| P.S. I Love You | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Cecelia Ahern |
| Country | Ireland |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Thorndike Press |
| Publication date | April 2004 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 655 pp (hardback edition) & 512 pp (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-7862-6164-1 (hardback edition) & ISBN 0-00-716500-5 (paperback edition) |
| OCLC Number | 54374542 |
| Followed by | Where Rainbows End |
P.S. I Love You is Irish writer Cecelia Ahern's first novel, published in 2004. The book reached #1 bestseller status in Ireland (for 19 weeks), the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands.
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Despite the hype and commercial success, (Bertie Ahern's daughter) Cecilia Ahern's debut novel drew mixed-to-negative reception. Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) gave it three out of five stars, stating that Ahern's book is "funny and emotional" but criticised his impression that the message of the book was one of getting over the death of a loved one by "getting drunk and shopping".[1] The Guardian wrote a satirical review in which Ahern's shallow characterisation and melodramatic plot was lampooned.[2] The Clare County library called the book "overhyped", "predictable" and "full of stock characters", but lastly an "easy read... and a nice holiday read".[3] Amazon.co.uk calls it "at times repetitive and her delivery is occasionally amateurish [but] Ahern deserves credit for a spirited first effort".[4]
The plot is uncannily and extremely similar to that of a 1997 Korean film entitled The Letter [1].[5]
A film adaptation of the book was released in 2007 with Hilary Swank as the lead character, Holly, and Gerard Butler as her deceased husband, Gerry. James Marsters plays John McCarthy and Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays William Gallagher. The other cast includes Kathy Bates, Harry Connick, Jr., Gina Gershon and Lisa Kudrow. Filming began in early October, 2006 in New York City and Ireland, and was released on December 21, 2007 in the United States (see below for other release information).[2]
Although box office numbers were very high, critics gave the film poor reviews. As of January 13, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 21% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 82 reviews.[6] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 42 out of 100, based on 15 reviews.[7]
The scripts used in the production of the movie all had to be revised because page 76, line 13, did not read "I love you, Holly Kennedy," and instead mistakenly read "I love you, Holly Bok."[3]
The major difference between the novel and its film adaptation is that, in the novel, the main characters Holly and Gerry Kennedy are Irish. In the film, only Gerry is Irish, Holly and her family are Irish Americans, and the two live in New York. Also in the novel, Holly has numerous siblings, but in the film she has one. In the film, Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays William, a character who does not exist in the book. Another change is that in the books, the letters arrive all in a package together and Holly is expected to open them once a month. In the movie, the letters are delivered by mail. However, the film remains fairly true to the novel, and all of Gerry's letters are virtually unchanged.
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