Me Before You

Me Before You is a romantic novel written by Jojo Moyes. The book was first published on January 5, 2012 in the United Kingdom. A sequel entitled After You was released September 29, 2015 through Pamela Dorman Books.^[1][2]

Plot

Will Traynor was a high achieving and wealthy man who enjoyed life to its fullest, whether this was his successful and demanding job, the many adventures he had experienced, or his equally successful girlfriend. However, he becomes permanently disabled due to an unfortunate road accident.

Two years later, Louisa Clark loses her job at the local café ‘The Buttered Bun’. She is a 26 year old, unambitious woman with very few qualifications. Louisa lives with her working class family and is constantly outshone by her younger, more intelligent sister, Treena, who is a single mother. Her parents become disappointed because the entire family depends on her wage. Louisa goes to the Job Centre where Syed, the Job Centre assistant, finds an ultimate option which is to look after a disabled man. Louisa gets accepted and is hired by Camilla Traynor, the mother of Will, because she thinks her son needs someone able to brighten his spirits. Louisa notices how falsely everyone is acting in Granta House, Will's family mansion. She later finds out that Mr. Traynor has an extra-marital relationship. However, due to her, Will has become more communicative and open-minded.

Louisa notices that Will's wrists are covered with scars. One day, she overhears Will's mother and sister talking privately and finds out that he tried to commit suicide shortly after his mother refused to grant his wish to end his life through Dignitas, an assisted suicide organization. Horrified at his attempt to commit suicide, his mother agrees to honor his wish, but only on the condition that he agrees to live six more months. In that time, she secretly plans to change his mind and show him life is still worth living.

Louisa decides to keep the fact that she overheard hidden from Will and his mother. However, she does end up telling Treena and together they come up with ideas to convince Will to abandon his wish. Over the next few weeks, Will loosens up and agrees on Louisa shaving his beard and cutting his shaggy hair, which he himself had not done in ages. Louisa executes her plans and takes Will to outings, and although Will is significantly happier, she senses that it isn't enough to convince him. Finally, she's overwhelmed and decides she can no longer be a part of Will's assisted death. Mrs. Traynor, however, notices the positive effect she has on Will and pursues her until she takes back the job. In a last and desperate try, Louisa tells Will’s parents and sister that she wants to organize for Will a foreign visit to the island of Mauritius. Meanwhile, the financial situation in Louisa’s family gets worse as her father loses his job, but fortunately, Mr. Traynor offers Louisa’s father a position at the castle.

Will and Louisa end up spending their days talking frequently to each other, her being his caregiver. He notices that she has a very limited life and that her ambitions are quite small, which is the exact opposite of him before his accident. Will tries to motivate Louisa to change her life, to start doing something different and interesting. She's still seeing her longtime boyfriend, Patrick, though they break up, due to his jealousy.

With the help of the internet, Louisa manages to plan a holiday full of adventures for Will in Mauritius. The night before returning home, Louisa confesses to Will that she loves him and kisses him.

On the night of Will's flight to Switzerland, Louisa decides she has to see Will one last time. Her mother opposes because of the same reason Louisa didn't want to work as Will's caregiver at the start, but Louisa gets approval from her father and proceeds. When she meets Will at Dignitas, they both agree that the past six months have been the best in their lives. He dies shortly after in the clinic. Will leaves Louisa a considerable amount of money to continue her education and to expand her horizons beyond her hometown.

Characters

• Louisa (Lou) Clark – a 26-year-old woman whose life changes completely when she loses her job in the local café. She is creative, talented and funny, but she underestimates herself. By time, she learns how to harness her capacities and get out of her comfort zone.^[3]
• William (Will) Traynor – a 35-year-old man who became quadriplegic after a motorbike accident. He is very intelligent and rich, but his sorrow made him moody, angry and spiteful. He cannot resign himself to the thought that he will never be the active and adventurous man he was before.
• Camilla Traynor – Will’s mother who has a stressed relation with her son. She is severe and strict but she still cares about her son’s well-being.
• Steven Traynor – Will’s father who wants to divorce. He was absent from Will’s and his sister’s life and Mrs. Traynor blames him for destroying their family.
• Katrina (Treena) Clark – Louisa’s younger sister who is an unemployed single mother. She has always been regarded in the family as the most intelligent sibling. Even though the sisters have always competed with one another, they still support each other in the harsh situations.
• Patrick – Louisa’s boyfriend who works as a personal trainer. He is obsessed with sports and diet.
• Nathan – Will’s male nurse who is not only his carer but also his friend.
• Alicia – Will’s ex-girlfriend who marries his colleague, Rupert. She is very beautiful and delicate, but she lives her life according to the standards of the high society.
• Georgina – Will’s sister who doesn’t care much about her brother. She is concerned only about her life and her accomplishments. Georgina considers that she shouldn’t let Will’s sorrow affect her success.
• Rupert – An old friend of Will's from work. He is married to Alicia.
• Frank – Previous employer of Louisa.
• Thomas – Young son of single mother, Katrina. He is also the nephew of Louisa.

Reception

Reception for Me Before You has been positive and the book was placed on the Richard and Judy Book Club.^[4][5] USA Today and the New York Times both praised the work,^[6] with the New York Times reviewer commenting that "When I finished this novel, I didn’t want to review it; I wanted to reread it."^[7]

Film adaptation

In 2014 MGM announced their intention to create a feature film based on Me Before You, which would be directed by Thea Sharrock.^[8] and released via Warner Bros. The film was initially set to release in August 2015 but was pushed back to June 3, 2016.^[9]

Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin star as the film's main characters, and filming began in the spring of 2015.^[10]

References

External links

• Me Before You on Penguin Books site
• Jojo Moyes official website