Book Review :: Attachments, by Rainbow Rowell

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Published by Orion
on February 2012
Genres: Contemporary, Fiction, Romance
Pages: 357
Goodreads

It's 1999 and the internet is still a novelty. At a newspaper office, two colleagues, Beth and Jennifer, e-mail back and forth, discussing their lives in hilarious details, from love troubles to family dramas. And Lincoln, a shy IT guy responsible for monitoring e-mails, spends his hours reading every exchange.

At first their e-mails offer a welcome diversion, but the more he reads, the more he finds himself falling for one of them. By the time Lincoln realises just how head-over-heels he is, it's too late to introduce himself.

After a series of close encounters, Lincoln eventually decides he must follow his heart... and find out if there is such a thing as love before first sight.

Last updated on 5 April 2022

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What is Attachments by Rainbow Rowell about?

Attachments is about Lincoln, a man in his late twenties still living with his mother, and working the night shift on computer security at a newspaper office. It’s 1999 and the internet is a novelty, the newspaper only recently getting on board. With the internet comes internet security, and it’s Lincoln’s job to monitor the emails between colleagues.

“There are moments when you can’t believe something wonderful is happening. And there are moments when your entire consciousness is filled with knowing absolutely that something wonderful is happening.”

Emails with flagged words pop up on his screen, and he reads them to decide whether or not the employee needs a warning on not. But then Lincoln starts reading emails that are sent between Beth and Jennifer, two friends who use work time to send each other emails about their lives, complaints, boyfriends, pregnancy dramas etc. Lincoln knows he should report them to the boss, but he can’t bring himself to do it. Suddenly he’s reading every exchange they have…and he’s falling in love with one of them.

My thoughts on Attachments

Written both in the third person from Lincoln’s perspective and also in email form between Beth and Jennifer, Attachments it’s a great book with even greater characters, full of humour, drama, friendship, love, and life in general. Lincoln goes from hating his job and living at home, to starting to enjoy work and eventually moving on with his own life.

“Every woman wants a man who’ll fall in love with her soul as well as her body.”

Beth and Jennifer both go through large dramas, all of which we as readers only know about because of the exchange of emails, and even the minor characters (like friends of Lincoln) go through tough times and definitely grow as characters over the course of the book.

The story takes place over a year or so, and the end is so sweet and so lovely that when I finished it I just wanted to read it again.

Normally I don’t like books that are written in email or letter form, but I found that because Attachments was alternating between email exchanges and third person, it was actually really great.

If you liked Eleanor & Park, read Attachments. It’s different in many ways, but it’s definitely Rainbow Rowell. I love her writing style and her stories.

My favourite thing about this book? In the end, it’s really about love before first sight. About falling in love with someone before you even know what they look like. And that’s beautiful.

What about you? Have you read Attachments? What did you think?