gets her out of her dirty jeans and Gerry's T-shirts; July's note sends her on a
vacation to Spain for a week with her two best friends, September pushes
her to get out and look for her "best job ever," and December, the last note,
encourages Holly not to be afraid to love again.
Gradually, Holly emerges from her cocoon. Armed with a new job in charge
of advertising for a trendy magazine, she is constantly buoyed by her long-
time friends, who serve as the vehicles for Ahern's comic side. They drag
Holly along to "hen parties," shopping trips and balls against her wishes.
Side plots focus on Holly's family, who include her doting parents, a stodgy
older brother who emerges as one of her staunchest supporters, and her
younger sister, pink-haired and flaky, who can always make Holly laugh.
Ahern weaves just the right amount of humor into her tale of Holly's
struggle with grief and its aftermath, resulting in a highly engaging addition
(for which the movie rights have already been sold) to the "plight of the
suddenly single" genre.
Deborah Donovan writes from Cincinnati and La Veta, Colorado.
2.
Holly has lost Gerry. The story follows her life after he has died through
love letters he has prepared for her before his demise. Gerry dates a letter
for each month after for Holly to open, which encourages her to change her
life in stages in order to help her move on. All with the help of her close
friends and family and the extent of Gerrys knowledge about Holly she
begins to piece her life back together as a widow.
Ahern is spectacular in getting the reader to feel the emotion that Holly
experiences throughout and touches upon realistic issues that follow death.
It demonstrates how we can become selfish in our grief and neglect
everything that is happening around us, often being afraid to be positive
about anything again.It resonated with me because in imagining losing
someone, having a coping mechanism such as the one devised by Ahern I
think would help me. I am sure I am not alone in thinking this.The book
shows how families can be brought back together in hard times and how
friendships can be stretched. The characters felt so real that I was carried
along on the rollercoaster of feelings that Holly was having, often bringing
me to tears. This is testament to how effective Ahern is at evoking emotion
thorough her writing.
Well-crafted, beautifully written and deliciously romantic. If you need a
good cry, a good laugh and an insightful look at family dynamics, then this
is the book for you. For everyone who has lost someone or who fears losing
someone, you need to read this!
3. Holly and Gerry met through mutual friends while still in junior high
school. They became sweethearts as both recognized that they had met their
love buddy. Eventually they married. He promised Holly that if he ever left
her, he would leave her with a list. Two months later Gerry is dead. After
fifteen plus years from they met, thirty years old Gerry was diagnosed with
a brain tumor.
A few months after Gerry's death an almost thirty Holly remains grieving
unable to leave her home. Her mom calls to tell her that she has a package
addressed to Holly with the word List above her name. A stunned Holly
realizes somehow Gerry marshaled his energy to give her ten months of lists
to help regain her equilibrium because he loved her so much he wanted her
to live. Now Holly begins to follow Gerry's list with one envelop opened
per month as he reaches from beyond the grave to help his beloved return to
the living.
Title aside even if it is the salutation of each of Gerry's notes, PS, I LOVE
YOU is a powerful character study that focuses on grieving and healing.
Holly is a fantastic protagonist who begins to mend through the solace
provided by Gerry. Her weird family and her best friends provide sympathy,
but cannot help her overcome her dread of life without Gerry. The hero is
incredible as he knew when he will die and planned accordingly for what he
could do to get his cherished Holly out of her depression and mourning and
into the light of life. Cecelia Ahern provides a powerful drama that will
leave no one dry-eyed.
4.
P. S. I Love You Book Review.
- The story occurred in Dublin, Ireland.
- No specific time was mentioned in the story.
- The setting does not affect the other elements of the story. However, if it
would have been in a different location, Holly wouldn't have met Daniel, a
great of hers who helped her throughout her struggles in life.
Exposition
> Gerry died because of Brain Tumor.
> Holly was devastated and usually stays at home.
Flashback
> In Chapter 2, she remembered the nights where they fought on who will
turn off the light. She remembered her wedding day and the ball during last
Christmas.
> In Chapter 14, she remembered the time she sang at the Karaoke and got
her nose broken.
> In Chapter 16, she thought of the times where Gerry was wearing his
clothes
> There was a time when holly remembered when she had her hen party.
Main Character
> Holly Kennedy- a young widow
Minor Characters
> Gerry Kennedy- Husband of Holly who died because of Brain Tumor
> Sharon and John McCarthy- Best Friends of Gerry and Holly
> Denise- Best Friend of Holly
> Daniel- Friend of Holly whom she met at the pub
> Frank and Patricia- Parents of Holly
> Richard, Jack, Ciara and Declan- brothers and sisters of Holly
Human vs Self
> The conflict lies within Holly herself. Since she cannot hardly accept
Gerry's death, she cannot move on. Also, she does not realize that there are
still people for her like her family. Even though her mother kept on calling
her and asking her how she is doing, she still thought about Gerry. After
Gerry's death, she does not think about herself but only Gerry. In the story,
one conflict that I found is how Holly struggled in order to move on.
Human vs Society
> Holly also tried to move on. However, there was a time wherein she went
out with Daniel because of business matters and saw Gerry's parents.
Gerry's parents saw them together. Later on, Holly went to the Christmas
Ball with Daniel and her other friends. The people judged her as if she was
with Daniel and already moved on.
The story is about how deep the love is of one person to another person. For
me, the theme of the story is "Love beyond death." Even though Gerry is
dead. Holly loves him so much. She always feel like she has a hole in her
heart. It feels like she needs a missing puzzle and that is Gerry. In the book,
you can see that even though Gerry is gone,Holly finds a lot of ways in
order to make her feel as if Gerry's with her.
In the story, the author did not use symbols nor narrative devices to convey
to the readers. She wrote the story in a straightforward manner.

PS, I Love You by Cecelia Ahern
Published by Harper Collins 2004
Cecelia Aherns first novel was launched with a maximum of hype and
publicity. If one believes the publicity, she is the next Shakespeare a
suggestion which does no favours for Ms Ahern. Readers expectations are
raised to expect a profound work of literature and instead they get a nice
holiday read.
The heroine of the book is Holly, a thirty year old Dublin woman whose
husband died of cancer and who is trying to get on with her life as a young
widow. The idea is brilliant her husband leaves her a series of challenges
to be carried out each month during the year following his death. However,
the authors writing skills do not live up to the good idea. It is clichd and
predictable with more than a suggestion of the Dort accent and lifestyle,
which revolves round trendy night clubs and bars and getting stupidly and
embarrassingly drunk.
The characters are slightly drawn and are the stock figures of romance
disapproving in-laws, unsympathetic and tear-away siblings and supportive
but puzzled parents who all behave predictably. The theme of the book is,
I think, meant to be how Holly comes to terms with the devastation of
losing her husband - with his help. Bereavement and loss are very weighty
subjects for a young inexperienced author to tackle effectively. She does not
succeed in doing justice to her chosen theme and fails to convey any depth
of feelings or emotion in her main character.
That said, this is an easy read with an in-built feel-good factor and is ideal
for whiling away the hours on the beach.
Reviewed by a Clare County Library Staff member.
S, 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.
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.