After You - Afterthoughts

After You, by Jojo Moyes

4.5 stars.. [Contains spoilers from the 3rd para]

I had been holding back from reading 'After You' for a long time, what with all the resentful ratings, anger-from-being-let-down reviews, and disappointed fans. 'Me Before You' is a special book in my life, as in a lot of people's, and I did not want it all taken away from me due to a mere sequel. Soon, I felt I had to find out what happened to Lou, purely in order to have my own opinion when everyone out there was lamenting how Moyes had spoiled it for all of them. As Moyes's loyal fan, I felt I should be at her side, fighting and warding off the pathetic reviewers. 

So, let me tell you, there's nothing wrong with the book. Yes, I know, Me Before You was magical. It created this totally different world for Lou and Will. But, can we please stop comparing that with this. In the words of Moyes, “You don't have to let that one thing be the thing that defines you.” In fact, After You is perfect in its own way. The book sets the pace right from the initial pages and begins playing those visual scenes in your head. That is Moyes's specialty among all things. The ability to effortlessly turn the book into a movie in your mind. I also remember 'One Plus One' being vividly visual and pleasant.

Moyes always adds multiple sub-plots for different characters, just to ensure that everyone's personality profiles get etched in our hearts; that every character has their own story which we'll remember whenever we talk about the book. Moyes has done the same this time too. The repeat characters in this sequel are exactly how they were in the first book, including Mrs. and Mr. Traynor, Treena, Josie and Bernard Clark, and Nathan. As usual, Moyes has detailed the new characters intricately beautiful and in a way that speaks to us. In addition, she paves new roads for everyone, which they tread for the first time. Like how Mr. Traynor begins a new life after the divorce and how Josie Clark discovers feminism out of the blue from Treena's academia. 

Now, the story! Before we delve into it, let me first make a point here. Will and Lou are basically different in two ways, which makes them polar opposites. While both of them are capable of loving very deeply, Will is selfish; puts own welfare first; and loves himself against all odds. On the other hand, Lou is selfless and puts everyone else first. Secondly, Will is secure and spontaneous at the same time. The moment he feels like traveling, he can fly to the remotest part of the globe and plop down to sleep in a motel as comfortably as in his home. But, Lou is different. Lou draws security from the people that surround her. She loves the stability of a home. She likes the familiarity. Even if she had the material means, she will not travel or constantly move. However, when Will urges her to travel the world as his last wish, she takes the leap of faith, willing herself to believe that she would enjoy the things that Will enjoyed doing. That is where After You picks up, with Lou's travel diaries. Like I expected, Moyes gently unravels Lou's base character to us in the sequel, how she is actually different from Will in all things possible and how there is no way she can survive these spur-of-the-moment travel plans. So, we eventually find Lou making her way back again to where she started. I really loved that :) Lou is Lou and Moyes hasn't forgotten that.

Now, two new characters: Lily and Sam. Surprisingly, Lily (Will's you-know-who) did not make even the tiniest impact on me. In actuality, none at all. Despite her character being amazingly detailed, I never could warm up to her. Believe me, I really tried. Maybe because, the book did not have time to show off Lily's good side. In Me Before You, Will was a jerk and then, Lou's hero. Here, Lily's a jerk and it just kind of stops there. But, I loved Sam. Much more than Will. He is just what Lou needs and it makes me happy :) I do accept, Sam's character is not too strongly out there in the book since he's a very gentle and silent bloke. But, now that Sam and Lou are together, I would like to know Sam much better and I daresay it is time for the next book, titled, 'You, Me and Us.' Lou's life still needs closure for me. I want concrete evidence that she's going to be happy the rest of her life, without any major disasters and hazards.

Apart from that, Lou's family is the chaotic mess as it had always been and I laughed myself heartily through those moments. I also teared up when Josie and Bernard get together after their fight and when the members of the Moving On circle share two-liners about their lost loves and let go of balloons. I was immensely happy when Lou let her balloon go, figuratively :)

Finally, 'After You' will never be magical if you keep comparing it with 'Me Before You' and never give it a chance. Allow the book to make an impact and only then it will :)

“It is important not to turn the dead into saints. Nobody can walk in the shadow of a saint.”