This is a truly fabulous book. The narrator is an unnamed man (in the film adaptation he is named Zorg), who at the start of the book is a week into his relationship with the beautiful and wild Betty. However, as the relationship progresses, it becomes clear that Betty is dangerously fragile and wildly unpredictable, and leads them both into some scary situations. However, our narrator loves Betty above all else, and is prepared to put up with anything just to be with her, and is prepared to do anything that will make her happy. Eventually Betty harms herself to such an extent that she ends up in hospital, as an empty shell of a person and merely a shadow of her former self. The narrator can not stand to see her this way, and finds his own way of dealing with it.
I am struggling to find words to describe this beautiful and intense love story. By turns happy, sad and funny, it is a wonderfully written and believable book. The characters are beautifully drawn and so fully fleshed out that I felt totally immersed in their lives.
The best advice I can give anybody about it is ‘read it’. At the beginning of the story, the narrator displays a contentment with life and is happy with his lot (as long as he has Betty, nothing else bothers him). But as the book progresses, his tone and attitude changes – we can see through his narration how life is bringing him down and making him sad, but still he cannot bear to live without his Betty, no matter how difficult life with her might be.
This is some very clever and moving writing, and without doubt, I will be reading this book again many times in the future. The book made me gasp, laugh and cry. Very moving and very lovely. A real love story with a difference.
(Author’s website can be found here.)
Between the Pages 