WIJFR: Me Before You (spoilers)

Young_Love · February 2015

I did not love this book, you guys.

What I came away from this book with was the message that death > living with a disability and that grossed me out a lot.

Leeba25 · February 2015

I can see how that would come across. This wasn't my favorite book of hers, but I liked it a lot. I thought that the decision was made more from a perspective of, I have tried and tried, and this life is *too* hard, and *too* painful for me to bear. I can appreciate that thought process. This wasn't a guy who lost a leg, or his eyesight ... he was in constant pain, sometimes to a terrible point, and there would be no end for that pain in his lifetime. I appreciated that the decision wasn't handled in a way that seemed light. I also very much liked that he wasn't "saved" by her, or by his love for her. His pain, and his decision, was his own.

It was a hard book, for sure.

Young_Love · February 2015

But he didn't try. He didn't try at all. He had a terrible attitude all the time about everything. Lou is the one who found out about all the adaptive stuff for him (the computer, the trips), he just wanted to sit in his room and suffer.

It's not like his only decision was live or die. He had a choice every single day in how he dealt w/ his like and he chose to be selfish and not do anything every single day.

And she said she loved him and was willing to do all these things for him and he was like MEH I'll pass. I'd rather be dead than even try it for a week.

I pretty much hated every single person in this book. Nathan was the only one I liked.

booneybear · February 2015

Young_Love said:

But he didn't try. He didn't try at all. He had a terrible attitude all the time about everything. Lou is the one who found out about all the adaptive stuff for him (the computer, the trips), he just wanted to sit in his room and suffer.

It's not like his only decision was live or die. He had a choice every single day in how he dealt w/ his like and he chose to be selfish and not do anything every single day.

And she said she loved him and was willing to do all these things for him and he was like MEH I'll pass. I'd rather be dead than even try it for a week.

I pretty much hated every single person in this book. Nathan was the only one I liked.

I disagree with this. I think in the beginning before he fell for Lou, he was giving up. But then he learned to trust Lou and he did have some fun and lived as best as he could given his circumstances, BUT at the same time, he knew he would never be able to live his life the way he wanted. He was a guy that liked to live on the edge and being physically active was HUGE to him. Going from climbing mountains and riding motorcycles and general everyday daredevil stunts, to not even being able to dress yourself or go to the bathroom, is not living (despite the best efforts of the people that love you to help). To him, even with the great things that Lou did for him, it wasn't life to him. He couldn't do the things he loved anymore. I don't think he gave up, he just didn't want to live a life that didn't make him feel whole.

Young_Love · February 2015

I just hated this guy so much I'm having a hard time seeing anything positive about him. He just reeked of white, rich, able-bodied privilege and even though Lou was able to develop feelings for him, I don't feel like he changed AT ALL from the beginning of the book to the end.

Lauren620 · February 2015

booneybear said:

Young_Love said:

But he didn't try. He didn't try at all. He had a terrible attitude all the time about everything. Lou is the one who found out about all the adaptive stuff for him (the computer, the trips), he just wanted to sit in his room and suffer.

It's not like his only decision was live or die. He had a choice every single day in how he dealt w/ his like and he chose to be selfish and not do anything every single day.

And she said she loved him and was willing to do all these things for him and he was like MEH I'll pass. I'd rather be dead than even try it for a week.

I pretty much hated every single person in this book. Nathan was the only one I liked.

I disagree with this. I think in the beginning before he fell for Lou, he was giving up. But then he learned to trust Lou and he did have some fun and lived as best as he could given his circumstances, BUT at the same time, he knew he would never be able to live his life the way he wanted. He was a guy that liked to live on the edge and being physically active was HUGE to him. Going from climbing mountains and riding motorcycles and general everyday daredevil stunts, to not even being able to dress yourself or go to the bathroom, is not living (despite the best efforts of the people that love you to help). To him, even with the great things that Lou did for him, it wasn't life to him. He couldn't do the things he loved anymore. I don't think he gave up, he just didn't want to live a life that didn't make him feel whole.

Not only was it not the life Will wanted to live, but it wasn't the life he wanted for Lou either. He lost autonomy over himself and she would have to do absolutely everything for him, I'm sure he worried about guilt or resentment from both sides. The life of a caregiver is taxing and difficult, especially under the severe circumstances he faced.

I also feel like it's reasonable for Will to have a bad attitude about his situation. It was terrible. He was in a lot of pain and even with the adaptive things Lou found, the very basic things in life were still really hard for him every single day. It would just be physically and emotionally draining all the time.

I do think he changed even though he didn't change his mind about ending his life. Lou brought him a lot of peace and happiness that he hadn't felt since his accident.

And before this gets way too long, I love that Jojo Moyes was able to evoke so many different feelings and emotions from readers. This book definitely opens up some topics that are painful or not typically discussed, and people have such polarizing views on them. It's different for everyone for so many reasons and it makes for great discussions.

Young_Love · February 2015

I'm SO not anti-right to die. But I think after doing so much research into disability while writing PG and meeting/talking to people with spinal cord injuries who had to make major changes to their lives and whose lives veered WAY off the course they set for themselves, I really just wanted to hit Will and tell him to STFU. Lots of people deal w/ this kind of shit every day, and do it with a great attitude and even manage to help other people along the way. At least give it a MF-ing try.

But I really find that when I read adult books I hate all of the characters.

Lauren620 · February 2015

@Young_Love I think your writing experience with PG changes a lot of how you see this book, and rightfully so. I don't know anyone who has experienced an injury like this and it's just too hard for me to reasonably imagine or understand everything in their lives that would change or how to cope with it.

I had hoped that Will might change his mind about ending his life, but considering the severity of his injury it didn't surprise me that he moved forward with it.

There were a lot of unlikable characters and things that the characters did that were awful, but I felt like there was change and growth with them too which can endear them to readers. I saw changes in Lou and Will and it made me want to sympathize and try understand their choices/actions.

MrsJenE · February 2015

Lauren620 said:

booneybear said:

Young_Love said:

But he didn't try. He didn't try at all. He had a terrible attitude all the time about everything. Lou is the one who found out about all the adaptive stuff for him (the computer, the trips), he just wanted to sit in his room and suffer.

It's not like his only decision was live or die. He had a choice every single day in how he dealt w/ his like and he chose to be selfish and not do anything every single day.

And she said she loved him and was willing to do all these things for him and he was like MEH I'll pass. I'd rather be dead than even try it for a week.

I pretty much hated every single person in this book. Nathan was the only one I liked.

I disagree with this. I think in the beginning before he fell for Lou, he was giving up. But then he learned to trust Lou and he did have some fun and lived as best as he could given his circumstances, BUT at the same time, he knew he would never be able to live his life the way he wanted. He was a guy that liked to live on the edge and being physically active was HUGE to him. Going from climbing mountains and riding motorcycles and general everyday daredevil stunts, to not even being able to dress yourself or go to the bathroom, is not living (despite the best efforts of the people that love you to help). To him, even with the great things that Lou did for him, it wasn't life to him. He couldn't do the things he loved anymore. I don't think he gave up, he just didn't want to live a life that didn't make him feel whole.

Not only was it not the life Will wanted to live, but it wasn't the life he wanted for Lou either. He lost autonomy over himself and she would have to do absolutely everything for him, I'm sure he worried about guilt or resentment from both sides. The life of a caregiver is taxing and difficult, especially under the severe circumstances he faced.

I also feel like it's reasonable for Will to have a bad attitude about his situation. It was terrible. He was in a lot of pain and even with the adaptive things Lou found, the very basic things in life were still really hard for him every single day. It would just be physically and emotionally draining all the time.

I do think he changed even though he didn't change his mind about ending his life. Lou brought him a lot of peace and happiness that he hadn't felt since his accident.

And before this gets way too long, I love that Jojo Moyes was able to evoke so many different feelings and emotions from readers. This book definitely opens up some topics that are painful or not typically discussed, and people have such polarizing views on them. It's different for everyone for so many reasons and it makes for great discussions.

All of this.

Young_Love · February 2015

I totally appreciate that you guys loved this book. I had a very different reading/understanding of it, and I pretty much never want to think about these awful people again.

RiverPlate · February 2015

I read it a while ago, and while I don't remember the exact intricacies, I ended this book with a bitter taste. It was one of the few highly-recommended NBC books that I just didn't like at all.

WIJFR: Me Before You (spoilers)

Re: WIJFR: Me Before You (spoilers)

Choose Another Board

Search Boards