PS, I Love You (novel)
 | |
| Author | Cecelia Ahern |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Thorndike Press |
Publication date | April 2004 |
| Publication place | Ireland |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 655 pp (hardback edition) & 512 pp (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | [[Special:BookSources/ISBN+0-7862-6164-1+%28hardback+edition%29+%26+%3Cbr%2F%3EISBN+0-00-716500-5+%28paperback+edition%29 |ISBN 0-7862-6164-1 (hardback edition) & ISBN 0-00-716500-5 (paperback edition)]] Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| Followed by | Where Rainbows End |
PS, I Love You is Irish writer Cecelia Ahern's first novel, published in 2004. The book reached #1 bestseller status in Ireland (for 19 weeks), the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Plot summary
The novel's main character is Holly Kennedy, a recently widowed 30 year old woman living in Dublin, Ireland. When we first meet Holly she is emotionally devastated by the death of her husband Gerry from a brain tumour and she does not want to keep living without him. A little later though, on a trip to her mother's house, Holly picks up a mysterious package that is addressed to her from Gerry. It contains 10 envelopes with notes that he wrote to her to be opened on the first of every month starting the month after he died. The letters are thoughtful, and range from the exotic to things to help Holly get her life back on track. Each one ends with the novel's title phrase, "PS, I love you". With the help of her friends Denise and Sharon, Holly finds a way to keep going even when the one thing she loved more than anything else has stopped.
Characters in "PS, I Love You"
- Holly Kennedy - the main character
- Gerry - Holly's late husband
- Denise Hennessey and Sharon McCarthy - Holly's best freinds
- John McCarthy - Sharon's husband, and Gerry's best freind
- Frank and Elizabeth Kennedy - Holly's parents
- Richard, Ciara, Jack and Declan Kennedy - Holly's siblings
Reception
Despite the hype and commercial success, Cecilia Ahern's debut novel was panned by critics. Many of the negative responses were aimed at the slight characterisations, ineffective tackling of weighty subjects and the cliched plot twists.
Movie adaptation
A film adaptation of the book was released in 2007 with Hilary Swank as the lead character, Holly, and Gerard Butler as her deceased husband, Gerry. James Marsters plays John McCarthy and Jeffrey Dean Morgan William. The other cast includes Kathy Bates, Harry Connick, Jr., Gina Gershon and Lisa Kudrow. Filming began in early October, 2006 in New York City and Ireland, and was released on December 21, 2007 in the United States (see below for other release information).[1]
Differences Between Novel & Film Adaptation
In the novel version of P.S. I Love You, main characters Holly and Gerry Kennedy are BOTH Irish--In the film, only Gerry is Irish and the two live in New York. Also in the novel, Holly has numerous siblings--In the film she has one. However, the film is like the novel in many ways. The playfulness displayed between Holly and Gerry at the beginning of the film was also in the novel, as was the argument over the lamp and the later mention of Holly being out buying ice cream in one of Gerry's letters. All of Gerry's letters are almost identical to those in the novel.
All in all, the movie and novel are not too drastically different.
Source
 | This article about a 2000s novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page. |