Something Borrowed

Book # 44 - Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

I've seen this book and author on lists of top chic lit books and as I'm running out of authors to read, I decided to give this a shot... this book is very interesting, to say the least... interesting or "unique" because it doesn't have the typical chic lit formula of girl meets boy, boy and girl like each other or start to like each other, some sort of conflict arises that they can't be together, but then, they overcome it and live happily ever after.. along the way there are some laughs and a few very embarrassing situations for the lead characters... 

this book is different because it is from the point of view of the "other woman".  The author tries to make the readers feel ambivalent towards the two female lead characters, Rachel and Darcy.  On one hand, we have the "loyal" bestfriend, Rachel, who has always been there for Darcy and doing/following whatever Darcy wants.. she's intelligent, always trying to do the right thing, always playing 2nd fiddle to the prettier Darcy BUT she's having an affair with her Darcy's fiancee, Dex, AND she just happens to be the maid of honor to their wedding that is 3 months away... On the other hand, we have Darcy, the beautiful, sexy, sometimes manipulative, self-centered, attention-seeker--the bride-to-be who has no idea that her bestfriend of 25 years, who she feel is like the sister she never had, is sleeping with her fiance.  Oh, but she's not all that clean and innocent, either, because at the end of the book, she was also fooling around with her Dex's groomsman (although, he is not a bestfriend since childhood, but still a close enough friend) who happened to be developing a relationship with Rachel at the start of the book (making us readers think that, OKAY, THAT SOMEWHAT MAKES THEM EVEN)...and to really drive home the point that we are supposed to hate Darcy, the bride-to-be ends up getting knocked up by said groomsman...  

It's all very complicated and difficult to say who was at fault (they all are) or more like, who is the most at fault.. for me, the author isn't trying to make a point that being the "other woman" is totally okay, I think she's just trying to make us think that everything isn't all black and white...  But here's my take on the whole situation... no matter how bitchy, whiny, self-centered, annoying, feeling superior a person is, he or she does not deserve to be cheated on.  Yes, maybe that person is your soulmate, "the one", the person who is destined to be the love of your life... BUT  that's no excuse for cheating.  If that's how you feel, then break up with the person you are with and then pursue your "soulmate".  I can almost excuse the first time they hooked up...maybe they got carried away, maybe they were just too drunk to think straight... but the succeeding times?  the lying, the sneaking around... if you are so confused because you think you are in love with two people, then break it off with both and take a long break to figure out what you want... don't two-time both girls.. especially because they happen to be bestfriends for 25 years and you are marrying one of them in 3 months.. 

The ending I would have preferred would have been that Dex called off the wedding and made a plea to the Rachel to resume their once illicit affair but she turns him down and goes ahead and move to London... in a few years, they can meet again and start fresh, or maybe not and they separate for good, either way, I don't care... because I just like how he jumped from a 7-year relationship to new one right after the 1st one officially ended... I think the Dex and the Rachel need to take time away from each other to really think things through.. as for the Darcy, I know she's guilty of the same sin, but her relationship was just sprung on at the last minute of the book that I didn't get emotionally invested on it, so I don't exactly have strong feelings for it... she could either end up with the groomsman, not end up with him and raise the baby alone, or try to get with the baby daddy but end up breaking up... 

On another note, the author tries to make us walk in the "other woman's" shoes... the "other woman" has always been seen as an "evil" person, a homewrecker, a person with no disregard for others because she knowingly consents to being with a person who is already committed to someone else...the author tries to make us feel what she is feeling, think what she is thinking... but the rationalizing, the making excuses and even the acknowledging that yes, she is in the wrong but does it anyway is annoying to me... maybe their relationship is the real one, maybe their's is the true love... but cheating is cheating...

If the author wanted the readers to have a reaction and have a discussion about the moral and ethical dilemmas of the characters, then she has succeeded because it really made me think and bothered me enough to write a REALLY long post about it...