Landline

Landline
Rainbow Rowellli
St. Martin's Press
New York, New York
ISBN: 978-1-250-04937-7
Hardcover
2014
$ 24.99
310 pages

"Georgie. You cannot be jealous of Dawn- that's like the sun being jealous of a lightbulb."
Wow!  You mean the former girlfriend is a lightbulb, and I am the sun to you?
Relationships are usually complicated, in particular between a husband and a wife.  It takes a rare talent to capture a glimpse of the inner workings of any marriage through the eyes of the masterful author, Rainbow Rowell who neither glamorizes or simplifies the reality of being married.
Georgie McCool has one of those difficult choices in life where whatever she chooses will cause her to have regrets. There is no right here, just the logical solution even if it is at the expense of her family.
Georgie along with her longtime friends, Seth and Scotty, have been together since college.  The three have learned how to capitalize their relationships into writing successful comedy shows.
Their dream is just around the corner with their idea of a new show being possible.  Finally, a network executive is looking at their prospective dream, Passing Time. 
Naturally, Georgie needs to take the leap and devote her next few days to writing.
But...
It is a week before Christmas,  Georgie, Neal and their two daughters have plane tickets to Omaha to share the holidays with her in-laws.  Logically, Georgie needs to stay in Los Angeles to write forcing her to miss Christmas with the family, her husband, and their daughters.
How will her husband react to this choice?   Will this be the beginning of their separation? 
Landline is a masterful narrative revealing Georgie's thoughts, insecurities in a real-life situation.  After many years of marriage, many people value those rare romantic memories of the past while secretly dreaming that they happen again.  They don't.  Over many years, all relationships evolve due to work situations, children, stress, money, and numerous other challenges.    Does that mean that your marriage is over?
Added to that, Georgie possesses guilt that her husband, Neal, gave up his career dream so that she could pursue hers.  Is it Neal's turn for his chance to dream?
Rainbow Rowell is a best-selling author who resides in Omaha with her family.  Her previous novels are Fangirl, Eleanor and Park, and Attachments. 
Landline is a unique glimpse into personal relationships between co-workers, siblings, parents, in-laws, children, spouses, and even former girlfriends without being a romance novel and surprisingly, being utterly fascinating. 
How Rowell weaves this tale is astonishing.  
Landline is one book that you never want to put down while you are reading and continue to mull over long after you complete the last page. 
What can anyone learn from reading this novel?  The answer is to discover what holds a family together and what breaks them.  Could this be what some call love?  Read Landline for the answer.