Phillyist Reviews.... The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

If you're looking for a fun yet complex novel to read in Rittenhouse on upcoming crisp fall days, look no further than local author Matthew Quick's debut novel The Silver Linings Playbook. At once comically dark (think Coen Brothers) and touching, this is a book that will have you cringing at the actions of the main character Pat Peoples while also whole-heartedly rooting for him as he attempts to assimilate himself back into society. Told as a narrative from Pat's point of view, the novel unfolds as he reenters society after living in a neural health facility for years, though his brain has blocked out memory of most of the time spent there and the past events leading up to his stay. We meet him as he is being sprung from the institution by his mother—a woman whose actions might very well remind you of the self-imposed martyrdom of your own mother—and follow along as he endeavours to improve himself in order to win back his estranged wife after their "apart time." He thinks that pounding his body with exercise, hydrating by doing shots of water, and reading the classics of literature will enable him to acheive this goal. Even though it seems clear to the reader that his behavior is foolish, Pat Peoples plods forth each day with the utmost optimism, a childlike vision that things will work out for the best. Even through dark times, his optimism is reinforced as he uses his own special form of augury by reading the clouds in the sky. Hope continues to abound for Pat Peoples, even though his life is quite messy. It would be virtually impossible for the blindly hopeful attitude of the character not to seep into the psyche of the reader. And certainly not to be forgotten, woven through all of this madness, Pat and the characters around him share the embattled love/hate relationship that many Philadelphians have with their beloved Eagles. The book takes place in and around the city of Philadelphia, and it's a special treat for Philadelphians to read a novel with such familiar settings.

All in all, it's a charming first novel from a local author who shows great promise.

Matthew Quick has an upcoming appearance and book signing with Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Hank Baskett. So stop by the event on your way home from work on Wednesday! Bring your own copy of the book to be signed, or purchase at the event. (Books to be sold by Joseph Fox Bookshop.)

Matthew Quick The Silver Linings Playbook book signing
Friends Select School (17th & The Parkway)
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
6:30-7:30 p.m.