Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Rating: 4 stars

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At my core, I am an indecisive person. There’s nothing I hate more than being asked to make a decision...pity that life rests on us having to make decisions. But TJR has taught me that perhaps each decision is not as important as I once thought.

“Life is long and full of an infinite number of decisions. I have to think that the small ones don’t matter, that I’ll end up where I need to end up no matter what I do.”

Maybe in Another Life sees Hannah Martin in two different timelines, one in which she agrees to stay back with her ex-boyfriend from high school at a bar in Los Angeles and another in which she doesn’t. Hannah is 29 years old and has lost her way. She got into a relationship with a married man and has no place to call home. So, she runs back home to LA and has her life turned upside down à la Sliding Doors.

“Nine billion choices I’ve made over the course of my life could have changed where I am right now and where I’m headed. There’s no sense focusing on just one. Unless you want to punish yourself.”

This book grapples with various themes – fate, soulmates, love, purpose, family – and does so in classic TJR style. The overarching message is a hopeful one and left me feeling a lot lighter. I also loved all the characters in the novel. Hannah makes for a charming lead and the side characters were well fleshed out.

“We can’t say what we would do in other circumstances. We can only know what we will do with the ones we face.”

My only issue with this novel was that it romanticises a relationship in which there is an inherent power imbalance. Not to mention, it crosses various professional boundaries. I found that hard to overlook even though I found myself rooting for the couple.

“You’re trying too hard to find the perfect answer when an answer will do.”

That aside, this is a charming novel with a whole lot of depth and hope! I would recommend everybody read it, especially if you liked the movie Look Both Ways.

“I think I’ve been jumping from place to place thinking that I’m supposed to find the perfect life for myself…I’m starting to think maybe you just pick a place and stay there. You pick a career and you do it. You pick a person and commit to him.”

Love,