How To Save A Life - Clare Swatman

Author: Clare Swatman

Genre: Contemporary Drama

Rating: 4.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: For those who love a well-developed story of relationships (not romance) and enjoy a question of “what-if” in real life, this is THE book to go for.

Story:

December, 1991.

Twenty-two year old Ted is traumatised after his experiences in the Kuwait war and can’t readjust to common routine. Disillusioned with his life, he decides to give it all up and makes his way to Waterloo Bridge, hoping for an end to his emotional misery.

That same night, twenty year old Marianne is running away from her office Christmas party after seeing her boyfriend having s*x with a co-worker. As she is rushing through the South Bank, the lonely figure on the bridge catches her eye. Marianne ends up convincing Ted that life is worth a shot and she then disappears in a taxi, with them having not even exchanged their names.

This night in December becomes a turning point in their lives, but not in the way you would imagine. What happens next? Will the two meet again? When? Read and find out, my friends.

The story comes to us from the alternating first person perspectives of Ted and Marianne.

Where the book worked for me:

😍 The book didn’t go the way I thought it would, in a very good way. I had assumed it to be a variant of “When Harry met Sally”, which it is in a way, except that “Harry” doesn’t actually meet “Sally” for ages. I loved the slow-burn unfolding of the relationship.

😍 I love the realism of the main characters. Both Ted and Marianne aren’t your typical picture-perfect goody-two-shoes romcom leads. They are terribly human, terribly flawed, and terribly vulnerable. It feels so good to have characters you know exist in real life than the polished OTT version of people we get to see in light fiction nowadays.

😍 This isn’t a story of romance but of relationships. Ted’s flawed relationship with his father; Marianne’s volatile yet loving relationship with her parents; Ted and Marianne’s amazing connection with their best friends Danny (who is married to Danni – so cute!) and Lance respectively, and of course, Ted and Marianne’s “relationship” with each other. (You’ll know why I have put the key word in quotation marks once you read the book.)

😍 The story spans an incredibly long time period (can’t tell you how long as that’s a spoiler.) With the frequent time jumps, it should have been easy to confuse the character ages, but the author subtly includes the time reference in her writing. There are also a few smart pop culture references or real life events in the narrative. As a result, not once did I muddle up the time frame.

😍 The story covers many dark themes in a light manner. Themes include alcoholism, PTSD, mental health issues, parental disconnections. I liked how dark it went without going too far, and loved the way the story covers the angle of “What if” and “Why me”.

😍 I found the book quite refreshing and unlike the typical fare in the contemporary fiction/romance market. There are so many moments when I went “Awww!” and an equal number of moments when I went “Oh, C’mon!” I ended the book with a huge grin on my face and warmth in my heart. (No, not heartburn, y’all! A satisfied afterglow kind of warmth.) That’s the best compliment to the story, isn’t it?

Where the book still worked for me but might not work for some other readers:

😌 The pastel cover seems to suggest that this is a light-hearted romance. Further, there’s this tagline in that small red circle that says, “A love story you’ll never forget.” The problem is, it is not a conventional love story. The two characters don’t meet for a loooonnnngggg time, there are no frivolous romps in bed, no dating, no instant connections. As I wasn’t expecting romance, I wasn’t disappointed to find it not being so. This was my kind of love story, more emotional than physical.

😌 I read through some other reviews to see why the book is rated so poorly, and found that quite a few readers were disappointed at the time gap between the meeting of our two leads and at the lack of romance. Well, to quote a line from the book, “This isn't an ideal world and sometimes you have to take what you've been given.” That’s what Ted and Marianne did. I appreciated this decision of the author. Insta-love fiction is a dime a dozen nowadays. This is a more real depiction of human connections.

😌 As the story comes from the pov of both Ted and Marianne, many incidents are narrated from both their angles. This might generate a déjà vu sort of feeling, but I appreciated looking at the same event from both their eyes. But…. (see below)

Where the book didn’t work for me:

😔 (continued from above)… this also led to a repetition of feelings. Repetition of events was okay. But to have them both thinking of that night of December 1991 again and again felt like an overkill. Maybe a bit of editing in this particular aspect would have suited the book better. This would have also sorted out the length issue as it feels dragged at times.

In short, I loved this book. The book is clearly marked as “Women’s Fiction” on NetGalley. I would call it a “Contemporary Drama”. If you read it as a romance you'll be disappointed. Definitely not recommended for insta-love or steamy romance fans. But if you want to see a beautifully written story that takes its time in bringing the lead characters together, going through various ups and downs along the way, please do give this a try.

4.5 stars from me. (I was torn between 4.25 and 4.5, but the ending sealed the deal.) It feels so good to be an outlier on the positive side of the ratings.

My thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “How to Save a Life”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.