I have finished another book that has been piling up dust in my shelves for 2 years! Yes, this heavy, hard cover edition of Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler was too heavy for me to carry around to places, especially in school. I attempted a few times (few is an understatement) to finish this book in the last two years and its just now that I am able to finish it.
But anyway, I'm done with it and I liked it.
The whole book is actually a letter Min, our protagonist, wrote to her ex-boyfriend Ed. It contained a humble amount of events which led to realizations which triggered either a step backward or forward in their relationship. This certain high school relationship has its own ups and downs, forwards and backwards. But just like how two people are meant to be for each other, a relationship will only last if it should last.
The portrayal of Min was very realistic. A teenage girl going through a breakup wasn't completely fictionalized in a ridiculous way. She cried, she felt broken, she needed time, and she took time to move on. She spoke with bitterness, but that's alright, we all get to have that feeling after a getting our hearts broken. Not only that, it is obvious from the book that she developed throughout the series of events: from the day she started dating Ed till the day she left him, moved on and was caught (figuratively) by someone who looked at her dearly.
The down side of this book is we do not get to see Ed's side of the story though. He obviously wasn't the right one for Min, what with all the things written on the letter. He took care of Min and at least we know by the end of the story that he's not the usual asshole who would dump a girl right off. But at least we know he tried, and the realizations came off the right moment.
Another reason why I picked up this book in one of our school book fairs is because of the pretty and unique art by Maira Kalman. The items in Ed Slaterton treasure box were painted before each explanation why they broke up. I considered each of these the chapters for the books.
-Mic