Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
What can I say about Eleanor and Park? This has been running through my head since I finished reading the book. This is one of the few book that I have had mixed feelings about. I don't know if this is has anything to do with it taking me three weeks to read or not.
Whenever I read anything from this book it was always so sweet and relatable. These were two people my age who had found each other when they least expected it. Not only were they falling in love but they were both trying to discover who they wanted to be at the same time.
Eleanor was one of five children and was incredibly insecure. At times I felt that Eleanor's insecurities got in the way of the story. Yes, she was self-conscious; yes, she had an unhealthy home life; yes, she was a hormonal teenage girl but there comes a point where
this being mentioned all of the time can become a bit too much. I understood it being address because it was a large part of who Eleanor was and was ultimately the reason for the ending but I felt that is was brought up too often.
Park's background on the other hand was only briefly addressed throughout the book. I felt this allowed you to focus more on the development of the two's relationship. What little we found out about Park's family made us understand who he was and there was no more than those few details needed. It allowed me to realise that when he was with Eleanor he felt like they could end up like his parents and he liked the idea of this.
The two's relationship was admittedly a strange one but sort of expected. Both were outcasts for different reasons but in a way found comfort in each other because of this. They bonded over their love for comic books and music and ultimately fell in love in the process.
The ending just summed up the book for me. It was both sweet and heartbreaking at the same time. Park had written letter after letter to Eleanor with no reply and continued to do so even after he admitted to himself that no reply was ever going to come. He was slowly continuing with his life but never forgetting about Eleanor. Park did get his reply though in the form of a postcard that was "just three words long". In my opinion this simple reply seemed to remind him why he has fallen in love with Eleanor in the first place.
It has been speculated about what those three words were, however. People have questioned whether it was the long awaited "I love you" or if it was something else entirely. It could be "I miss you" or even something as simple and reassuring as "I am ok" for all we know. The author is giving readers no answer though meaning that we are all left to find our own answer to what could be on the postcard.
What do you think those three words could be?
Whenever I read anything from this book it was always so sweet and relatable. These were two people my age who had found each other when they least expected it. Not only were they falling in love but they were both trying to discover who they wanted to be at the same time.
Eleanor was one of five children and was incredibly insecure. At times I felt that Eleanor's insecurities got in the way of the story. Yes, she was self-conscious; yes, she had an unhealthy home life; yes, she was a hormonal teenage girl but there comes a point where
this being mentioned all of the time can become a bit too much. I understood it being address because it was a large part of who Eleanor was and was ultimately the reason for the ending but I felt that is was brought up too often.
Park's background on the other hand was only briefly addressed throughout the book. I felt this allowed you to focus more on the development of the two's relationship. What little we found out about Park's family made us understand who he was and there was no more than those few details needed. It allowed me to realise that when he was with Eleanor he felt like they could end up like his parents and he liked the idea of this.
The two's relationship was admittedly a strange one but sort of expected. Both were outcasts for different reasons but in a way found comfort in each other because of this. They bonded over their love for comic books and music and ultimately fell in love in the process.
The ending just summed up the book for me. It was both sweet and heartbreaking at the same time. Park had written letter after letter to Eleanor with no reply and continued to do so even after he admitted to himself that no reply was ever going to come. He was slowly continuing with his life but never forgetting about Eleanor. Park did get his reply though in the form of a postcard that was "just three words long". In my opinion this simple reply seemed to remind him why he has fallen in love with Eleanor in the first place.
It has been speculated about what those three words were, however. People have questioned whether it was the long awaited "I love you" or if it was something else entirely. It could be "I miss you" or even something as simple and reassuring as "I am ok" for all we know. The author is giving readers no answer though meaning that we are all left to find our own answer to what could be on the postcard.
What do you think those three words could be?
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