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pluralstories2022-09-03 09:27 pm
lb_lee) wrote in pluralstories2022-09-03 09:27 pm
Sundays at Tiffany's, by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet (romance prose, 2008)
"Of course I was okay, those Sundays, because I had Michael for company. Michael, who was my best friend in the world, maybe my only friend, when I was eight years old. My imaginary friend."
Blurb: What if your imaginary friend from childhood was your one true love? Jane Margaux is a lonely little girl with an overbearing mother and only one friend: Michael, who's imaginary. After he leaves her when she's nine years old, she never forgets him, until she runs into him again in her thirties.
Why is it worth your time?: It's... okay? It's a very straightforward sweet romance novel, with all the tropes and contrivances therein. (Though no constant escalation of conflict.) If you're not into romance novels, you won't be into this. It's cute and sappy, about a woman coming into her own with the help of her perfect man. In this book, imaginary friend is a job description, overlapping with "psychopomp" and (possibly) guardian angel. Michael's nature is intentionally left ambiguous, but though he is often invisible, he doesn't have to be, and he's clearly able to interact with the world by himself.
Plural Tags: nonswitching, imaginary friends, noncorporeal romance
Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments
Access Notes: Available in paper book, ebook, and audiobook formats.
Misc Notes: Apparently this book became a made-for-TV Lifetime movie! Haven't seen it, cannot vouch for it. Seeing as Jane is engaged in the movie, sounds like it is pretty different. That movie is available on DVD and streaming.
Blurb: What if your imaginary friend from childhood was your one true love? Jane Margaux is a lonely little girl with an overbearing mother and only one friend: Michael, who's imaginary. After he leaves her when she's nine years old, she never forgets him, until she runs into him again in her thirties.
Why is it worth your time?: It's... okay? It's a very straightforward sweet romance novel, with all the tropes and contrivances therein. (Though no constant escalation of conflict.) If you're not into romance novels, you won't be into this. It's cute and sappy, about a woman coming into her own with the help of her perfect man. In this book, imaginary friend is a job description, overlapping with "psychopomp" and (possibly) guardian angel. Michael's nature is intentionally left ambiguous, but though he is often invisible, he doesn't have to be, and he's clearly able to interact with the world by himself.
Plural Tags: nonswitching, imaginary friends, noncorporeal romance
Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments
Access Notes: Available in paper book, ebook, and audiobook formats.
Misc Notes: Apparently this book became a made-for-TV Lifetime movie! Haven't seen it, cannot vouch for it. Seeing as Jane is engaged in the movie, sounds like it is pretty different. That movie is available on DVD and streaming.
Content Warnings
Jane has a messed-up relationship to food and her body/weight, which her mother constantly nags her over. This book has her lose weight because of the power of true love.
Michael is somewhat ageless; Jane goes from childhood to adulthood, while he remains in his thirties. I can't call it an age gap, exactly, but it may squick nevertheless, since their relationship was originally more familial.
It's also... kinda Christian? The question over whether Michael is an angel is never really answered, but there are periodic softball "there's a plan for everything," going to church and praying sort of Christianity. It's pretty toothless.