Book Review: The Time of My Life by Cecelia Ahern

How would you feel if you received an invitation to meet your LIFE? You expect it to be okay only to meet a haggard, grumpy guy with an unbearable bad breath! Can you face the fact that the awful person in front of you is the reflection of your life? Well, that was the exact situation that Lucy Silchester was put into. Lucy used to have everything in life – a handsome boyfriend, a stable job, nice friends and a posh apartment unit. But things turned for the worse when her boyfriend, Blake, decided to leave her to pursue his dreams alone. They agreed to come up with a lie – that Lucy was the one who left Blake, in an attempt to stay away from all the questions. But with a single lie, Lucy didn’t realize that her entire life became strings of more lies. She lost her job and got a new one that she despised. Her relationship with her friends and family were strained. She lives in a cramped apartment in the company of a cat that her landlord forbids her to keep. She makes more lies each day. And then, her LIFE needed to step in!

I have always been a fan of Cecelia Ahern. I fell in love with her earlier works specifically Love, Rosie and Thanks for the Memories. She has this specific charisma in writing that makes her readers smile and fall in love as they flip each page of the book. Suffice to say, I really had very high expectations with this book. The first few chapters of the book were very intriguing. I mean, how many of us will be confident enough to face our LIFE? As I was reading the first few chapters, I envisioned my LIFE to be a very, very, very quiet one. Hindi nagsasalita ang LIFE ko. At malamang, wapakels siya. Forever SILENT mode. Nyaha! Cecelia Ahern’s presentation of the plot is not only intriguing, it’s very funny, too. Her sarcasm definitely made me laugh out loud. The way Lucy and her LIFE throws insults at each other is definitely hilarious! Unfortunately, the succeeding parts of the book became too dragging. I think I just finished the book out of pride because I always finish a book, by hook or by crook. It was quite a struggle for me to keep up with Lucy. But I was curious enough to know what would happen to her.

Despite its shortcomings, The Time of My Life was still successful in making me fall in a deep introspection. It made me question some things in my life. Will I be proud to look at my LIFE when I meet him/her? Is there really such a thing as a white lie? Is my definition of success enough to make me happy? The Time of My Life is undoubtedly funny. Ahern may have failed in some aspects of storytelling, but she definitely succeeded in making me laugh and making me take a look at my life at second glance. =)