After a motorcycle accident, Will Traynor’s life is turned upside down: no more travelling, no more extreme sports. He’s wheel-chair bound and miserable. When Louisa Clark–simple, ordinary, and Will’s complete opposite–takes a job working for him, tensions arise from Will’s sour mood and Lou’s tough love. But when Lou learns about Will’s plans, she decides to prove to him that life is still worth living, and soon the two find themselves falling into a heartbreaking romance.
There’s a lot to be said for hype; in most cases, it’s better to experience a novel with a fresh mind and a blank slate. Waiting until the book is already a blockbuster and has a film adaptation might lessen its impact, once you already know other opinions and—in my case—the ending. This is what happened to me with Me Before You, a hugely beloved book that I finally got around to reading. So, did I cry? Well, no, but I can see why people did.
Me Before You explores the changes two vastly different people can encourage in each other. Will and Louisa’s crossed paths spark something in both of them: Will wants Louisa to experience life beyond their little town, and Louisa wants to pull Will out of his depression. Their commitment to improving each other’s lives leads them in a sweet progression from lukewarm acquaintances to friends to something more. This description might make it seem like Me Before You is a paint-by-numbers love story, but the relationship never feels forced, and Moyes gives both characters such a solid background that the story never veers into cheesy Nicholas Sparks territory.
One of the best aspects of the novel is author Moyes’s treatment of Will. It would be easy to make the wheelchair-bound protagonist a martyr or a saint, making his disability his defining quality. Instead, Will is a fully realized man who happens to be in a wheelchair. It’s because of this treatment that Will naturally feels like a viable love interest for Lou, even without the use of most of his body. Will isn’t a pet project for her to fix; he’s her equal and she wants to see him happy. Hopefully this novel marks a trend towards a new way of seeing disability.
That said, the topic of disability is a tricky one in Will’s case. As a quadriplegic, Will has no use of his limbs except for some minor movement in his hands. He requires almost 24 hour care. As a thrill-seeking, high rolling adult man, this sudden change of circumstances is unbearable to Will. In fact, as Louisa notes, he is essentially on suicide watch. There are some seriously sensitive issues brought up, particularly euthanasia and the right to die. Will believes that choosing to end his life is the last bit of control he has left. But despite Moyes’ fair representation of disability, some readers might glean a rather pessimistic message from Will’s struggle. It’s a subject that’s highly debatable and highly subjective; Moyes handles all sides of the argument deftly, not necessarily settling on any side of it but presenting it fairly and realistically. At the very least, Moyes rejects the “love conquers all” romantic fantasy in favour of opening up a dialogue about euthanasia, disability, and trauma. And it’s a dialogue that is ripe for discussion!
If you’d like to keep reading about Louisa Clark, pick up a copy of After You at your local branch!
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Share your thoughts on the novel in the comments! Some questions to consider:
1. Discuss the various reactions to Will’s decision to go to Dignitas. Do you think they were fair? Do you agree with Lou’s mother’s reaction to Lou’s involvement?
2. How do you feel about the ending? Would you have been more satisfied with a happily-ever-after? Or do you prefer the one Moyes wrote in the novel?
3. If you’ve seen the movie, how does it compare to the novel? What changes did you like or dislike? What did you think of the casting?
I haven’t seen the movie yet, though I probably will. I admit though I like the lead actress, she is not at all what I pictured when I read the book. I will have to go in with an open mind about that!
I did read the book though, and enjoyed it. I felt the ending made sense in context. I know it has come under some (understandable) criticism, though I can say when I read it I did NOT feel the author was suggesting all people with disabilities would or should want to end their lives. I saw it as a choice one individual character was considering, in his own personal situation. Throughout it is clear not all the characters agree with his choice, and must decide if they can support him anyway. But, again, I can understand the pushback the book and film have received.
My emotions definitely got the better of me while reading this book. Jojo Moyes developed the characters of Lou and Will in such a way that you just couldn’t help but fall in love with them, with their love, and with their journey. While film adaptations rarely live up to the book, I did enjoy this one, and found myself drawn to the characters and their lives even more.
Alyssia asks, “How do you feel about the ending?” which is funny, because I asked myself the very same question once I finished the book. How did I feel? Was I happy about it? Sad? Angry? So many thoughts were running through my mind, my emotions were all over the place, the tears were flowing, and so I had to take a step back and give it some time to settle. After careful thought and consideration, and a box of tissues, I found myself realizing that I was content with the way Moyes ended the story. While I am used to expecting a happily-ever-after, I feel that an ending like that would not have been a good fit for the book. A happy ending, in this case, would not have been realistic. It was evident that he was not going to get better, that he did not want to continue living his life like that, and that nothing would have made him change his mind. What was beautiful about Will’s situation however, was the fact that he had Lou. Had it not been for her, he would have ended his life in a sad state of mind. She was his light in the darkness. She gave him more – more happiness, more self-esteem, more love. In the end, he was at peace.
I like happy endings, so although I really liked this book I started it thinking it would work out in the end and Will & Louisa would end up together. But then as I was nearing the end, I realized it wasn’t going to end happy. It didn’t make me angry, but I was certainly sad. So sad, then when the movie was coming out I knew I didn’t want to see it – I didn’t want to cry all over again. I read about the controversy that Andrea mentioned and I didn’t see that at all in the book. It was one person’s decision not a suggestion that all disabled people should choose to die. I did think that Will made the wrong decision but who am I to judge – I wanted a happy ending. I did like After you and a few other titles by Moyes. Spoiler alert – happy endings!
I really loved this book. So much so I wrote a blog post about it. There were moments that hit very close to home, which made me a little uncomfortable. But it possibly made me love the book even more. It felt real.
As for Alyssia’s questions:
1. I thought all the reactions were fair and I appreciated that Moyes gave voice to so many opinions on the subject of assisted suicide. To say that they were all fair is a bit of a stretch. If you really look at what some of the people in Will’s life was saying, his mother for example, the reasons against it are actually very selfish. The implication is that Will shouldn’t end his life (which is miserable and will only get worse regardless of Lou’s presence) because other people will suffer if he does. While I do understand these feelings, this is not a decision that should be made based on how other people will feel.
I was personally extremely proud of Lou for being there at the end, and of her sister who I mostly disliked. And I found myself very angry at her mother for her reaction. My anger only got worse when I found out (in the sequel) that her mother basically stopped talking to her as a result. I don’t agree with her at all and I thought she was being unreasonable in her treatment of Lou considering everything she had been and was going through.
2. Ohhh the ending!! Does the hopeless romantic in me wish it was a happily-ever-after scenario? Yes. But considering who will is, the character that Moyes wrote him to be, the end was the only one that would have made sense. I’ve known people like Will (maybe not the same situation, but the same place mentally) and, unfortunately, there was no changing their minds. I’m grateful for that ending because an ending in which Lou managed to change his mind, if all it took was the love of a woman he could never really be with, that would have turned this book into an unrealistic, Nicholas Sparks-type fairytale. And that would have been a shame.
3. The best part of the movie, in my opinion, is that Moyes wrote the screenplay. This allowed the adaptation to be truer to the original than many other filmed adaptations. I will say though that there were some scenes that I wished had stayed in. There were two scenes that I missed the most. I missed the scene with the tattoos. I thought it was a great scene and I loved how it tied into the sequel. And I really missed the scene in the maze and Lou’s history with it. First, this again is tied into the sequel in a beautiful way. But more than that, I thought that scene explained so much about Lou and why she is the way she is. It absence felt a little like reading the sequel without reading what came before.
I agree with the above comments that this book ended the only way it could have.
Essentially, Will had already made the decision that he did not wish to continue his life, in his condition, from the beginning of the book. In his misery and powerlessness, that option was his only way to exert any power over his body and his own life. Maybe it is just because I am a “realist”, but I feel that if Will had completely changed the way he looked at his life by the end of the novel, this would not have been the poignant story that it is. Love cannot change or improve the physical condition Will is in, and given the circumstances of his situation and what he wanted out of his life, it was the right ending for his character.
Also, although a “happily- ever- after” ending may satisfy an audience seeking such a traditional ending in a romance novel, this story is not a romance or fairy tale – it is a painfully real and honest story and should only conclude with a realistic ending.
Thanks for the comments everyone! I agree with everyone saying the ending was realistic. It would’ve been pretty eye-roll worthy if Lou managed to change Will’s mind. But I also get that sometimes you just really want love to win! Personally I think it took guts for Moyes to write the ending she did, so I enjoyed it.
Some friends and I were discussing the ending, and one friend loved it but another wondered what the point of the novel was, if it’s a love story that’s doomed from the start (full disclosure: she hasn’t read it). I think a big part of the story is Louisa’s growth, and her new found love of life, which Will is sort of a catalyst for.
Related to that, I heard that they took the sexual assault storyline out of the film, which seems like a strange move because it’s the reason Lou is the way she is. I’m looking forward to seeing the movie at some point, although i agree with Andrea–Daenerys from Game of Thrones isn’t who I had in mind for Lou! But she’s very charming, so I’m sure she pulled it off.