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P.S. I Love You is a book that has drawn a variety of comments. This debut novel by Cecelia Ahern has won over many sentimental readers, drawing rave reviews; it has also drawn flak from critics who think that her work is amateurish.

The story revolves around a couple Holly and Gerry living in Ireland. They lead a happily married life and were madly in love with each other, treasuring each other’s companionship. They always joked that Holly would not be able to cope if Gerry departed first, Holly being so dependent on Gerry. The solution was to come up with a ‘List’ of instructions to teach Holly what exactly to do in the event of that. However, neither of them expected to part so prematurely, when Gerry was diagnosed with brain cancer and shortly passed on.

In the months that followed Gerry’s demise, Holly became self-absorbed, brooding at home. She became a depressed wreck, unable to cope with the massive loss of her beloved spouse. Despite her family’s and friends’ best attempts to console and cheer her up, she remained despondent. It is at this juncture that Holly’s mother mentions to her about a parcel addressed to Holly with the word ‘List’ on it. Reluctantly, Holly agrees to take a look at the parcel and finds a letter from Gerry together with 10 sets of envelopes. It dawned onto her that Gerry, acutely aware of his impending demise, forced himself to pen a whole series of written instructions for her, to help her cope with his departure.

Each of the 10 envelopes is to be opened on the first day of every month, and each letter tasks Holly to do something to help her regain her confidence and step out of the shadow of the tragedy. The types of tasks range from amusing to quirky to touching - Gerry instructs Holly to go on a much-needed vacation with her buddies, to buy a new dress for herself and start dolling up and so on. Holly follows the instructions to the letter, as a form of tribute to her late husband. Where her eccentric family members and best friends failed, Gerry manages to gradually help Holly out of her plight even when death claimed him. Amidst worries that the letters might cause Holly to cling on to the past and exacerbate the situation, Holly actually starts to find her life moving forward and slowly accepts her new lease of life.

This is a romantic tale of loss, hurt and learning to cope with it; it is a very heartwarming story. On one side, we can see how deeply Gerry cared for and understand Holly that he could predict what would happen to her in the event of his death. He forced himself through the draining task of writing the whole set of letters just to make sure that Holly would be alright. Holly is a largely naïve and slightly immature woman, who has a strong bond and dependency on her husband. Reading her struggle to put behind the love they shared and then the love that she lost certainly does pain me at times. Cecelia Ahern does manage to communicate the grief felt by Holly and the reluctance to let go of something so dear.

Critics found Cecelia Ahern’s style of writing amateurish, that she does not have sufficient experience to write about something as drastic and somber as death and rehabilitation of grief. I felt that this novel was conflicting as Cecelia Ahern seemed to be using light-hearted language and style which was not appropriate at times, especially during Gerry’s death. However, this does not fault the creativity in coming up with such a remarkable plot and storyline. It is a very captivating read; Cecelia Ahern makes you want to continue reading to find out what happens next in Holly’s rehabilitation process. At times, the story is absolutely heart-wrenching and embarrassed as I am to say this, but it is difficult to remain dry-eyed after this read.

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