Well, someone has to do it right? I have to read these things so I can tell you that this is just another chick lit and that if you, like me, have nothing better to do, then by all means...pick up this book. I really liked it though, it was a good way to pass time.
Something Borrowed is the story of a 30-year old lawyer named Rachel White and how she has always lived by the rules, under her best friend's shadow. It took her years (twenty-five, to be exact) before she realized that hey, she is only young once and she has to live a little. While I do not recommend sleeping with your best friend's fiancé (not to mention, boyfriend of seven years--the same one you introduced many years ago), I thought the book was a great reminder of the many instances we pass up on because we are too scared of bending the rules and living a little. Personally, I have had quite a share of misfortunes I can only chalk up to experience and surreal moments that I will never ever regret but if you do not count out the many times I have chickened out of, say for example, a chance at starting somewhere new and far away, an underfunded scholarship or a simple date with someone I hardly know, I am way too safe for the adventures that has come and gone my way. This kind of life is the same one Something Borrowed tells you NOT to have. I can't say I don't agree.
The trouble with reading chick lit, at least for me, is that I cannot really gush about it because it doesn't leave me feeling renewed or changed. It's like a little summer fling that only excites you for the first two weeks and then just gradually wears off once school is about to start again, you are thankful for the kissing, ultimately, but are only too happy to walk away. The book is just that, fun to read. And oh, okay, stimulating. Mostly because I like to behave like a lady and these fictional girls are the girls I like to live vicariously through--what with their careers (Rachel is a lawyer; Dexter Thaler, the person she is having an affair with, is a corporate lawyer), fantastic summer vacations (Hello, Hamptons!), access to hot bars and delicious cocktails (Gramercy, for me and you) and amazing sex lives (which has led me to believe that New York dating = only for the tough). Who doesn't love the drama?
The dialogue is sharp and witty, which is always comforting for this genre. I have to admit Rachel White (or Emily Giffin, by default) and I share a lot of common views about many things. A+ because it was fun reading this book within a day, as it is very exciting to see a girl get the guy she's always wanted, a.k.a. The One That (Almost) Got Away, even with a moral code as pretentious as mine. Oh, to be loved. Where I come from, this book can be summed up with one...uhm..cliché: Masarap ang bawal. And as a bastion of doing all things bawal, this book is worth it. Chasing happiness sometimes means no right or wrong. No moral absolutes. The world is not that black-and-white. It's either you want to be happy or you don't. Karma? What karma?
PS: Excuse the abysmal quality of my photo, I am feeling very lazy today. Plus, it's not one of those books. You know.
