Just Jennifer

The Time of My Life by Cecelia Ahern (William Morrow, April 2013)

Ever since Lucy Silchester’s boyfriend Blake left her three years ago as he was embarking on a new travel show for television, Lucy has been telling small lies, such as she was the one who left Blake, that she feels are excusable as long as the outcome is the same.  Lucy has lied about the number of languages in which she is fluent at her job translating appliance manuals (she can translate into every language except Spanish) and has all but alienated all her friends and her very judgmental, wealthy family.  When Lucy receives a summons from her Life to meet with him, she is a little startled and does everything she can to avoid the meeting, as is her habit with most people.  Life is worn down and less than appealing but calls Lucy on her many lies and follows her around, outing her to family, friends and co-workers.  As Life attempts to help Lucy in many aspects of her life, including arranging a carpet cleaning that has surprising results for Lucy, as does the announcement that her parents plan to renew their wedding vows on their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary.  Funny and poignant, Lucy’s story will strike a chord with many people as she begins to pay attention to the people around her rather than herself.  Long, internal monologue inspired paragraphs look daunting on the page, but work very well as Lucy evaluates and takes stock of her life, facing her fears and insecurities as she goes.  Lucy is a character that will stay with readers long after the final pages of the book; readers may find themselves looking over their shoulders to see if Life is lurking just around the corner to help set them on the straight and narrow.