PS, I Love You
Encyclopedia
P.S. I Love You is Irish
writer
Cecelia Ahern
's first novel, published in 2004
. The book reached #1 bestseller status in Ireland
(for 19 weeks), the United Kingdom
, the United States
, Germany
, and the Netherlands
.
ised his impression that the message of the book was one of getting over the death of a loved one by "getting drunk and shopping". The Guardian
wrote a satirical review
in which Ahern's shallow characterisation and melodramatic plot was lampooned. The Clare County library called the book "overhyped", "predictable" and "full of stock characters", but lastly an "easy read... and a nice holiday read". Amazon.co.uk calls it "at times repetitive and her delivery is occasionally amateurish [but] Ahern deserves credit for a spirited first effort".
The plot is uncannily and extremely similar to that of a 1997 Korean film entitled The Letter
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0240841/.
as the lead character, Holly, and Gerard Butler
as her deceased husband, Gerry. James Marsters
plays John McCarthy and Jeffrey Dean Morgan
plays William Gallagher. The other cast includes Kathy Bates
, Harry Connick, Jr.
, Gina Gershon
and Lisa Kudrow
. Filming began in early October, 2006 in New York City and Ireland, and was released on December 21, 2007 in the United States (see below for other release information).http://imdb.com/title/tt0431308/
Although box office numbers were very high, critics gave the film poor reviews. As of January 13, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
reported that 21% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 82 reviews. Metacritic
reported the film had an average score of 42 out of 100, based on 15 reviews.
The scripts used in the production of the movie all had to be revised because page 76, line 13, did not read "I love you, Holly Kennedy," and instead mistakenly read "I love you, Holly Bok."http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0431308/goofs
plays William, a character who does not exist in the book. Another change is that in the books, the letters arrive all in a package together and Holly is expected to open them once a month. In the movie, the letters are delivered by mail. However, the film remains fairly true to the novel, and all of Gerry's letters are virtually unchanged.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
Cecelia Ahern
Cecelia Ahern
Cecelia Ahern is an Irish novelist, since 2004. In addition to publishing several novels, she has also contributed a number of short stories to various anthologies, for which all her royalties go to charity.Ahern also created and produced the ABC comedy Samantha Who? starring Christina Applegate...
's first novel, published in 2004
2004 in literature
The year 2004 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Canada Reads selects Guy Vanderhaeghe's The Last Crossing to be read across the nation....
. The book reached #1 bestseller status in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
(for 19 weeks), the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Characters in "P.S. I Love You"
- Holly Kennedy - The Main Character
- Gerry - Holly's Late Husband
- Sharon McCarthy - Holly's Best Friend
- John McCarthy - Sharon's Husband
- Denise Hennessey - Holly's Friend
- Tom O'Connor - Denise's Fiance
- Daniel Connolly - Holly's Friend
- Elizabeth Kennedy - Holly's Mother
- Frank Kennedy - Holly's Father
- Richard Kennedy - Holly's Older Brother
- Meredith Kennedy - Richard's Wife
- Timothy Kennedy - Richard's Son
- Emily Kennedy - Richard's Daughter
- Jack Kennedy - Holly's Brother
- Abbey - Jack's Girlfriend
- Ciara Kennedy - Holly's Younger Sister
- Mathew - Ciara's Australian Boyfriend
- Declan Kennedy - Holly's Younger Brother
- Leo - Holly's Stylist
- Barbara - A Travel Agent
- Chris Feeney - Holly's Boss
- Alice Goodyear - Holly's Secretary
- Charlie - A Bartender
- Laura - Daniel's Ex- girlfriend
Reception
Despite the hype and commercial success, (Bertie Ahern's daughter) Cecilia Ahern's debut novel drew mixed-to-negative reception. Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) gave it three out of five stars, stating that Ahern's book is "funny and emotional" but criticCritic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
ised his impression that the message of the book was one of getting over the death of a loved one by "getting drunk and shopping". The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
wrote a satirical review
Review
A review is an evaluation of a publication, a product or a service, such as a movie , video game, musical composition , book ; a piece of hardware like a car, home appliance, or computer; or an event or performance, such as a live music concert, a play, musical theater show or dance show...
in which Ahern's shallow characterisation and melodramatic plot was lampooned. The Clare County library called the book "overhyped", "predictable" and "full of stock characters", but lastly an "easy read... and a nice holiday read". Amazon.co.uk calls it "at times repetitive and her delivery is occasionally amateurish [but] Ahern deserves credit for a spirited first effort".
The plot is uncannily and extremely similar to that of a 1997 Korean film entitled The Letter
The Letter (1997 film)
The Letter is a 1997 South Korean film starring Choi Jin-sil and Park Shin-yang. A Thai remake, also called The Letter, was released in 2004.- Story :...
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0240841/.
Movie adaptation
A film adaptation of the book was released in 2007 with Hilary SwankHilary Swank
Hilary Ann Swank is an American actress. Swank's film career began with a small part in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and then a major part in The Next Karate Kid , as Julie Pierce, the first female protégé of sensei Mr. Miyagi...
as the lead character, Holly, and Gerard Butler
Gerard Butler
Gerard James Butler is a Scottish actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television. A trained lawyer, Butler turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies , which he followed with steady work on television, most notably in...
as her deceased husband, Gerry. James Marsters
James Marsters
James Wesley Marsters is an American actor and musician. Marsters first came to the attention of the general public playing the popular character Spike, a platinum-blond yobbish English vampire in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series, Angel from 1997 to 2004...
plays John McCarthy and Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is an American actor, best known to television and movie audiences as Denny Duquette on Grey's Anatomy, patriarch John Winchester on Supernatural, and as The Comedian in the 2009 superhero film Watchmen....
plays William Gallagher. The other cast includes Kathy Bates
Kathy Bates
Kathleen Doyle "Kathy" Bates is an American actress and director.After several small roles in film and television, Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery , for which she won both the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe...
, Harry Connick, Jr.
Harry Connick, Jr.
Joseph Harry Fowler Connick, Jr. is an American singer, big-band leader/conductor, pianist, actor, and composer. He has sold over 25 million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with...
, Gina Gershon
Gina Gershon
Gina L. Gershon is an American film, television and stage actress, singer and author, known for her roles in the films Cocktail , Showgirls , Bound , Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back , Face/Off , The Insider , Demonlover , Category 7: The End of the World , P.S...
and Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Valerie Kudrow is an American actress, best known for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the television sitcom Friends, for which she received many accolades including an Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards...
. Filming began in early October, 2006 in New York City and Ireland, and was released on December 21, 2007 in the United States (see below for other release information).http://imdb.com/title/tt0431308/
Although box office numbers were very high, critics gave the film poor reviews. As of January 13, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 21% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 82 reviews. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported the film had an average score of 42 out of 100, based on 15 reviews.
The scripts used in the production of the movie all had to be revised because page 76, line 13, did not read "I love you, Holly Kennedy," and instead mistakenly read "I love you, Holly Bok."http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0431308/goofs
Differences between novel and film adaptation
The major difference between the novel and its film adaptation is that, in the novel, the main characters Holly and Gerry Kennedy are Irish. In the film, only Gerry is Irish, Holly and her family are Irish Americans, and the two live in New York. Also in the novel, Holly has numerous siblings, but in the film she has one. In the film, Jeffrey Dean MorganJeffrey Dean Morgan
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is an American actor, best known to television and movie audiences as Denny Duquette on Grey's Anatomy, patriarch John Winchester on Supernatural, and as The Comedian in the 2009 superhero film Watchmen....
plays William, a character who does not exist in the book. Another change is that in the books, the letters arrive all in a package together and Holly is expected to open them once a month. In the movie, the letters are delivered by mail. However, the film remains fairly true to the novel, and all of Gerry's letters are virtually unchanged.