Heaven Can Wait is a novel about true love. It is absolutely fantastic, unique, cute, and unusual and with ending that no one could predict. This is one of the only books that has made me laugh and cry that I hope will someday get made into a movie that I can watch over and over again. It is about being with a person forever and ever and doing whatever necessary in order to do that. It has sad elements and also suspense and an identifiable and real main character.
Right from the beginning, I already got trapped into the world of the main character, Lucy. Cally Taylor did a great job in creating the kind of character we can all relate to that I was able to connect with her character straight away. That for me is a sign that the book is a winner.
I couldn't stop welling up and getting a lump in my throat when she described how much she misses Dan and laughing when she did and said silly things. Lucy is kind hearted, loyal and funny and that's why she is a loveable character. As I was reading the book, I can really see part of myself to her. I saw Lucy's traits in me; daft things she said, using wrong words and making silly mistakes. Lucy Brown is a likeable character and you really want to know what happens to her then. In the first chapter of the book, I then noticed that she is like me, prefers to list all the tasks to be done. I noticed her being a left- brain dominant as she listed her tasks for that day, just entailing that she is a planned and structured type of woman. And in the following chapter, I observed that she easily overreacts even when gently teased as a result of being so stressed. With this, I got to relate with her that much. Whenever I have so many things in mind, I easily get blown up and irritated. More so, not to forget to mention, she has also a melancholic temperament, fond of keeping things which brings memories and so sentimental. I am really like that of person, to the extent that I even still keep a wrapper of a fudgee bar from a special person of mine. Just like how she kept the cinema ticket on their first date. She is also that sincere and faithful lover which I find myself to be also that one. Unable to suspend reality, unable to accept a lifetime's separation from her soul mate, Lucy decides to become a ghost to be with Dan once more rather than go to heaven and be parted from Dan forever. Because of this, I got to imagine how Divina would love her fiancé soon.
However, the only thing that I found myself not to be the same with her is that of her being a liberated type of woman. This is not to be a doubt because she grew up in a liberated country as well, that is far different from the culture of the Philippines where I grew up.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
About the Author (CALLY TAYLOR)
Cally Taylor lives in Bristol with her boyfriend and their ridiculously large DVD/book/music collection. She shares her 'study' with the washing machine and ironing board and writes her novels in any spare moments she can squeeze in between the day job and her social network addiction . She started writing fiction in 2005 and her short stories have won several awards and been published by a variety of women's magazines. Her debut novel Heaven Can Wait has been translated in 13 languages and was voted 'Debut Novel of the Year' by chicklitreviews.com and chicklitclub.com. Home for Christmas is her second novel.
Heaven Can Wait by Cally Taylor
I was really excited about reading this book after seeing it in the Bibliarch. I enjoyed the flight of the imagination of the story: Cally Taylor’s vision of heaven, limbo, tasks and ghosts. I particularly liked Lucy’s housemates from “The House of Wannabe Ghosts”. There are so many clever touches and laugh out loud moments that every chapter was a new delight and I couldn't wait to see how Lucy dealt with the challenges she faced. The secondary characters were appealing too; I cared about what happened to them and was glad that trouble was taken to resolve many of their issues. More so, I couldn't help but feel sorry for someone who dies the night before her wedding, and that’s Lucy.
I laughed. I cried. This book made me feel very grateful for the people I still have in my life for we don't know when an accident could take them away.
Obviously, I've never died but I still found myself to relate to Lucy, which is why I couldn't stop welling up and getting a chunk in my throat when she described how much she misses Dan and laughing (and snorting like a pig - on the bus of all places) when she did and said silly things. I couldn’t help myself to see in her part of my character before; daft things she said, using wrong words and making silly mistakes (but as what I’ve said, that was before. Haha). Lucy is kind hearted, loyal and funny and that's why she is a loveable character and you can't help but care what happens to her. Connecting myself with the character straight away for me is a sign that the book is a winner.
On the other hand, being a dead character she came across as very real in which reminded me also of a Koreanovela, “Pure Love”. The protagonist of the story is also about to marry but then an accident happened which caught her into a coma. Same with this novel, she accepted a challenge in order for her to recover from her situation and to be with her fiancé and family again. The pressure is also there since she found out the true color of her best friend and her fiancé. However, it didn’t end happily for it was just all a short time and temporary, and so, she died.
I found the end emotional and very satisfying and it left me wondering what does happen when we die. I think any book that leaves you with questions like that while allowing you to have a good laugh at the same time has got to be a good one. There are twists and turns and all the way through, I'm thinking how is Cally Taylor going to tie this up, to give a decent ending? Can this situation of Lucy happen for real? Would Lucy still be happy if she accomplished the task and be a ghost forever, being an immortal and considering Dan as a mortal one?
The plot of the book itself took many unexpected turns along the way. Towards the end I thought I knew what was going to happen but then I'm pleased to say I didn't. I think Dan would also realize then how hard it would be to Lucy to be parted away from him just like how hard it is on his part. Though Anna, her friend is trying to take an advantage to Dan, she won’t still be successful because a pure heart will always prevail.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)