“Touching and powerful…Reid masterfully grabs hold of the heartstrings and doesn’t let go. A stunning first novel.” –Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Have you ever heard of supernovas? They shine brighter than anything else in the sky and then fade out really quickly, a short burst of extraordinary energy. I like to think you and Ben were like that . . . in that short time, you had more … that short time, you had more passion than some people have in a lifetime.”
Elsie Porter is an average twentysomething and yet what happens to her is anything but ordinary. On a rainy New Year’s Day, she heads out to pick up a pizza for one. She isn’t expecting to see anyone else in the shop, much less the adorable and charming Ben Ross. Their chemistry is instant and electric. Ben cannot even wait twenty-four hours before asking to see her again. Within weeks, the two are head over heels in love. By May, they’ve eloped.
Only nine days later, Ben is out riding his bike when he is hit by a truck and killed on impact. Elsie hears the sirens outside her apartment, but by the time she gets downstairs, he has already been whisked off to the emergency room. At the hospital, she must face Susan, the mother-in-law she has never met–and who doesn’t even know Elsie exists.
Interweaving Elsie and Ben’s charmed romance with Elsie and Susan’s healing process, Forever, Interrupted will remind you that there’s more than one way to find a happy ending.more
Forever, Interrupted is a standalone, women’s fiction novel written by the fabulous Taylor Jenkins Reid. It addresses grief and loss, but also discusses how complex family dynamics can be. It explores if loss is the same whether you knew a person for three months or three decades, and it shows how people grieve and heal in very different ways. I so enjoyed Forever, Interrupted and found it to be a very moving novel about surviving death and how even in the depths of sadness, tenderness and hope can be found.
My favorite quote:
“I find myself smiling finally. I guess I do remember how to do it. You just turn the corners of your mouth up.”
Forever Interrupted is the first book I have read by Taylor Jenkins Reid, it was raw, painful, and ultimately hope filled. The duo- timeline is one that really appeals to me and I feel it helps to drive this sad tale. A young couple meet, fall in love, marry and then the worst happens, 10 days into the marriage. Enter the groom’s uninformed mother and more angst than I could easily digest. Both women are adversarial and grieving — cue tears, it was heartbreaking on both sides. The way the pair works through this debilitating emotion is a journey in patience and determination. While it is tear jerking, this novel is also filled with hope for those who are dealing with the death of a loved one and the relatives that surround any tragic event like this. It is a well written book.
My first read of this author and I really enjoyed it. I liked the way she used two timelines that eventually met to bring the story full circle. Losing someone is never easy. Life isn’t perfect, at times tragic, and while moving on is often difficult, moving on without feeling guilty about letting go of the person you loved can be paralyzingly painful. It’s a well written and hopeful story that definitely pulls at your emotions.
My subjective review: Good Lord!! This book was definitely not my kind of story, but I have to admit it was good. My problem with it was that it was too heart wrenching for me. I don’t mind a few tears, but other than a quick smile here or there, this novel kept my tears flowing. I’m sure some readers felt there was a satisfying and happy ending in there due to a realization of losses all of us experience and the standard saying that life goes on and it’s okay to continue living, and our female protagonist does just that. But for me, this is a hard pill to swallow. Also, I’m not a fan of the back and forth storytelling scenario throughout an entire book.
Yes, to feel this much emotion shows how the author told a masterful story. I just prefer to stay away from this much pain in my entertainment. I’ve experienced too much of my own tragedies in real life to spend time reliving this kind of emotional devastation with my reading. If I enjoy that kind of deep-seated ache, I can read non-fiction.
If you love this type of gut wrenching, depressing novel, you’ll love this book. The book was recommended to me as was the author, so I neglected to read the blurb, something I’ve never not read before. I’ll never make that mistake again; though, even if I read it, I couldn’t have predicted its’ effect on me since I wasn’t aware we’d get a deep inside look at the character of Ben Ross who was so easy to fall in love with. Elsie was annoying to me at times. She behaved much younger than her 26 years, getting angry over an ex-girlfriend calling Ben; acting like a child when he wanted to tell his mother about getting married before he did it, and she punching a guy flirting with her. Also, there were moments that the mother-in-law, Susan, rambled on in her lectures, some of which didn’t make sense. It seemed sometimes she just talked to hear her own voice.
I’m emotionally drained right now. I don’t believe this is a healthy situation for me. Not all entertainment is created equal for all people, and this type isn’t for me.
***** 4.5 stars *****
Forever Interrupted broke my heart. I was a mess of feelings from the early stages. Taylor Jenkins Reid knows how to get straight to the emotional center and manipulate it like few others. She had me smiling, laughing, sighing, crying, angry, sad, and conflicted. Sometimes I felt all of these emotions in the same chapter.
I loved the way in which the story is told. There is movement between past and present. The story feels so very real. The dynamic that life can go from glorious to grieving in the blink of an eye is universal and relatable.
I especially enjoyed the quirky characters. They were full of poise and personality. These individuals each owned who they were and lived life to the fullest.
The way in which Ms. Reid steers us through the main character’s process of bereavement is heart-stoppingingly true. There were times I had to close the book and work through my own pain before I could go on.
The best thing about this book is that there is hope. Despite the absolute devastation of life, there was no doubt that the sun would shine again. Taylor Jenkins Reid has quickly become a recurring name on my list of go-to authors.
4.5 Stars!
I did it a little backwards, but I have now read every book published by Taylor Jenkins Reid. While I have already been calling her a favorite author, it is now official.
Like every other book by this author, I felt every single emotion. Quite often, a heavy frustration and angst along with humor, romance, and sadness. Just by reading the book blurb, there was no question that Forever, Interrupted would be all that and possibly more. I can’t say that it was my favorite TJR story, but it was moving and memorable. I don’t think I could ever be disappointed by this author.
I’ve been reading this book for over two years. When I freshly grieved this book was too painful for me. Taylor writes raw emotion into what happens and covers every aspect of the grief process. So I stopped reading and now two years later like Elsie I can say, yes you can live again. Elsie Porter meets the love of her life, Ben. Theirs is a whirlwind romance and they just click. Six months later they get married and nine days after her wedding, she’s a widow. I stopped and cried many times during this book. The fact that sh’s given the book the year of magical thinking and that she thinks why couldn’t that person have died and not my husband, its natural to have all these emotions and I found myself shaking my head. What I didn’t enjoy is the name-dropping of books. Overall it’s a fantastic read that I loved. This book will tug at your heartstrings.
“My heart didn’t skip a beat. I had no idea he was “it”; it was “he.” He was the man I’d dreamed about as a child, wondering what my husband would look like. I was seeing this face I had wondered about my whole life and it was right here in front of me and I didn’t recognize it. All I thought was, He’ll probably get his pizza before I get mine.”
Elsie Porter and Ben Ross meet one night when they are both waiting to pick up a pizza. They both fall hard and fast. Within five months they’ve moved in together and eloped. However, their love story is brought to an abrupt end when Ben dies in a bicycle accident. At the hospital, Elsie meets the mother in law (Susan) who she’s never met, and who doesn’t even know she exists. The story of Elsie and Susan’s grieving process is interwoven with Elsie and Ben’s love story.
Taylor Jenkins Reid is without a doubt one of my favorite authors. I only discovered her work late last year when I came across her novel “Maybe in Another Life.” I was hooked after that. “Forever, Interrupted” was the last of her novels for me to read, but ironically it was her first novel she published. Boy did it not disappoint. All of her novels have been phenomenal. As a first novel, the level of writing is just as exceptional as her most recent work.
This book is a heartbreaker. I can’t exactly say I felt uplifted or even happy when the story ended. But I was satisfied. I was crying within the first couple of pages, and continued to do so throughout various parts of the book. I’m glad Elsie’s grieving process was interwoven with the love story. While it was bittersweet, it broke up the melancholy feeling of grief. Ben is charming, sweet, and so funny. There were times I laughed out loud, and I was grateful for that reprieve from the tears.
“Let’s do a little experiment,” Ben said. “What’s Anna Karenina about?”
“It’s about a married aristocratic woman who falls in love with a count but she can’t —“
“I am falling asleep just listening to you. Do you know what this book is about?” he asked me, grabbing the falcon-cover book from my hand. “This book is about a group of kids who are part human, part bird.” He said it plainly, as if the facts spoke for themselves. “This is a better book.”
I was angry at Ben for not telling his mother about Elsie. They discuss his reasons for not doing so, but I don’t know if they were good enough reasons in my opinion. Especially when things got more serious with Elsie. As someone who can relate with Ben and his hesitation to share his good news with his mother, I think he made a mistake. Elsie let her fear get in the way of what I think she knew was right.
Of course I was devastated that Ben died, and there wasn’t some magical resurrection, or that it wasn’t just a bad dream. I like happily ever afters. But this book was unique. I love how Jenkins Reid is able to weave two stories so seamlessly together. Whether they are concurrent timelines in different universes, or weaving the past and present, she’s a master of it. All her books are on my to-read again list. And this one is right there alongside the others.
“No matter how strong you are, no matter how smart you are or tough you can be, the world will find a way to break you. And when it does, the only thing you can do is hold on.”