Book Review: The Good Parts

The Good Parts by Evann Normandin

I fell in love with The Good Parts by Evann Normandin, and I won’t be surprised if it ends up in my top 10 best books I’ve read this year. This novel is fueled by true love, bittersweet feelings, and nostalgia. Although concerned with falling in love and staying in love, I wouldn’t call this book a romance. There are many sad moments throughout the novel. I definitely cried while reading, but as I said, it was in a bittersweet, cathartic way.

The book beings when Landon receives a letter from Rose, his ex-wife. She has taken a pill to forget him. Landon still believes Rose is the love of her life, so he makes his way to her new home in Edinburgh, Scotland, fully delusional and desperate, believing that if he could make Rose fall in love with him once, he could do it again. But should he even try?

The story includes flashbacks to when Landon and Rose first met and fell in love in college, at a cozy liberal arts college in Vermont. I loved those parts, because as they fell in love, they were also finding out more about who they are. I also greatly enjoyed the Edinburgh setting, where Rose is starting a new life and taking an art class.

 The novel also deals with the idea of how much should we forget, if we could, and what the body remembers, even when the mind forgets. I kept thinking about these ideas, like the ethics of this “forgetting pill,” the ramifications on people’s lives, loves, and friendships.

The book also made me think about how much trauma impacts even the most perfect-seeming love story.  What if the person you love the most will always remind you of the worst days of your life? Will you fully live your life if you can only remember the Good Parts?

If you love Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or books like Talking at Night, then I think you will enjoy and be moved by The Good Parts.   

Keep in mind, if you have some sensitive topics, please do consult content warnings before reading. I don’t want to reveal plot events, but there are some topics that might be upsetting for some readers.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.