An enchanting first novel about love, madness, and Kenny G. A New York Times bestseller, The Silver Linings Playbook was adapted into the Oscar-winning movie starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. It tells the riotous and poignant story of how one man regains his memory and comes to terms with the magnitude of his wife’s betrayal. During the years he spends in a neural health facility, … he spends in a neural health facility, Pat Peoples formulates a theory about silver linings: he believes his life is a movie produced by God, his mission is to become physically fit and emotionally supportive, and his happy ending will be the return of his estranged wife, Nikki. When Pat goes to live with his parents, everything seems changed: no one will talk to him about Nikki; his old friends are saddled with families; the Philadelphia Eagles keep losing, making his father moody; and his new therapist seems to be recommending adultery as a form of therapy.
When Pat meets the tragically widowed and clinically depressed Tiffany, she offers to act as a liaison between him and his wife, if only he will give up watching football, agree to perform in this year’s Dance Away Depression competition, and promise not to tell anyone about their “contract.” All the while, Pat keeps searching for his silver lining.
In this brilliantly written debut novel, Matthew Quick takes us inside Pat’s mind, deftly showing us the world from his distorted yet endearing perspective. The result is a touching and funny story that helps us look at both depression and love in a wonderfully refreshing way.
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This is both one of my favorite movies and one of my favorite books. I am not naturally an optimistic person; I dwell on the negative far more often than I should. I love Pat’s (sometimes delusional) optimism- I think the book can mostly be summed up in this one quote:
“It hurts to look at the clouds, but it also helps, like most things that cause pain. So I need to run, and as my lungs burn and my back rebels with that stabbing knife feeling and my legs muscles harden and the half inch of loose skin around my waist jiggles, I feel as though my penance for the day is being done and that maybe God will be pleased enough to lend me some help, which I think is why He has been showing me interesting clouds for the past week.”
Every time I read this, it reminds me that the silver lining is something you have to work for, that you have to put some effort into seeing it. You have to work at life, you have to sacrifice a little, but that work and sacrifice leads to a silver lining, the hope of happiness.
I also really enjoy the complexity of most of the relationships in this novel. It’s clear that no one is a good guy or a bad guy; everyone is just doing the best they can to get through life in a way that makes sense to them, even if it doesn’t make sense to the people around them. People make mistakes sometimes, but they also try to do good and mean well most of the time.
I just think it’s a beautiful story with some very beautiful quotes.
This can be a tough read for anyone who has dealt with friends or family with mental health issues. Quick portrays it so accurately and takes great care of the subject matter.
Brilliant, insightful and heart warmingly- honest.
I never watched the movie, but I was curious if the book was really that good. It’s not my typical read, but it was original and entertaining. I wasn’t bored. It was entertaining. Not anything that I will read or listen to again, but a really good story.
I will admit that I didn’t like the writing style all that much. People reading this book are seemingly confused by the movie. The movie Pat had bipolar. In this book, there is no diagnosis for either Tiffany or Pat. Pat, I believe suffered a psychotic break (and then a possible brain injury, but at least a concussion). Tiffany simply had problems with excessive guilt and grief that led her to her own psychotic break and acting out. They had completely normal lives before a tragedy caused their issues. It does happen. But the book and the movie had seriously different mental issues. Why Pat Peoples had such a childlike narrative voice, maybe because of the medications or head trauma or heck, the author simply can’t write any different. I didn’t particularly enjoy the writing, but that doesn’t make the plot lacking. The plot was kind of out there and crazy. But it was entertaining.
A good book. Better than the movie obviously because there are more details, but not by much. It was cringe-worthy at parts, but overall a good and entertaining read. I’m glad I didn’t spend much money on the audiobook, and I would not have been able to read it in a hard copy.
A Fantastic Book With a Fantastic Plot
Pat has just returned home from time in a mental health facility and he is determined to stay in shape and be a good person so that he can win his wife, Nikki, back when apart time is over. Pat is confused though. He doesn’t remember what happened that put him in the “bad place” and he doesn’t understand why no one will talk about Nikki.
I enjoyed the story, but was disappointed in parts of it. The author references many books throughout the story because Nikki is a teacher and has her students read certain books. Pat was never a reader and decides to finally read them to make Nikki happy. The problem is that the author tells the reader what happened in the book and how it ends. Not good for someone who hasn’t read the mentioned books. Also, Tiffany is a rude, hateful person. I just could not get myself to like her. Even after she apologized for the stunt she pulls.
If you are a Philadelphia Eagles fan, you will love this book. Football and the Philadelphia Eagles play a big part in the book. It’s the one thing that brings Pat and his father and brother together. Unfortunately, each game also determines how his father is going to be over the next couple of days. His father treats his mother horribly and she prayers every week that the Eagles win. It’s sort of sad and since I don’t follow football, it’s hard for me to process.
All in all, you can’t help but really like Pat. He’s simple and thoughtful. So hopeful throughout it all. I’m not so sure you could call the ending a happy one though. At least not in my opinion.
I was so surprised at how much I loved this book! I thought it might be really light, but it was really thought-provoking.
Loved it! Quite different from the movie, which emphasized the romance (which was not a bad thing, as Jennifer Lawrence won an Oscar for Best Actor and Bradley Cooper was so precious you wanted to eat him up like an ice cream sundae!) The book was a surprise in how it conveyed the unrelenting, searing pain, that he could only run away from it, except his pain was on the inside, that he could have run the earth at the equator and not escape it. His therapist, a one-man miracle, and the Asian Nation, plus his Mother’s long-suffering love comprised a vital, albeit off-the-wall element in his rebuilding. The poor guy was so blocked that, basically, he had to be knocked in the head by love to realize that he had it. I think I’ll reread it.
I was amazed this book as a movie won Best a Picture! I wasn’t impressed with the book and even less impressed with the movie.
Super story