When one of my college buddies recommended me to watch the movie trailer of "Something Borrowed" I was intrigued what it was all about as I've never heard about it before. So I watched the trailer on youtube. The next thing you know I am at Fullybooked searching for Emily Giffin's "Something Borrowed". I like reading the book first before watching its movie adaptation. I am a firm believer of the idea that the book is always better than its movie adaptation and I hate it when I watch the movie first and I end up not liking it. I'd automatically assume that the book's not worth reading anymore since the movie sucked. Everything just gets spoiled. It must be fate that while I was about to give up looking for "Something Borrowed" in the bookstore, a salesman approaches me and greets me. I was becoming hopeless so I finally asked him if they had a copy of "Something Borrowed". He gladly ushered me to the best seller's area and voala!!! They just released a new batch of "Something Borrowed" for display at the Best seller's section. I hesitated no more and bought a copy together with four more books.
I finished reading "Something Borrowed" around April 2011. This is by far the best chick lit I have ever read. Before, I would consider The Shopaholic series as my most favorite chick lit but when I read "Something Borrowed" I thought that it was not just any chicklit. Emily Giffin didn't write "Something Borrowed" just to satisfy the romantic hearts or the thirst of women for the so-called happily ever after. It was a book that's packed with so many realizations that led me to stop every once in a while and think through about what Rachel said about friendship or love (but I concentrated more on what she's say about friendship). The story delved deeper into the situations and characters than the usual chick lits. Reading this book made me feel like I was there with the characters and I was the invisible and unknown bestfriend of Rachel and Darcy. It made me feel nostalgic about my relationship with my closest friends. In some ways, I can relate to Darcy more than Rachel in terms of personality which is why I love this book. Though I am not 100% Darcy I have been a bit pushy, bossy and dependent to some of my closest friends before. They became my safety net as much as Rachel had been Darcy's safety net before their fall out.
Around May 2011, a close friend whom I met back in college and I met up. We've remained good friends even though we're far away from each other. We'd email each other every once in a while and she's been one of the few people I always console with about my most personal problems and vice versa. One of her gifts to me was Emily Giffin's "Something Blue". During that time she gave me this book, I was going through a tough time and I felt like I was on the brink of giving up. She told me that she gave me "Something Blue" because it was a story about true redemption, forgiveness and love. She thought it was a perfect book for me. Something I'd probably be able to relate to as the character also went through a rough patch and was trying to get back on track again. She didn't know what "Something Blue" was all about and that it was the book I have been wanting to buy. This afternoon, I finished reading "Something Blue" and I also finally watched--take note twice--this weekend, "Something Borrowed". I loved the movie as much as I loved the book and I hope that they push through with the movie adaptation of "Something Blue".
After finishing "Something Blue" today, I was overcome by this sad feeling that there's nothing more to read about Rachel and Darcy. All the more felt sad to know that the childhood friendship of Rachel and Darcy which was once so formidable was never going to come back after Dex and Darcy called off their wedding and Darcy found out that the law school buddies Dex and Rachel were having an affair. "Something Blue" was written through Darcy's perspective. After her disastrous breakup with Dex, discovery of Dex and Rachel's love affair, her pregnancy with Marcus' baby who was the total opposite of Dex and who later on, being a douche and doing what a douche does best, left the pregnant Darcy. Realizing that the world no longer revolve just around her, she flees from her luxurious New York life to London to start anew after begging Ethan, Rachel and her other childhood friend from Indiana, to let her stay with him for a few weeks. As she tries to start anew in London, she is able to finally see how she has lived her life back then and how much she took for granted the people who loved her and the life she had. As she veers away from the old-Darcy, she eventually finds comfort and true love in the company of Ethan. She saw how unrealistic she has led her life and at the same time how she was able to move on, heal her wounds and forgive.
I hate it everytime I finish reading a good book. I thought how sad it was that things will never going to be the same for Darcy and Rachel. After everything they've been through as friends or sisters even, love tore them apart for good. Though they were able to reconcile with each other it was clear that things were never going to be the same. It was also really sad that they both were not around for each other's wedding when they're promised to be by each other's side for that one special day of both their lives. After reading the book, I loved Darcy more than before. She may be self-absorbed and overly competitive but at least when she fell, she found a way to get back up and really made a huge effort to become a better person. I cannot blame her for hating on Rachel to death because Rachel was her bestfriend and was supposed to be the irreplaceable friend who will be there all the way and not cheat on you. But at the same time, what Darcy said was right. If Dex and her weren't really right for each other it would definitely not last. It wasn't because of what Rachel and Dex did, it was just because of the fact that Dex and her did not belong together just as she and Geoffrey did not belong. Rachel is irreplaceable to Darcy and so was Darcy to Rachel. Though they never expressed it vocally, it was clear. And despite the damage and the fact that things will never be the same again they still recognized the depth of the friendship they had. Lastly, I want to share this from Rachel's speech on Darcy and Ethan's wedding,
"Love and friendship. They are what make us who we are, and what can change us, if we let them."
*Now Listening to "The Longer I Run" by Peter Bradley Adams
Album: Something Borrowed OST
Album: Something Borrowed OST
