Forever Interrupted,
the debut novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid is a compelling story
of love and grief. It weaves a romantic story with a terrible
tragedy, and is told in alternating timelines between the
past and the present.
The story begins nine days into Ben and Elsie’s marriage
when Ben, out riding his bike to buy some cereal for Elsie,
is hit by a truck and killed immediately. Elsie is taken to
identify his body where she meets Susan, her mother-in-law,
for the first time. The plot progresses as each of the different
relationships, between Ben and Elsie, Ben and Susan, and Elsie
and Susan, are examined.
Reid noted, “This story is about loss, finding peace
within life's harsh circumstances and loving with your heart
each and every moment. And suddenly I realized that the book
I had been writing wasn’t about fear or grief as much
as it was about hope and friendship. Yes, this is a story
about a woman losing her husband. But more to the point, it’s
a story about how a woman puts her life back together after
it happens. Elsie was stronger than I realized she was when
I made her up.”
Through the character’s voices Reid emphasizes that
grief comes in all sizes. It does not matter the length of
time, according to Susan, “I know nine days is short.
I know six months is short. Those nine days, those six months,
they are a part of your life now, a part of you… I lost
my son after loving him for twenty-seven years. Do you think
I don’t deserve to grieve as much as someone who lost
their son after forty years?”
This brings into focus the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law
relationship. In the beginning of the book Susan appears to
be the typical, stereotyped, controlling in-law, but as the
story unfolds the reader soon realizes that Susan is the type
of mother-in-law anyone would want with her caring, nurturing,
and motherly ways.
Susan understands and helps Elsie recognize that the relationship
with Ben was a whirlwind, where their chemistry was instant
and electric. Within weeks the two are head over heels in
love and about six months later have eloped. Reid commented
that she was inspired to write this part of the story from
her own relationship with her husband whom she instantly felt
comfortable with.
Forever Interrupted is a moving illustration of grief,
romance, and resilience. Reid takes the reader on a ride where
they will experience a gamut of emotions. For a debut novel,
she is able to captivate on what love means within different
relationships.
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