You Got Mail: Thoughts on Attachments

Attachments (2011)

By Rainbow Rowell

Attachments is Rainbow Rowell’s debut novel. Before the creation of online dating sites such as Match.com and OkCupid, the only way to meet and get to know a person online is through email (and those sketchy chatrooms). Yet in the case of this novel, it is through email “hacking.” For Lincoln O’Neill, it wasn’t so much of an invasion of privacy, instead it was his job as an IT security guy at a news company. In the late evenings, Lincoln skims through employees’ emails for any inappropriate words or misconduct and reports it. Lincoln reads the emails of two women, Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder. Their emails are inappropriate, but Lincoln does not report them because he finds the two girls entertaining. Eventually, Lincoln falls in love with Beth even though they never met or seen each other in person.

It is interesting how Attachments depicts the concept of falling in love. For Lincoln, he fell in love with Beth’s personality through her words in emails. While for Beth, she seems to believe in the statement, “love at first sight.” She is physically attractive to a person she calls, “cute guy” who is actually Lincoln.

The novel is set in the late 90s, where computers and the internet is barely taking off and becoming a basic necessity in every day life. Readers will get the opportunity to walk down memory lane with 90s American culture. Remember Y2K? Rainbow Rowell brings back that “scary” moment to her readers.

The only disappointment I had was the ending. I was expecting a more dramatic climax, but there wasn’t any. The storyline’s main issue—Lincoln’s dilemma about whether or not to reveal to Beth that he fell in love with her by reading her emails—was resolved way too quickly and easily. There also wasn’t enough romantic build-up or interaction between Beth and Lincoln.

However, it was a fun and adorable book.

4/5