Matthew Quick

Why did NPR's popular librarian Nancy Pearl pick The Silver Linings Playbook as one of summer's best reads for 2009? "Aawww shucks!" Pearl said. "I know that's hardly a usual way to begin a book review, but it was my immediate response to finishing Matthew Quick's heartwarming, humorous and soul-satisfying first novel . . . This book makes me smile." Meet Pat Peoples. Pat has a theory: his life is a movie produced by God. And his God-given mission is to become physically fit and emotionally literate, whereupon God will ensure him a happy ending--the return of his estranged wife, Nikki. (It might not come as a surprise to learn that Pat has spent several years in a mental health facility.) The problem is, Pat's now home, and everything feels off. No one will talk to him about Nikki; his beloved Philadelphia Eagles keep losing; he's being pursued by the deeply odd Tiffany; his new therapist seems to recommend adultery as a form of therapy. Plus, he's being haunted by Kenny G! As the award-winning novelist Justin Cronin put it: "Tender, soulful, hilarious, and true, The Silver Linings Playbook is a wonderful debut."

A Novel

The Silver Linings Playbook

Pat Peoples has a theory that his life is actually a movie produced by God, and that his God-given mission in life is to become emotionally literate, whereupon God will ensure a happy ending - which, for Pat, means the return of his estranged wife Nikki, from whom he's currently having some "apart time". It might not come as any surprise to learn that Pat has spent several years in a mental health facility. When Pat leavesany surprise to learn that hospital and goes to live with his parents, however, everything seems changed.

Maybe I don’t understand BPD as well as I thought I did. My ex’s father had it and used to do some wild things—like putting knives in blenders—but this book just didn’t click with me.

I haven’t seen the movie, so I went in blind, and honestly, I found parts of it disturbing. The scene where Pat's father beats him in the attic while his mother stands by like a decorative houseplant? That’s grounds for divorce in my book. I felt physically upset reading it.

The beach scene made me even angrier. Pat’s best friend’s wife berates him, calls him “odd,” and insists he can’t be alone with their child—and his best friend says nothing? Nope. Not okay. If someone talked to my friend like that, they’d be out of my house in seconds.

It also felt like Pat’s parents gave up on him by institutionalizing him. I kept wishing someone—anyone—had shown him unconditional love. And don’t even get me started on Nikki. Cheating on Pat while he was clearly vulnerable? Her affair partner definitely had that punch coming.

Liana

Maybe I don’t understand BPD as well as I thought I did. My ex’s father had it and used to do some wild things—like putting knives in blenders—but this book just didn’t click with me.

I haven’t seen the movie, so I went in blind, and honestly, I found parts of it disturbing. The scene where Pat's father beats him in the attic while his mother stands by like a decorative houseplant? That’s grounds for divorce in my book. I felt physically upset reading it.

The beach scene made me even angrier. Pat’s best friend’s wife berates him, calls him “odd,” and insists he can’t be alone with their child—and his best friend says nothing? Nope. Not okay. If someone talked to my friend like that, they’d be out of my house in seconds.

It also felt like Pat’s parents gave up on him by institutionalizing him. I kept wishing someone—anyone—had shown him unconditional love. And don’t even get me started on Nikki. Cheating on Pat while he was clearly vulnerable? Her affair partner definitely had that punch coming.

Anyway... Go Eagles, I guess?

Embracing a philosophy that life is a movie produced by God, neural health patient Pat Peoples endeavors to win back his estranged wife by making strategic sacrifices and coordinating their communications through a depressed widow. A first novel.

Derek Barlas

Kind of hard to describe this one. Main character has mental health issues and its all written from his point of view.

Hannah Yang

I've been in a bit of a rut with writing book reviews. The three books I've read most recently (all wildly different) are ones I objectively devoured / was engaged by, and probably would have loved had I read them at a different time in my life. But all have left me a little disillusioned and unsatisfied with how love is portrayed in contemporary novels, and I think I'm generally in a phase where I'm unsure what I want to get out of the books I'm reading - so take this review with those grains of salt.

The Silver Linings Playbook follows Pat Peoples, who returns home from a mental health treatment center and is determined to win back his ex-wife Nikki through self-improvement, such as losing the weight he gained throughout their marriage, focusing on being kind instead of right, reading her favorite books, and going to therapy. Simultaneously, Pat is repairing his relationships with his family, developing a new friendship with a widow named Tiffany, and overcoming his delusion / recovering his memory. The novel is primarily narrated from Pat's (often childish) perspective, and there is a lot of football fanaticism. There are definitely some moments that struck me: his experience of learning to dance with Tiffany, his miraculous Christmas reunion with his friend and fellow patient, and generally his relationship with his therapist. 

The novel is written compellingly in that we truly do not find out what happened between Pat and Nikki, or Tiffany's backstory, until the end of the novel. There are hints of what could have transpired, but I suspect most readers would be curious enough to read to the end. However, delivering all of the most important plot points via letters feels like a bit of a cop-out to more subtle ways of letting the story unfold (maybe this is partially the point - Pat is genuinely delusional and only the most blunt language gets the point across), and made it difficult for me to buy into Tiffany's and Pat's eventual romance (if they had ended as friends, fine, but point to one real, substantial face-to-face dialogue these two shared before falling in love). I have no issues with two mentally ill people falling in love in a story as long as there is more to their connection than a) both being mentally ill or b) mutual need.

The characters in this book are well-developed and feel real. Pat is frequently remorseful and clearly has intent to improve himself, and his violence is definitely not painted in a flattering light. Tiffany's mistakes are also not glossed over, and both of them are good cases of people deserving a second chance (see The Good Place: "What matters isn't if people are good or bad. What matters is if they're trying to be better today than they were yesterday."/"People improve when they get external love and support. How can we hold it against them when they don't?" what a great show). However, most of Pat's immediate family (besides his mother, bless her heart) is insufferable - Pat's father essentially faces no consequences or accountability for being a barnacle of a husband - and by the end, I wasn't really rooting for any of the characters. I spent most of the novel feeling frustrated at Pat's willful ignorance, and with the Big Reveal, I frankly felt even less inclined to root for him (though perhaps this suggests I should search within for more empathy, because his unjustifiable reaction to the situation was partially caused by his mental illness, which is not his fault or choice). 

I think a lot of people would enjoy this book, and it sounds like even more people enjoyed the movie. But I just didn't deeply connect with these characters, and I'm once again in a position where I feel like I can't really criticize the story because who am I to say what is or is not acceptable when portraying mental illness, especially at the early stage of a healing process? Anyways. For me, the takeaway from this book will be that you should indeed always strive to be better, regardless of backsliding or how long it takes, because mental health is always a nonlinear journey and it is very much worth fighting for. The rest of it- I'll figure out how I feel as I think about it all more.

Pat Peoples knows that life doesn't always go according to plan, but he's determined to get his back on track. After a stint in a psychiatric hospital, Pat is staying with his parents and trying to live according to his new philosophy: get fit, be nice and always look for the silver lining. Most importantly, Pat is determined to be reconciled with his wife Nikki. Pat's parents just want to protect him so he can get back on his feet, but when Pat befriends the mysterious Tiffany, the secrets they've been keeping from him threaten to come out . . .The Silver Linings Playbook is a touching and very funny novel, from the author of The Good Luck of Right Now.

Sian Wadey

I've had this book on my to-read list ever since I saw trailers for the film back in 2012. The film really looked my kind of thing and as I always have a book before film rule I waited.
I wish I'd read this book sooner. The Silver Linings Playbook is simply one of the best books I have read for a long time. I finished it in two nights, last night staying up until half four. It somehow manages to be heart warming and funny despite dealing with difficult subjects.
The main character and narrator is Pat Peoples, who has recently been released from a mental institution into his mother's care. A few things are apparent at this stage, he did something awful to end up in the 'bad place' and it's related to his wife Nikki. Nikki is Pat's world. He will do anything to reconcile with her and end 'apart time' (read, restraining order). He reads the books that she teaches as part of her English syllabus and mostly he tried to be a good person and do what is right. He always looks for the silver lining in everything and believes his life is like a movie and therefore he will get his happy ending, because everybody gets their happy ending. 
It's fair to say Pat is an unreliable narrator, but despite this he is likeable and provides the reader with an insight into mental illness, something in this day and age people still seem afraid to talk about.
His family and friends provide a menagerie of characters. His Mum is clearly the person he relies on the most. She is kind and caring and does everything she can to support her son. I like that she becomes more assertive during the story. His father is a mean, rude, grump who only seems to lighten up when his beloved Eagles win a game. His brother Jake and friend Ronnie provide 'manly backup' and his therapist Cliff, an Indian man who is also a fan of the Eagles is a great character helping him come to the right decisions on his own. 
Then there is a Tiffany, a woman who is just as troubled as he is. Her husband passed away and she is left a widow, severely depressed and aiming to overcome this by having lots of random sex.
The characters are real and sympathetic and provide a great back up to Pat's story. 
One of the thing's I didn't really enjoy about this book was the constant reference to football. I'm British and not a sports fan of any kind so I didn't particularly care about it, although I know it symbolises commitment to something, and for Pat's father and brother it's a family event, a time when they all come together.
There are lots of things within this book that surprised me but I don't want to give anything away as I want every reader to be just as shocked as I was. It really represented what mental illness can do to your life and those around you. That it doesn't simply affect one person. But with the right help things can become better. 
I was disappointed at the end that not everything came together neatly, and then I realised that was the whole point. Matthew Quick's book is supposed to show the reader that life is not like a movie, we don't walk off into the sunset and that's okay as long as we appreciate what we've got.

Becky

I really enjoyed this book. I only wanted to read it after seeing the movie trailer for the film that comes out this year, so I had some high expectations for this read, unsurprising since this continually happens with books. I have to say, it wasn't what I expected, another thing that happens when a book is adapted into a film. Characters were obviously altered, or I assume they were based upon what I saw in the trailer. Despite my expectations and preconceived notions of what this book was going to be about, I enjoyed it. It was a pleasantly surprising read. I'd recommend it to friends, I'd happily read it again. I just really enjoyed it.

Morgana

** spoiler alert **
           Il lato positivo / Silver Linings Playbook è sicuramente un bel libro, con personaggi ben caratterizzati ed interessanti, è scritto bene e la storia, per quanto non sia originalissima, è intrigante ma manca qualcosa. 
Mi aspettavo che, una volta sciolti tutti i nodi e ricordato tutto quanto, le cose per Pat sarebbero cambiate drasticamente invece la storia resta lineare fino alla fine. Era scontato che lui e Tiffany si sarebbero riappacificati, però io avrei voluto vedere un vero incontro tra lui e Nikki visto che la rincorre da tutto il libro.
So che ha un'ordinanza restrittiva nei suoi confronti perché era violento e per quello che ha fatto ( certo che lei non era una santa, proprio no ) e che le lettere erano false e bla bla, ma avrei voluto che lei vedesse che uomo era diventato senza di lei e si pentisse di aver trascurato una persona del genere, invece vederla felice e contenta mi ha fatto storcere un po' il naso.
Credevo che Pat avrebbe fatto qualcosa per aiutare il rapporto tra la madre ed il padre, e pensavo che tutto si sarebbe chiuso con ( possibilmente ) un divorzio vista la sua esperienza con Nikki ( per un po' Pat sembra aver capito che il padre tratta la madre non proprio come lui trattava Nikki,ma quasi ) ma poi alla fin fine non fa altro che sopportare e sopportare.
Bel libro, forse un po' sopravvalutato visto quanto ne ho sentito parlare prima di leggerlo.

Pam Sartain

Pat Peoples is a man in his 30s for whom the last 4 years have vanished in what he thinks is onlu a few months.

He's been in a neural ward having had a head injury, and feels very much like the main character in 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the night time'.

A very though provoking book about people with depression and head imjuries, and the changes that they have to go through.

Wren Hardwick

Book is so much better than the movie, don't even try to challenge me on this.

I love Jennifer Lawrence just as much as the next person (because she is wonderful), and she and Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro and the rest of the cast did a wonderful job trying their best to bring this movie to life.

This just isn't a book that could translate well to the screens.

Let me explain:
The whole movie you are inside Pat's head. You don't know why he is the way he is but he talks to the reader about every little thought that he has and why he thinks that way. You see how people react through his eyes, so you kind of get a feel on what it feels like when people try to walk on egg shells around you for something you can't control. 



This whole book is letting you in on someone who has a mental disability but still lives their life to their best ability which is what you are suppose to do. 

Some things I thought were interesting:
01. Pat couldn't say "Danny" he had to say "My Black Friend Danny"


02. He always put on a trash bag when he ran (if someone could explain that to me, please feel free so I can be in the know)
03. He always wore that jersey, no matter where he went
04. Things are so incredibly awkward between Jen and Tiffany that I related so hard


There are a lot of scenes that are missed in the movie that you get in the book and a lot of things and actions are explained via through Pat that make a lot more sense because you understand why he reacted the way he did (even if it is still a little over the top).

Jess Houston

I needed a book like this at this time. Bigger review later. Just... wow. Made me rethink a lot in my life, especially since of something that happened today.

Amazing book.

Hannah Adamson

this was a very good book although i feel the film is better which is not usual for me

Duda Martins

Mackenzie Mossop

Andy

The New York Times bestseller NOW AN ACADEMY-AWARD WINNING MOTION PICTURE "Quite the heartbreaker of a novel" Kirkus Reviews "Endearing . . . touching and funny debut . . . Pat [Peoples] is as sweet as a puppy, and his offbeat story has all the makings of a crowd-pleaser" Publishers Weekly Pat Peoples knows that life doesn't always go according to plan, but he's determined to get his back on track. After a stint in a psychiatric hospital, Pat is staying with his parents and trying to live according to his new philosophy: get fit, be nice and always look for the silver lining. Most importantly, Pat is determined to be reconciled with his wife Nikki. Pat's parents just want to protect him so he can get back on his feet, but when Pat befriends the mysterious Tiffany, the secrets they've been keeping from him threaten to come out . . .

The Silver Linings Playbook A Novel

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