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The Silver Linings Playbook: A Novel
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An enchanting first novel about love, madness, and Kenny G.
A New York Times bestseller, The Silver Linings Playbook was adapted into the Oscar-winning movie starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. It tells the riotous and poignant story of how one man regains his memory and comes to terms with the magnitude of his wife's betrayal.
During the years he spends in a neural health facility, Pat Peoples formulates a theory about silver linings: he believes his life is a movie produced by God, his mission is to become physically fit and emotionally supportive, and his happy ending will be the return of his estranged wife, Nikki. When Pat goes to live with his parents, everything seems changed: no one will talk to him about Nikki; his old friends are saddled with families; the Philadelphia Eagles keep losing, making his father moody; and his new therapist seems to be recommending adultery as a form of therapy.
When Pat meets the tragically widowed and clinically depressed Tiffany, she offers to act as a liaison between him and his wife, if only he will give up watching football, agree to perform in this year's Dance Away Depression competition, and promise not to tell anyone about their "contract." All the while, Pat keeps searching for his silver lining.
In this brilliantly written debut novel, Matthew Quick takes us inside Pat's mind, deftly showing us the world from his distorted yet endearing perspective. The result is a touching and funny story that helps us look at both depression and love in a wonderfully refreshing way.
Book Actions
Start ReadingBook Information
The Silver Linings Playbook: A Novel
Description
An enchanting first novel about love, madness, and Kenny G.
A New York Times bestseller, The Silver Linings Playbook was adapted into the Oscar-winning movie starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. It tells the riotous and poignant story of how one man regains his memory and comes to terms with the magnitude of his wife's betrayal.
During the years he spends in a neural health facility, Pat Peoples formulates a theory about silver linings: he believes his life is a movie produced by God, his mission is to become physically fit and emotionally supportive, and his happy ending will be the return of his estranged wife, Nikki. When Pat goes to live with his parents, everything seems changed: no one will talk to him about Nikki; his old friends are saddled with families; the Philadelphia Eagles keep losing, making his father moody; and his new therapist seems to be recommending adultery as a form of therapy.
When Pat meets the tragically widowed and clinically depressed Tiffany, she offers to act as a liaison between him and his wife, if only he will give up watching football, agree to perform in this year's Dance Away Depression competition, and promise not to tell anyone about their "contract." All the while, Pat keeps searching for his silver lining.
In this brilliantly written debut novel, Matthew Quick takes us inside Pat's mind, deftly showing us the world from his distorted yet endearing perspective. The result is a touching and funny story that helps us look at both depression and love in a wonderfully refreshing way.
About the author
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Reviews
From my Cannonball Read V review...
I tend to gravitate towards non-fiction books. Reading literature in school involved so much analysis; I got to a point after my last literature class where I felt I didn’t know how to read fiction on my own, without a guide or a discussion around it to try to find the ‘deeper’ meaning. What’s the point of picking up a classic if I’m going to miss all of the nuance?
On occasion, however, a work of fiction sounds interesting and I’m willing to give it a whirl. Generally speaking I’ve been lucky with my picks - and “Silver Linings Playbook” continues that lucky streak. If you’ve not yet read it, and can get past the idea of picturing the dude from “The Hangover” and Katniss Everdeen in the main roles, I think you’ll find you’re in for a quick but satisfying read. I read it in three days and found I was disappointed not in the ending, but in the fact that it was done. This is a book that had me thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it, and wanting to get back to it when I was doing other things.
We meet the protagonist Pat briefly in a psychiatric facility. His perspective is the one we experience throughout the novel; it’s a first person narrative that usually works. Pat consistently refers to the facility as the ‘bad place,’ which is one of the turns of phrase author Matthew Quick uses to lead us to think that there’s something a little off about Pat. That phrase, along with Pat insisting on referring to his separation from his wife as ‘apart time,’ were really the only things about the book that consistently bothered me. I think I get what Quick was going for, but the phrases really just pulled me out of the story. Thankfully, I was able to get past that and enjoy the writing, but I do wish Quick had found another way to demonstrate the developmental pause the character seems to have taken.
Pat has been sprung from the mental health facility by his mother, who has arranged for Pat to live back home with her and her inattentive, Eagles football-obsessed husband. Pat is focused on staying in amazing physical shape and acting kindly so that he can win back his wife Nikki. Clearly we get the sense that something is wrong with his assumption that he has any chance getting back with Nikki; he even repeatedly admits to himself that he treated her poorly. However, it’s clear that there’s more to that story, and over the course of the novel we find out, for the most part, what’s really going on.
To try to help bring Pat back into the outside world, Pat’ friend Robbie reintroduces him to Tiffany, who is working through her own mental health issues. She’s a young widow who rarely speaks but, when she does, chooses the fewest words necessary to get her point across. She’s blunt, a little socially awkward, and possibly interested in Pat. Pat wants nothing to do with her but, due to some clever work on her part, is pulled into a mutually beneficial relationship.
Given their respective circumstances, it could have been so easy for the author to lead us to pity them. And perhaps some readers will feel that emotion as they get to know their stories. For me, I felt more empathy and a little bit of hope as the novel progressed. Quick does a great job of showing honest emotions without begging the reader to cry or just feel so darned sorry for them. The characters are flawed, but from my perspective they are flawed in realistic ways. They could be our friends, and that helps make the connection to their plights more real.
Finally, the book has a resolution that is incomplete, although not frustratingly so. I’m warning you now: not every storyline is wrapped up at the end. The author doesn’t end it all with a knock on a door followed by a fade to black what-will-happen-next scene (I’m looking at you, ‘Sideways,’), but he doesn’t give us an epilogue or address every relationship that has formed or broken throughout the story. I enjoy that – I don’t need a totally messy ending, but I do like one in which it is expected that the characters will still go on and have struggles to face and issues to resolve.
I’m only on book five, but so far this year this is my favorite. If I can keep finding novels like this one, I just might have to put some of the non-fiction books on my reading list on hold.
I tend to gravitate towards non-fiction books. Reading literature in school involved so much analysis; I got to a point after my last literature class where I felt I didn’t know how to read fiction on my own, without a guide or a discussion around it to try to find the ‘deeper’ meaning. What’s the point of picking up a classic if I’m going to miss all of the nuance?
On occasion, however, a work of fiction sounds interesting and I’m willing to give it a whirl. Generally speaking I’ve been lucky with my picks - and “Silver Linings Playbook” continues that lucky streak. If you’ve not yet read it, and can get past the idea of picturing the dude from “The Hangover” and Katniss Everdeen in the main roles, I think you’ll find you’re in for a quick but satisfying read. I read it in three days and found I was disappointed not in the ending, but in the fact that it was done. This is a book that had me thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it, and wanting to get back to it when I was doing other things.
We meet the protagonist Pat briefly in a psychiatric facility. His perspective is the one we experience throughout the novel; it’s a first person narrative that usually works. Pat consistently refers to the facility as the ‘bad place,’ which is one of the turns of phrase author Matthew Quick uses to lead us to think that there’s something a little off about Pat. That phrase, along with Pat insisting on referring to his separation from his wife as ‘apart time,’ were really the only things about the book that consistently bothered me. I think I get what Quick was going for, but the phrases really just pulled me out of the story. Thankfully, I was able to get past that and enjoy the writing, but I do wish Quick had found another way to demonstrate the developmental pause the character seems to have taken.
Pat has been sprung from the mental health facility by his mother, who has arranged for Pat to live back home with her and her inattentive, Eagles football-obsessed husband. Pat is focused on staying in amazing physical shape and acting kindly so that he can win back his wife Nikki. Clearly we get the sense that something is wrong with his assumption that he has any chance getting back with Nikki; he even repeatedly admits to himself that he treated her poorly. However, it’s clear that there’s more to that story, and over the course of the novel we find out, for the most part, what’s really going on.
To try to help bring Pat back into the outside world, Pat’ friend Robbie reintroduces him to Tiffany, who is working through her own mental health issues. She’s a young widow who rarely speaks but, when she does, chooses the fewest words necessary to get her point across. She’s blunt, a little socially awkward, and possibly interested in Pat. Pat wants nothing to do with her but, due to some clever work on her part, is pulled into a mutually beneficial relationship.
Given their respective circumstances, it could have been so easy for the author to lead us to pity them. And perhaps some readers will feel that emotion as they get to know their stories. For me, I felt more empathy and a little bit of hope as the novel progressed. Quick does a great job of showing honest emotions without begging the reader to cry or just feel so darned sorry for them. The characters are flawed, but from my perspective they are flawed in realistic ways. They could be our friends, and that helps make the connection to their plights more real.
Finally, the book has a resolution that is incomplete, although not frustratingly so. I’m warning you now: not every storyline is wrapped up at the end. The author doesn’t end it all with a knock on a door followed by a fade to black what-will-happen-next scene (I’m looking at you, ‘Sideways,’), but he doesn’t give us an epilogue or address every relationship that has formed or broken throughout the story. I enjoy that – I don’t need a totally messy ending, but I do like one in which it is expected that the characters will still go on and have struggles to face and issues to resolve.
I’m only on book five, but so far this year this is my favorite. If I can keep finding novels like this one, I just might have to put some of the non-fiction books on my reading list on hold.
I really enjoy this movie and I must admit that I didn't always want to read the book, but I thought the book was better. At first I kept picturing characters as the actors and actresses that portrayed them in the movie, but about 60% through the book I could see they were uniquely different, and by the end Pat was just Pat, and there were Tiffany and Danny, and mom; no celebrities, just characters in the novel. I also enjoyed the details of the book that did not match the movie. I felt like I really understood Pat from reading the book. In the movie I only felt like I knew who Pat was. The book took me on an adventure with Pat through the movie of his life to find his happy ending; I felt as if the movie version fell short of this. Definitely found the book better than the movie, and it was a quick read for me.
Saw the movie so thought I'd see if the book added depth. It doesn't, but is still a good read. It pretty much lays out the movie except for DeNiro's betting habit which may have been a last-minute script addition. Amazed this was the author's first novel. Worth keeping an eye out for his second one.
Pat believes he has been in the "bad place", or the mental hospital, for only a few months but actually it's been more like four years. He believes that he and his wife, Nikki are separated and having an apart time but that that will change soon as he is a changed man from what he was before. He is now fit and reading books to make himself more literate for his English teacher wife and give themselves something to talk about together and with her friends who used to put him down for not knowing much about literature.Pat's mom comes and gets him out of the mental hospital on the condition that he goes and sees a therapist and lives with his parents. His new therapist is Dr. Cliff Patel and he's pretty cool in that he doesn't try to tell him to give up on getting Nikki back like his therapist in the hospital. He's also an Eagles fanatic which the two bond over. While in his waiting room he hears a song by Kenny G and he freaks out. Kenny G is his nemesis and the song "Songbird" is evil to him. He will sometimes see him at night in bed and will bang his head against the wall to try to get him to go away.His old childhood friend Ronnie who had written to him while he was in the hospital stops by the house to see how's he's doing and to invite him over to dinner at his house with his wife Veronica and their young daughter. He and Nikki used to make fun of them, but Pat finds himself accepting the invitation. When he arrives he finds that someone else has been invited to the dinner: an older woman named Tiffany who is Veronica's sister and who is widowed and going through a rough time. She has just lost her job for her bad behavior and is seeing a therapist for her depression. Dinner is a stilted affair and when Pat walks Tiffany back to her parent's place where she lives in a trailer out back she tells him he can have sex with her if he wants and he tells her he is married and she says she is too. They both end up crying in each other's arms and go their separate ways.Life with Pat's dad is difficult as he is a difficult man to be with. He is not an open man. He only seems to show up when there's an Eagles game on the television. And even then his mood depends on how well the Eagles are playing. His brother Jake bought season tickets for Pat who once had them before he went into the hospital so the two of them and a friend of Jake's go to the home games. The Eagles winning or losing is important in this book because when the Eagles win his dad is in a better mood and more talkative--not by much, but a little bit. And things are easier on his long-suffering unappreciated mother when they win.Tiffany has been following him around when he goes running and makes a proposition for him that will change his life. If he will do something for her she will do something really big for him that could be a game changer in the apart time being over. But he can't tell anyone about it. Not even his therapist. Will he do it? Will what happened to put Pat in the hospital happen again? This is a fascinating book that shows inside the mind of someone who is mentally ill and trying to put the broken pieces back together. He knows that he wasn't a good husband to his wife Nikki but wants to change and be a better person. But as a reader, we suspect that that boat has sailed, but there is Tiffany, another broken soul who is deserving of love too so you kinda root for the two of them to get together. I really loved this book that shows what we do for love and how it effects us and everything we do. Even if you've seen the movie the book is very much worth reading. I highly recommend reading this book. QuotesAfter I returned to New Jersey, I thought I was safe, because I did not think Kenny G could leave the bad place, which I realize is silly now—because Kenny G is extremely talented and resourceful and a powerful force to be reckoned with.-Mathew Quick (The Silver Linings Playbook p 34)
This was a surprisingly fast and easy read. I'm not sure it's terribly profound, but I enjoyed the slightly bizarre characters and creative set up. I agree with some others that it's probably not a very accurate representation of mental illness, but if you're okay with taking this just for what it is, it's a very good read.
Note, however, that there are definite spoilers of some famous literature -- so if you intend to read The Great Gatsby or The Bell Jar and haven't yet, be warned.
Note, however, that there are definite spoilers of some famous literature -- so if you intend to read The Great Gatsby or The Bell Jar and haven't yet, be warned.
Digital audiobook narrated by Ray Porter. Pat Peoples is at home again, living with his parents, after spending an indeterminate amount of time “in the bad place” – a mental hospital. He knows that if he can just improve himself a bit, his wife Nikki will come back to him. Problem is, no one will talk about Nikki or tell him the truth. His old friends have wives and children that he doesn’t remember. The Philadelphia Eagles keep losing. His father barely speaks to him. And now he’s got a girl, Tiffany, who is following him around. At least his therapist is an Eagles fan…What a delightfully quirky and touching story. I never saw the movie, but knew it was very popular. I put the book on my tbr knowing basically nothing about it and was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. Pat is a wonderful character and narrator. His constant repetition of his mantra, his reminders to himself that he is trying “to be kind, not right” and his unfailing belief that he will be able to succeed just endear him to me. Tiffany is so confused and hurt and hopeful, that she, too, just pulls me in. I loved Pat’s mother and his therapist (and fellow Eagles’ fan) as well. The only character I could never quite figure out – and could have done without – was Pat’s father. But that’s a small quibble, really. Ray Porter does a marvelous job of performing the audio book. He really brought these characters to life for me.
I was pretty disappointed by The Silver Linings Playbook. Like many people, I wanted to read it after hearing how good the movie was and I have to say now is that I hope the movie is loosely base on the book and better. Not once did the author say that Pat Peoples was bipolar, just that he had a mental illness, so I blame myself for letting information about the movie influence my opinion of the book because for most of the book I thought he was suppose to be bipolar and it wasn't an accurate description of it but he isn't just some kind of mental illness that the readers are not told. Pat didn't always have this mental illness either so it is something that is newly effecting him. With that said I disliked how his character thought and talked, almost like he was a pre-schooler, which led me to believe maybe he's mentally challenged now? But no, the book says mentally ill not handicapped. I thought the reason why he went to the "bad place" was obvious from the beginning, I thought what Tiffany was doing was also obvious when it started. I wish more of the book was about his relationship with her while they were training for the dance, the author goes in great detail about the Eagles to the point where its beyond what the reader needs to know, but this part is rushed through. I did enjoy the ending, it is probably the only redeeming part of the book that makes it worth the buy. Finally, I don't understand how people find the book funny, Pat is obviously struggling throughout most of the book and kind of delusional, it's sad, not funny.
I loved this book so, so much! But darn it, did it ever make me cry!!
I had watched the movie before reading the book and enjoyed it very much. As for the book, I think it's even better than the movie. This writer was successful in putting you right into the mind of a person who is struggling and surviving mental health issues. I absolutely loved his Mom, his therapist, and his brother. In the movie, Robert Deniro portrays his father and gives this character a fleshed out sometimes caring and warm personality. In the book, his father is more one dimensional and detached, with only a few moments where he acted with consideration. Most of the time his father is just a clueless emotionally shut down jerk. Eagles football is much more prominent in the book. I very much liked how it advanced the story and interjected levity. The dance "competition" is in the book, and it brought tears to my eyes, as did many parts of the story. As movies tend to do, the end is wrapped up nicely into a bow for you. Although I do like the ending of the book, it is somewhat differently handled. If you liked the movie, I highly recommend reading the book. If you never saw the movie, I still highly recommend reading the book.
This little book was quite interesting, because it touches on mental illness issues and life in the family/community. The plot is simple enough, but effective, with a good characterisation of the main character and his family/friends. We are drawn to his thoughts and emotions, which makes the whole rather intimate. The sensitivity with which the author approaches some difficult scenes, like the character's tantrums and the violence he is capable of (he hits his mum once) does not detract from the good times; rather, it emphasises them and there is a good balance overall. As readers, I'd say the novel feels good, it isn't negative and does not make anyone depressed or angry, which is why you could, and maybe should, read it.
Loved it! Books are always so much better than the movies!!
Sidenote: I watched the movie prior to listening to this book and I have to say I was confused by the casting choices when I watched the film and am now even more confused.
There are parts of this book that I really like. For example I love that Pat is going through the entirity of Nikki's reading list and I love his commentary on the books he reads. It was fantastic to read commentary that so many people think but are too afraid to vocalize.
I also love unreliable narrators who are completely out of touch with reality. Pat is most definitely an unreliable narrator but he is so entertaining that you can't help but find his delusion slightly charming.
I wasn't a big fan of the AHHHH E-A-G-L-E-S or the consistent dropping of the f-bomb. I also found myself to be fairly bored with the plot. If you read this go into it expecting to be charmed by the narration but slightly bored by the plot.
There are parts of this book that I really like. For example I love that Pat is going through the entirity of Nikki's reading list and I love his commentary on the books he reads. It was fantastic to read commentary that so many people think but are too afraid to vocalize.
I also love unreliable narrators who are completely out of touch with reality. Pat is most definitely an unreliable narrator but he is so entertaining that you can't help but find his delusion slightly charming.
I wasn't a big fan of the AHHHH E-A-G-L-E-S or the consistent dropping of the f-bomb. I also found myself to be fairly bored with the plot. If you read this go into it expecting to be charmed by the narration but slightly bored by the plot.
Very enjoyable.
funny, sweet...unforgettable...
It took me a quite a while to read through this one. Not because it was bad, just because it didn't end each chapter on a cliffhanger of any sort. Also, the narrator has a strange way of writing that makes you feel like he is a child at times rather than a full grown man. I found this a little off-putting at times. However, once I got past all that, I really enjoyed this book. The characters all seemed realistic and very human. The story revolves a lot around the narrator's relationship with his father and their love of football. The book mentioned football a little too much for my tastes, but a football fan may enjoy some of the trivia and tidbits in there. I most liked the love story between Pat and Tiffany, two broken people dealing with different life difficulties and struggling with bipolar disorder and depression, respectively. For those that have seen the movie, the book and the movie are *very* similar with just a few differences. I liked the book better than the movie though, because I felt the ending was more satisfying.
Darkly humorous. Apart time. Kenny G
Had some good bits.
muy buena aplicación hay libros muy interesantes y utiles exelente
more like a 3.5.
Matthew Quick does write about mental illness in a new light. I really do appreciate how supporting friends and family members are in his books. And I find his characters are very adorable and innocent, with their own mind sets. I don't think the plot of this book is mind blowing or unpredictable nor does the language beautiful, but it is a simple and honest view of struggling with mental illness and finding disclosure.
Matthew Quick does write about mental illness in a new light. I really do appreciate how supporting friends and family members are in his books. And I find his characters are very adorable and innocent, with their own mind sets. I don't think the plot of this book is mind blowing or unpredictable nor does the language beautiful, but it is a simple and honest view of struggling with mental illness and finding disclosure.
I really enjoyed this story. I probably won't read the book again which is why I rated 4 stars.
I think he could have done better explaining the complexities of mental illness. It's pretty simple to read as the narrator is recovering from a mental illness. I suppose I just expected more. I only finished it due to the fact that I've seen the movie. Average read.
Mixture of emotions. Depressing yet inspiring. I too suffer from depression so I can definitely relate to the emotions in this book.
it was excellant. a real page turner! so moving and heartfelt!
El libro siempre sera mejor que la pelicula. 5 estrellas.
Never would have read this if it wasn't a scribd select and that would've been too bad. Excellent book.
I really enjoy this movie and I must admit that I didn't always want to read the book, but I thought the book was better. At first I kept picturing characters as the actors and actresses that portrayed them in the movie, but about 60% through the book I could see they were uniquely different, and by the end Pat was just Pat, and there were Tiffany and Danny, and mom; no celebrities, just characters in the novel. I also enjoyed the details of the book that did not match the movie. I felt like I really understood Pat from reading the book. In the movie I only felt like I knew who Pat was. The book took me on an adventure with Pat through the movie of his life to find his happy ending; I felt as if the movie version fell short of this. Definitely found the book better than the movie, and it was a quick read for me.
All I wanted to do was read this book. It was written in such a wonderful manner that I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. I hear the movie is just as good as the book although there are a lot of differences. I had no use for Pat's father as he was mean and quite unlikeable. Played by Robert Deniro in the movie, he is not portrayed this way.
Now off to Redbox to get the DVD.
Now off to Redbox to get the DVD.
I think this one was more disturbing than it was intended to be. Pat is in his mid-thirties and is just moving in with his parents after a long stint in a psych ward. There's a hidden past, obscured by Pat's delusions, child-like mind, and bursts of anger that keep others from talking about what's really going on. He is set up with a friend's sister in law, Tiffany, who has also lost her independence due to a breakdown. In her own strange way, she tries to draw him out. There's a quirky cast of characters lending a cutesy tone to the story that jars with the sadness. There is also an amazing amount of football going on.
3.5 ⭐
that ending ?♥️
I started reading this book only because I was in a slump and needed something familiar to read expecting it be like the movie - which is one of my favourite movies of all times - but it was different , I did like it though .
why not 5 ? will , first I'm not a sports fan I didn't enjoy all that football talk and skimmed through , second it kind of spoiled some classics I want to read , I now know how those books ended so that was not cool .
that ending ?♥️
I started reading this book only because I was in a slump and needed something familiar to read expecting it be like the movie - which is one of my favourite movies of all times - but it was different , I did like it though .
why not 5 ? will , first I'm not a sports fan I didn't enjoy all that football talk and skimmed through , second it kind of spoiled some classics I want to read , I now know how those books ended so that was not cool .
How human mind can move for his or her own sake