The Not-So Austen Bookclub discussion

Discuss the book here!

The question to think about is:

The book's main characters, Lucy and Owen, spend a single night together exploring the wonders and the beauty of Manhattan...before parting ways.

And yet, that chance meeting was enough to ignite the spark that would bloom into a relationship.

Why do you think two people can know eachother for such a short time, and yet feel as if they've known one another for a lifetime? Answer with reference to the book.

Feel free to extend the discussion beyond the questions and simply talk about the book as well :D

I think although this is a rare thing, it probably is possible that two people can have that sort of chemistry. Whether it lasts and leads to a sustainable relationship in real life is another matter, but there's always that chance that it will.

I'd like to believe in the concept of soul mates as impossibly scary and insane as it sounds.

But I agree with you, Eugenia. It's so rare but there are real stories out there of people meeting, having an instant connection and have been married for decades.

There are some people you meet with that you just... connect with. You just get them and you like them and you want to spend time with them and all that jazz.

But as horribly sappy as that was and as optimistic as I am about love, the truth is, that having a spark like Owen and Lucy did, it isn't always enough. Life is hard. LIfe is confusing. Life is crazy.

(view spoiler)[And we see that in The Geography Of You And Me. Life got in the way. The geography of them was all wrong and eventually that began to wear on their spark.

And over time... they stopped sending postcards, emails and all that jazz. But Owen and Lucy were lucky in that they lived in a book where Happily Ever Afters are almost always guaranteed and they were able to meet again and reignite their spark.

But life is hard on love. On that instant connection. And sometimes love isn't enough.

... But sometimes it is. (hide spoiler)]

Both of you make excellent points. I especially like Eugenia's point: that whether that all lasts and leads to a sustainable relationship in real life is another matter. That 'zing' or 'chemistry' may ignite the spark, but it takes more than that to fuel the spark and aid it in blossoming into something real.

Love is like fire. You need a spark to start it but if you leave it unattended for too long it will either die out or burn everything around it.

@Inno: a beautiful way to put it <3