Book Review — Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (2012)
There is never too late to read a masterpiece right? Well, I actually got interested in this book since RM from BTS recommended this book to read. So, I’m curious. It must be that good if RM gives a recommendation for his fans to read out this masterpiece.
In my viewpoint, RM is absolutely right about this book. It is very touching, sad, lonely, desperate, yet funny, and magical at the same time. I can feel all these emotions from the main characters’ life; Louisa Clark and Will.
The situation that happened to Will’s life is incredibly unpredictable. Imagine that Will was a man in his early 30s and he was perfectly happy with his job, having many friends, and a pretty girlfriend. Life seems so perfect. But, suddenly his life was completely changed because of an accident. The doctor diagnoses that him as a quadriplegic.
From an independent man, Will becomes a totally dependent person. He can’t do anything without help from others. It must be very frustrating for him. Thus, he has a plan to end his life in Dignitas, Switzerland.
On the other hand, Louisa Clark a 26 year-old girl from a middle-class family has lost her job recently. She has a good personality; funny, spread positive vibes, has a unique taste of fashion, and has good empathy.
Louisa got an offer to become a caregiver for Will and has a mission from his family to make Will stay alive. Will’s parents and Louisa have a series of the plan to make Will change his decision about killing himself. The parents desperately want Will to live.
Then, Louisa and Will got a list of crazy things that they will try to do. The plans are they will go on a trip to the island and swimming with dolphins, try snorkeling, enjoy the breeze of the beach instead of stay on the bed, go to the balls, and visit an instrumental show. These activities hopefully can trigger Will and change his mind that even living as a quadriplegic, he can still live his life.
Being on such a mission to save someone’s life, Louisa feels burdened and responsible. Moreover, being in Will’s side and accompanying him to struggle for his life, make Louisa understands Will’s feelings. Their relationships begin with the sympathy and finally become friends. Unconsciously Louisa and Will have feelings for each other, romantically.
From this story, I can learn about unconditional love and the definition of love itself. In short, true love is about becoming best friends, being good listeners, and always be there for each other during ups and downs. Furthermore, I learn not to be a judgemental person. It is because we don’t know the full story of others and the struggle that they were going through before. So, I learn to appreciate other people’s decisions.
Another message from Will’s story life is, I can understand the struggle that is faced by disabled and quadriplegics. I think society needs to develop more empathy for these people. The government also must consider the public facilities for the disabled such as making a special street for the blinds, provide a special road for those in a wheelchair, and many more. In addition, we have to open the same opportunity careers for the disabled. Despite the flaws that they have, most of them are also talented and able to contribute to society as well as other people.
Overall, this novel is very marvelous! The language style is easy to be understood and there are a lot of takeaways that we can apply in daily life. Last but not least, live your life to the fullest because you are only live once!
