It is a realistic and unromanticized depiction of what it is like for a person living with this disorder.
All of the compulsions that Griffin has are based on Silvera’s own experiences having OCD. He deals with the anxiety this causes by scratching his palm or pulling on his earlobe until he has a chance to fix what is bothering him. Griffin has OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), triggered by odd numbers that affects his life to the point that he can only do tasks on even minutes and sometimes can’t function because he’s caught up in obsessive thoughts. The characters feel like living people who deal with grief in real and sometimes irrational ways. Silvera has a talent for consistently ending chapters with heart-wrenching lines that make the reader feel the same pain as Griffin. The changes between the present and the past take the reader on a tour through Griffin’s mind and how he remembers his time with Theo. I have to say that it was well worth the wait.
I knew what I was getting into when I picked up this book, so it sat on my bedside table for weeks until I knew I had the emotional capacity to be able to get through it. I am familiar with Silvera’s work, having previously read They Both Die at the End and What if it’s Us (co-written by Becky Albertalli). The past serves as the rising action while the present is the resolution, spliced together to tell Griffin’s story. It’s a risky yet effective choice, because the traditional climax of the story occurs before the first word. As Griffin learns how to live in a world where Theo is gone, the reader discovers the history of their relationship before coming back to the present with the pain of wondering what could have been. The chapters switch between “Today”, the present after Theo’s death, and “History”, the story of their relationship.
The opening line is “You’re still alive in alternate universes, Theo, but I live in the real world, where this morning you’re having an open-casket funeral.” Author Adam Silvera doesn’t shy away from death and makes the reader feel the full weight of losing someone. This book is emotionally tolling and starts on an extremely heavy note. In the novel History is All You Left Me, Griffin has to deal with the repercussions of the death of his ex-boyfriend Theo and the only person who may be able to understand how he feels is Theo’s new boyfriend from college, Jackson.īe warned. What would you do if the person you’re in love with died? What about if the only person who understands your pain is their new boyfriend?
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