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After You
by
Julie Buxbaum (Goodreads Author)
The complexities of a friendship. The unexplored doubts of a marriage. And the redemptive power of literature...Julie Buxbaum, the acclaimed author of The Opposite of Love, delivers a haunting, gloriously written novel about love, family, and the secrets we hide from each other—and ourselves.
It happened on a tree-lined street in Notting Hill to a woman who seemed to have t...more
It happened on a tree-lined street in Notting Hill to a woman who seemed to have t...more
Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
August 25th 2009
by The Dial Press
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I read this in an evening when I wasn't feeling well and DH took over boy duty. It was fine for that but not a great novel. Ellie's best friend, Lucy, is murdered and Ellie moves to London to help care for her 8-year-old, Sophie. The author dodges a few cliches but manages to incorporate quite a few obvious plot points. The characters never seemed quite real to me. She excels in a few passages that describe the emotional punch of losing a loved one, but overall the book felt thin to me.
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The only negative thing about reading a really amazing book, is that for at least a few weeks, any other book read will seem mediocre as best.
Unfortunately, I choose to read Julie Buxbaum's second novel immediately after finishing The Namesake. I had been looking forward to reading After You since it's publish date, especially as I had already read and enjoyed Bauxbaum's debut novel, The Opposite of Love.
Now, there was quite a bit about After You that I did enjoy, to start I...more
Unfortunately, I choose to read Julie Buxbaum's second novel immediately after finishing The Namesake. I had been looking forward to reading After You since it's publish date, especially as I had already read and enjoyed Bauxbaum's debut novel, The Opposite of Love.
Now, there was quite a bit about After You that I did enjoy, to start I...more
I asked for this book for Christmas and am so glad I did! I thought of this book as a sort of coming of mid-life-age story. It's not so much the typical mid-life crisis though. The book starts off when Ellie has left her husband and home near Boston, to attend to her goddaughter, Sophie, in Notting Hill. Sophie's mother, Lucy, was Ellie's best friend and was murdered in front of Sophie one morning while walking her to school. Ellie takes her role as godmother seriously and immediately takes over...more
Though others have categorized this book as chick-lit, I think that underplays the emotional truths laid out in the narrative. When Ellie's friend Lucy is killed, Ellie knows she has to rush to London to help care for Sophie; what she doesn't seem to realize is how much her actions are driven by a desire to escape the life she is currently living. Ellie uses that classic tale The Secret Garden to reach out to Sophie because her mother used it years before to reach out to Ellie in a time of grief...more
One thing my girlfriend and I have always been amazed at is that ONE PHONE CALL in ONE MOMENT can change your life forever. Just like that, things will never be the same again...an accident, a disease, a death, whatever the news, one moment things can be just fine and the next moment your life is turned upside down.
That's what happens in this book, Ellie learns that her best friend, who is currently living in Europe, was killed in a street robbery...in front of her 8-year-old daugh...more
That's what happens in this book, Ellie learns that her best friend, who is currently living in Europe, was killed in a street robbery...in front of her 8-year-old daugh...more
Let's pretend things are different. That in the last couple of days, I haven't become the kind of person who resorts to wishing on eyelashes, first tears of the night, and the ridiculous 11:11, both a.m. and p.m., in earnest and with my eyes closed.
When Ellie's best friend Lucy is murdered in London, Ellie rushes there from Boston, to be with Lucy's eight-year-old daughter, Sophie. After greeting Ellie, Sophie stops speaking. Meanwhile, Lucy's husband has withdrawn into himself and t...more
When Ellie's best friend Lucy is murdered in London, Ellie rushes there from Boston, to be with Lucy's eight-year-old daughter, Sophie. After greeting Ellie, Sophie stops speaking. Meanwhile, Lucy's husband has withdrawn into himself and t...more
Lucy, Ellie Lerner's best friend of 30 years, is stabbed to death while walking her eight year old daughter Sophie to school. Ellie is so devastated that she leaves her job and her husband in Boston, and travels to Notting Hill, England to help Sophie and her Greg through this difficult time.
Greg deals with his grief by escaping to local pubs, and little Sophie is so traumatized by witnessing her mother's stabbing, has stopped speaking. Ellie desperate to help Sophie, turns to the bo...more
Greg deals with his grief by escaping to local pubs, and little Sophie is so traumatized by witnessing her mother's stabbing, has stopped speaking. Ellie desperate to help Sophie, turns to the bo...more
Title: After You
Author: Julie Buxbaum
ISBN: 978-0-385-34124-0
Pages: 337
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Publisher: Dial Press
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Wonderful, emotionally-charged, character driven story about loss, love and the power of the human spirit to adapt and change. You won't want to put it down.
Publisher: On a cobblestone street in Notting Hill, Ellie Lerner's life-long best friend, Lucy, is stabbed to d...more
Author: Julie Buxbaum
ISBN: 978-0-385-34124-0
Pages: 337
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Publisher: Dial Press
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Wonderful, emotionally-charged, character driven story about loss, love and the power of the human spirit to adapt and change. You won't want to put it down.
Publisher: On a cobblestone street in Notting Hill, Ellie Lerner's life-long best friend, Lucy, is stabbed to d...more
Ellie drops everything & jumps on a plane after receiving the devastating news that her best friend has been murdered. She travels across the Atlantic to London to be with her God daughter Sophie. A little girl who witnessed the 'accident' with her mother and has become mute. Ellie can't turn her back on this little girl and leaves behind her life in America to be there for Sophie. They share the children's book The Secret Garden to work through Sophie's trauma. Ellie also has a need to come to ...more
I am not much of a chick lit reader, but “After You,” was a fantastic read for those who embrace the chick lit and those who do not.
Ellie’s best friend, Lucy, is brutally murdered in front of her daughter and Ellie comes to stay with her daughter to help comfort her during this time of loss. Ellie arrives in Notting Hill to find her husband who is drinking and working to comfort himself while Sophie has decided to stop speaking after witnessing the death of her mother.
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Ellie’s best friend, Lucy, is brutally murdered in front of her daughter and Ellie comes to stay with her daughter to help comfort her during this time of loss. Ellie arrives in Notting Hill to find her husband who is drinking and working to comfort himself while Sophie has decided to stop speaking after witnessing the death of her mother.
...more
After enjoying my first book I was really looking forward to seeing what the next of my books from Transworld's Summer Reading Challenge was going to hold. "After You" appears to be marketed towards the Jodi Picoult reading market, it comes complete with a quote from her on the front cover. I've read most of Jodi Picoult books so thought I'd probably enjoy this one too. I actually found it to be a more straightforward read than most Jodi Picoult, it was less focussed on issues and mora...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
"Last Thursday, when Lucy stopped breathing, there is no doubt that a part of me died too. The history of who I am-the accumulation of a million memories from a thirty-one-year friendship, the knowledge that at least one person in the world could see me, that at least one person in the world would always know me-has been washed empty. I picture her blood trickling between the cobblestones, and one of the most important voices in my head, certainly the most constant, goes with it."
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Ellie and Lucy have been best friends since they were four years old. Their lives have diverged – Lucy has always been the glamorous one, and she lives an upscale life with her husband and daughter in London, while Ellie has stayed close to home in a Boston suburb, where she is an adjunct professor – but they have remained extremely close. When Lucy is murdered, Ellie leaves her husband and job behind to take care of Lucy’s 8-year-old daughter, Sophie. Ellie finds out secrets about Lucy’s li...more
Lauren Fidler
rated it
could someone please explain how i have managed to pick the saddest chick lit books this week? seriously! i cried no less than five times (residual pregnancy hormones, i swear)reading this one. another precocious little girl who reminds me of fiona, i fear.
the premise: ellie, a sharon-ite, moves to london (why is it always london, btw???) when her best friend becomes the victim of a senselessly brutal murder that her 8-yr-old daughter witnesses. her marriage is falling apart, partly ...more
the premise: ellie, a sharon-ite, moves to london (why is it always london, btw???) when her best friend becomes the victim of a senselessly brutal murder that her 8-yr-old daughter witnesses. her marriage is falling apart, partly ...more
From the very first sentence I was immediately in love with this book. I enjoyed it the whole way through, but my first impression was slightly better than my last, unfortunately. It's Ellie's story of learning to live without her best friend Lucy- a part of her own identity- whom she didn't know as well as she believed. It's her story of loving Lucy's precious daughter, and letting that love open her heart back up to her estranged husband to rekindle their relationship as well. It is beauti...more
Because, by the end, I had such strong distaste for the main character, I'm not sure whether I liked or loathed this book. I was going through it quite happily, thinking I liked it, until I realized just how selfish the main character was. Seriously, horribly selfish (and, really, the realization didn't come until the last 50 or so pages and I had had time to really dissect Ellie's behaviors and motives). Even her seemingly kind gestures (staying abroad to care for her deceased best friend's...more
There is a fine line between chick lit and meaningful chick lit. While I have nothing against the light, airy nature of chick lit, I often find myself looking for something with a bit more substance. You know how it is, there is a time and a place for different genres, depending on your mood, your time, and your attention span. Well I was in the mood for something serious but relatable as well and I found exactly that in this engrossing novel.
Ellie Lerner's best friend (Lucy) was mu...more
Ellie Lerner's best friend (Lucy) was mu...more
Without a second thought, Ellie Lerner flies to Notting Hill when she gets a shocking phone call that her beautiful best friend Lucy has been murdered by a stranger. Lucy's husband Greg is inconsolable from shock, leaving Ellie to console Lucy's eight year old daughter, Sophie, who not only lost her mother suddenly, but also witnessed the attack. While spending her summer in London helping what is left of Lucy's family cope with their sudden loss, Ellie must come to terms with startling revela...more
I won this book on a FirstReads Giveaway and I'm very glad I did.
At first, I had mixed feelings. The beginning seemed so very basic and tidy -- a rich lady goes to Notting Hill to help out her best friend's rich family after she has been brutally stabbed in front of her 8-year old daughter on their way to school. The events were nothing out of the ordinary; the daughter, Sophie, didn't speak for a long time, and her father was equally distraught. There were some chick-lit cliches ...more
At first, I had mixed feelings. The beginning seemed so very basic and tidy -- a rich lady goes to Notting Hill to help out her best friend's rich family after she has been brutally stabbed in front of her 8-year old daughter on their way to school. The events were nothing out of the ordinary; the daughter, Sophie, didn't speak for a long time, and her father was equally distraught. There were some chick-lit cliches ...more
Ellie, an American, goes to London to look after her best friend Lucy's daughter, Sophie who is 8, leaving behind her husband, Phillip, in Boston. Lucy has been tragically murdered and her husband, Greg, and Sophie (who has stopped talking) are devastated.
While Ellie and Sophie grow closer, Ellie and Phillip gradually grow apart. She tells Phillip that she's staying indefinitely, she believes she's doing the right thing looking after Sophie and they both find comfort in reading Ellie's...more
While Ellie and Sophie grow closer, Ellie and Phillip gradually grow apart. She tells Phillip that she's staying indefinitely, she believes she's doing the right thing looking after Sophie and they both find comfort in reading Ellie's...more
I won this book from the Good reads site. The story follows Ellie, who is trying to recover from a still born and the slow destruction of her marriage. Ellie's childhood friend, Lucy, is murdered in an upscale part of London while walking her 8 year old daughter, Sophie, to school. Ellie flies to London to attend to the arrangements and deal with Sophie, who now refuses to speak. Dealing with the loss of her stillborn child, marriage, and now lifelong best friend, Ellie attempts to deal wi...more
First book I've ready by this author but will definitely look for more by her.
This novel deals with friendships, marriage, murder, secrets and things that people want to change in their lives but may not have admitted it to themselves until faced with tough decisions.
Ellie's best friend Lucy was murdered in broad daylight in front of her 8 year old daughter, Sophie Ellie drops everything in her life in Boston to go to London to help out with her godchild during this sad time...more
This novel deals with friendships, marriage, murder, secrets and things that people want to change in their lives but may not have admitted it to themselves until faced with tough decisions.
Ellie's best friend Lucy was murdered in broad daylight in front of her 8 year old daughter, Sophie Ellie drops everything in her life in Boston to go to London to help out with her godchild during this sad time...more
Eight-year-old Sophie has been left traumatised after witnessing the murder of her mother, Lucy, in the street near their London home. Sophie's reaction to the tragedy is simply to stop speaking. Lucy's best friend, Ellie Lerner, has travelled from America to London to try to help her goddaughter and she becomes determined to break through Sophie's self-imposed silence. Knowing how much Sophie loves reading books, Ellie decides to introduce her to one of her own childhood favourites - The Secret...more
A moving story about dealing with loss and moving forward. When Ellie gets the news her best friend Lucy has been murdered she uproots from the life she shares with her husband in America to go and be with Lucy's daughter Sophie and husband Greg in Notting Hill.
Ellie's refusal to come back home creates tension in her own marriage. She decides its more important to devote herself to helping Lucy's eight year old daughter heal.
"I wish I were really young, like you. Eight is, like...more
Ellie's refusal to come back home creates tension in her own marriage. She decides its more important to devote herself to helping Lucy's eight year old daughter heal.
"I wish I were really young, like you. Eight is, like...more
When Ellie learns of the murder of her best friend Lucy, she does what any friend would do, and drops everything and heads to London to look after Lucy’s daughter, Sophie, and to pick up the pieces. Sophie, as expected, is struggling with her mum’s death and has stopped talking. Desperate to get the little girl to open up again, Ellie decides that the best course of action is to read a book with her. Ellie chooses The Secret Garden, a book that helped her get through childhood, and hopes it will...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
A story that explores death, loss and relationships. I enjoyed the characters and the story the only thing that bothered me is that it is supposed to be written from the point of view of an American from Boston. Unfortunately, the writer tends to let British English writing style dominate - so while the story takes place mostly in London, I had trouble believing Ellie was actually from the States...even though her character often made fun of British English sayings. Putting aside my attention to...more
Ellie heads to Notting Hill after her best friend, Lucy, is murdered. She's mostly there to help take care of Lucy's eight-year-old daughter, Sophie, who has stopped talking. (Sophie's dad, Greg, has pretty much checked out.)
One of the ways she helps Sophie is by introducing her to The Secret Garden. (Sophie and Ellie are both hardcore readers, and I love the way the book shows that escaping into fiction can help you.)
It's about coming to terms with losing someone you ...more
One of the ways she helps Sophie is by introducing her to The Secret Garden. (Sophie and Ellie are both hardcore readers, and I love the way the book shows that escaping into fiction can help you.)
It's about coming to terms with losing someone you ...more
After You was a decent book. It wasn't great and it wasn't awful. The story line is fairly well thought out and interesting, as are the characters. The writing, however, wasn't spectacular. The metaphors are mostly trivial, as are most of the descriptions of the characters. Ideally, there could have been better character development, and more detailed interactions between the main character, Ellie, and everyone else (besides Sophie). The story starts of pretty slow, the middle is decent, and I e...more
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Readers Also Enjoyed
Please check out my two novels, THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE and AFTER YOU, both now out in paperback.
Please check out my website www.juliebuxbaum.com for more information about both books.
Or to follow my recent shenanigans, please check out my blog, JULIE HAS WRITER'S BLOG, at www.juliebuxbaum.com/blog/
One of my favorite things about being a novelist is the opportunit...more
More about Julie Buxbaum...
Please check out my website www.juliebuxbaum.com for more information about both books.
Or to follow my recent shenanigans, please check out my blog, JULIE HAS WRITER'S BLOG, at www.juliebuxbaum.com/blog/
One of my favorite things about being a novelist is the opportunit...more
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“Five years ago, I said vows. And I believe in vows. I meant them, and not just when I said them out loud for an audience to hear but as a motto and a life choice. For as long as we both shall live. I hadn't anticipated the sandy flow of feeling, the yin-yang of love and dread, or the residual buildup of grievances and the slow draining of the benefit of doubt. In good times and in bad. Yes, sure, but in my naivete, I interpreted this as external; we would support each other when the world imposed and intruded. No one tells you that it's the internal that's the real challenge: those moments of decisiveness equal to taking a vow, when you feel the clawing grip of your pormises.”
—
7 people liked it
“I wish I were really young, like you. Eight is, like, the best age."
"Really?"
"I don't know. To be honest, I don't remember being eight."
"That's good."
"Why?"
"I don't want to remember being eight either.”
—
3 people liked it
More quotes…
"Really?"
"I don't know. To be honest, I don't remember being eight."
"That's good."
"Why?"
"I don't want to remember being eight either.”
