Love Changes Everything: "Sundays at Tiffany's" by James Patterson & Gabrielle Charbonnet

If there was a swoony, feel-good book contest, "Sundays at Tiffany's" by James Patterson & Gabrielle Charbonnet would likely medal.  It was such a risky thrifting purchase because I'm not a drinker of the James Patterson Kool-Aid, but I honestly loved this book and finished it in less than two days. After reading the autobiography of Julia Child (reviewed last week - click here), I was ready for a dose of happy fiction and this book was both happy and magical.  This book was purchased at a local thrift store that I hadn't visited since moving back to Montana (over a year!) and my Mother suggested I take a peek at their used book collection.  The day I dropped in, it also happened that the entire store was 50% off during the month of January so I was able to purchase two books instead of one! I love happy accidents.  They seem to like me as well and I'm OK with that reality.

I always scold myself after I've read the reviews on Amazon because the minute I land on a crappy review I fixate on it and try to talk myself out of reading the book.  But, this book reminded me of another book I read in Ogden about a woman who copes with grief and travels in time through hallucinations (read the post here) so I gave it a chance. 

The main characters in this story are Jane Margaux and her imaginary friend named Michael.  The book begins while Jane is a child and Michael is her imaginary friend who tags along for ice cream and a visit to Tiffany's in Manhattan every Sunday with Jane and her mother.  Jane's mother is a piece of work and can only "make time" for her daughter on Sunday when she's not working in her latest Broadway production.  Michael is like the cool, protective uncle and Jane is grateful to have him "there" protecting her.  When a child turns nine their imaginary friend is required to leave and help another child. When Michael leaves, Jane is terribly heartbroken because she feels so vulnerable and unwanted when her mother is around.

We fast forward to Jane's adult life and she is now a screenwriter for Broadway shows and works in the same office as her mother.  In spite of Michael telling her she would forget about him she's always remembered bits and pieces of their friendship.  She holds on to those memories and hopes that perhaps he'll show up again.

The thematic issues addressed in this book are somewhat heavy.  The obvious lack of care from Jane's mother is challenging to read about.  Her mother is extremely selfish, files through husbands and has to have complete control of everything.  She is the Cruella deVil of mothers.  As Jane has grown up she's improved at being able to ignore her mother's hurtful actions, but she still longs for a better relationship with the only parent she's ever known.

The other thematic issue that is addressed is self-confidence and self-love.  Jane deeply struggles with her own self-worth and in turn has allowed her mother to take control of her relationships and her choices at work. It's affected Jane in ways that she starts to realize aren't healthy and they need to change.  Then one day, as she's doing some soul-searching at a local bar, she catches a glimpse of a handsome man who looks oddly familiar.  It couldn't be Michael.  How is that even possible? The answer? With magic anything is possible.

Michael returns to Jane's life and he is allowed to have human qualities namely a body and visibility to Jane and the general public.  He finds himself in New York in between assignments and soon realizes that he's supposed to be back in Jane's life as an adult. They finally connect and begin a different kind of relationship because Jane is now an adult and Michael hasn't aged so they are now the same age.

The interactions with Michael and Jane as adults are so sweet.  They are both confused on his need to reappear in her life and together they decide to make the most of it with the lingering thought that he could disappear at any moment.  The plot definitely showed how a person needs to live in the moment and enjoy every minute while they could. One of my favorite lines is said by Jane.  She says, "We're together. Let's just enjoy this time, okay? Just put aside everything on your mind and be with me. Let's take everything one day at a time. An hour at a time. Minute by minute, okay?" I love this so much.  I'm guilty of forgetting to live in the moment a lot.  I try to focus on the present, but I definitely have to try really hard to not beat myself up about the past and worry about the future. Can you relate??

Michael watches out for Jane and stands up for her on a number of occasions both with her mother and Jane's lackluster, narcissistic boyfriend.  There were a few times in the book when I thought I had been transported to the middle of a Hallmark movie because the lackluster boyfriend was textbook "Hallmark movie jackass." You know the type....they have a pretty face, but open their mouth and their face suddenly can't make up for them being a jerk.  The relationship with Jane's boyfriend is sticky because he is her mother's favorite and he also played Michael in a stage production that Jane had written.  He's convinced that he was God's gift to the stage production (of course he does) and does everything he can to manipulate Jane in to casting him for the role in the movie.  She's not having it and this doesn't bode well with him or her mother.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! The story flowed really well and it only took me two days to read it.  The reader is led to believe that the ending will be a predictable one, but it's not. I was actually very surprised with how the authors buttoned up the story because I really believed it would end up differently than it did.

My recommended reading group would be age 18 and above.  It's a Rated R read because the f-bomb is dropped more than once by the jerk boyfriend and sex is implied at one point.

The moral of the story: Live in the moment. Yesterday is over and tomorrow hasn't come. Take everything one day at a time. An hour at a time. Minute by minute.

Happy reading, my amazing, geeky lovelies!
-R



More Books by James Patterson

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