"If you could wish for one gift this Christmas, what would it be?"
This is the book that caught my eye since it came out last year but I never got around buying it. The pretty silver hardcover book wrapped with its red ribbon is truly a gift.
Spent my night yesterday catching on my reading and I ended up weeping myself to sleep.
Cecelia Ahern is a truly marvellous and credit-worthy author. I've read but 2 of her books and they never fail to reduce me to tears.
It started out slow, building up the suspense and intrigue the reader. The main events that take place is told like a story, between an officer and a rebellious teenager. It's a story with a lesson in it; to appreciate your loved ones and work out on your priorities in life.
The events take place weeks before Christmas, adding to the charm of it.
Lou Suffern, a man who has to be at 2 places at the same time. One winter morning, Lou befriended Gabe, a homeless man outside his office building. That begins a strange friendship. Gabe' character seems out-worldly of sort, as though he is sent to help Lou sort things out. A pill that is more than it looks, a science con. "A con of science. A conscience."
There's no happy ending, at least not that "and they lived happily ever after" kind of ending.
Lou's family forgive him for all that he has not done for them and he realised his follies. Unfortunately, the chance for a brighter future is taken away from them in an accident. However, Lou managed to get one last night with his family as a clone. When the clock striked twelve, he left the world forever.
This is the part that made me cried. It was so, so touching.
I love Cecelia Ahern's writing style! She has a knack in comparing every-day things to something else and her descriptions are beyond words.
"Time cannot be packaged and ribboned and left under trees for Christmas morning. Time can't be given. But it can be shared."
If I could, I would love to gift this book to loved ones this Christmas. For the ultimate Christmas experience in a less than Christmas-y atmosphere, read The Gift by Cecelia Ahern.
