Helpful Score: 6
I really wanted to like this book. I thought the idea was great and it sounded very entertaining. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. This is a short book, but it took me twice as long as it usually would to get through it because I had to force myself to finish it. I can't really put my finger on what it was...I just didn't get into this one. I won't say it was horrible because it had its entertaining and funny parts, but all in all this was not a favorite of mine.
Helpful Score: 3
This is one of the most fascinating books I have read.
Who knows what happens when a person is in a coma?
Who knows what happens when a person is in a coma?
Helpful Score: 3
This is a really cute story. the plot is much more developed and really different from the film "just like heaven"
I spent 2 days on the porch reading this book, non-stop. It was one of the best books I've ever read. I voraciously read and I also KEEP the good ones forever. This one will NOT be available to swap from me, it's staying on my shelf! Thanks alot for letting me have it, paperbackswap!
Helpful Score: 1
This is based on a movie. Excellent book
Helpful Score: 1
This book was a really great book, right from the start the book peaked my interest. This book makes you wonder about your presence of your mind and spirit during a coma. If you believe in the spirit's / angel's why couldn't this happen, it's nice to think it could happen to people in coma's , instead of there mind and spirit just laying there waiting to revive ,once again. I had a daughter with illnesses and I truly believe her spirit is here among us.
Helpful Score: 1
I thought the idea of this book was fascinating. A person physically totally inert in a coma, but their actual 'self' running around loose and unable to communicate with anyone because that 'self' can't be heard or seen, and then suddenly... Somebody can hear them! What if...?
The book was a little slow and preachy even if it was a good story.
From back cover: What do you do when you find a stranger in your closet; particularly when she's surprised that you can even see her -- and she can disappear and reappear at whim? What if she then tells you that her body is actually in a coma on the other side of town? Should you have her see a psychiatrist or should you consult one yourself? Or do you take a chance and believe in her, and allow yourself to be swept up in an extraordinary adventure?This is the beginning of the dilemma that Arthur, a young San Francisco architect, is faced with when he discovers Lauren in his apartment.Arthur is the only man who can share Lauren's secret, the only one who can see her, hear her, and talk to her when no one else so much as senses her presence. So when doctors prepare to end Lauren's physical care -- which would destroy the magical bond she and Arthur cherish -- he must find a way to save her. For, after all, it is only her love that can save him.If Only It Were True is a heartwarming love story impossible to forget, an adventure that is by turns breathtaking and hilarious -- a captivating tale that evokes the essence of romance and our boundless capacity to believe.
The book was a little slow and preachy even if it was a good story.
From back cover: What do you do when you find a stranger in your closet; particularly when she's surprised that you can even see her -- and she can disappear and reappear at whim? What if she then tells you that her body is actually in a coma on the other side of town? Should you have her see a psychiatrist or should you consult one yourself? Or do you take a chance and believe in her, and allow yourself to be swept up in an extraordinary adventure?This is the beginning of the dilemma that Arthur, a young San Francisco architect, is faced with when he discovers Lauren in his apartment.Arthur is the only man who can share Lauren's secret, the only one who can see her, hear her, and talk to her when no one else so much as senses her presence. So when doctors prepare to end Lauren's physical care -- which would destroy the magical bond she and Arthur cherish -- he must find a way to save her. For, after all, it is only her love that can save him.If Only It Were True is a heartwarming love story impossible to forget, an adventure that is by turns breathtaking and hilarious -- a captivating tale that evokes the essence of romance and our boundless capacity to believe.
Helpful Score: 1
Loved this book much better then the movie
Very cute story, warm and fuzzy.
Very cute book just like the movie with the same premise "Just like heaven".
Unexpectedly weird but a good story once you realize the direction it is going.
Good book and well-thought out story line. The author weaves his tale around the eternal question of what really happens when a person is in a coma, and subject to death by disconnection of life support.
It is not a humorous story but the characters are great with one-liners and keep a very serious subject lighthearted. Also the descriptions of scenery where they are is incredible and made this reader feel as though I had been on a vacation!
This book is for those needing an escape, those who want a little romance and especially those who want an answer to that eternal question. It sure convinced me.
It is not a humorous story but the characters are great with one-liners and keep a very serious subject lighthearted. Also the descriptions of scenery where they are is incredible and made this reader feel as though I had been on a vacation!
This book is for those needing an escape, those who want a little romance and especially those who want an answer to that eternal question. It sure convinced me.
This was a very cute story-!
Ellen
Ellen
Loved this book.. can't wait for the movie!
LOVE THIS BOOK
Very well written and enjoyable story if a bit far-fetched. Looking forward to seeing the movie adapted from this book.
Cute and short (246 pp) romantic story. As usual, better than the movie.
This is the original book by Marc Levy, upon which the movie "Just Like Heaven" was based. The book has been re-released with the new title, but this is the original. Great love story, much better than the movie interpretation!
excellent book though different than the movie and alot better.
This book is the book that Just Like Heaven was based on. Great book!
A fast paced book about a woman who is comatose who also is a "ghost" and the only person who can see and feel her is Arthur. Arthur is now living in Laurens old apartment when it was sold after she went into a coma. There was a movie made from this book with Reese Witherspoon "Seems Like Heaven". Arthur and Lauren are trying to figure out why this has happened. When Laurens mom is going to "pull the plug" Arthur makes plans to kidnap Laurens body. Enjoyable book but a little disappointed with the ending.
The book 'Just Like Heaven' is based on. It's a fast read. Really good, but the movie is A LOT different.
This is a great story! Very heartwarming! It is now the major motion picture, "Just Like Heaven" -- this is the novel that the movie is based on. I liked it a lot.
Marc Levy is a great story-teller. This is the 3rd or 4th book of his that I've read, and his first fiction novel. This is a delightful story, made me laugh out loud. I couldn't put it down. I carried it everywhere I went in hopes I could snatch a little more reading. It's a love story, but full of adventure and great dialogue. I want to read all of his books.
Charming fluff, with some thought-provoking ideas.
If Only He Could Have Made Up His Mind.....
Marc Levy has an idea here -- about the "ghost" of a young woman who isn't really dead, only lying comatose in a San Francisco hospital. Her ... soul, if you will ... is hanging around her former apartment, which has just been rented to a young architect.
This is a fine set-up for a fantasy rom-com. Arthur is the only one who can see or hear Lauren, and of course there's the obligatory "who is he talking to?" reaction from onlookers as the relationship moves from "meet cute" to "feelings develop" to "a complication arises".
Unfortunately, Levy doesn't seem to be able to make up his mind whether he wants to write a romantic fantasy, an inspirational love-beyond-the-grave weeper, or a police procedural. Any time a novel rings in a whole new cast of characters 50 pages from the end, it's a screaming neon sign pointing directly at a writer who really doesn't know what he's doing.
You can entertain yourself for an afternoon with this, but don't expect any big emotional payoff.
Marc Levy has an idea here -- about the "ghost" of a young woman who isn't really dead, only lying comatose in a San Francisco hospital. Her ... soul, if you will ... is hanging around her former apartment, which has just been rented to a young architect.
This is a fine set-up for a fantasy rom-com. Arthur is the only one who can see or hear Lauren, and of course there's the obligatory "who is he talking to?" reaction from onlookers as the relationship moves from "meet cute" to "feelings develop" to "a complication arises".
Unfortunately, Levy doesn't seem to be able to make up his mind whether he wants to write a romantic fantasy, an inspirational love-beyond-the-grave weeper, or a police procedural. Any time a novel rings in a whole new cast of characters 50 pages from the end, it's a screaming neon sign pointing directly at a writer who really doesn't know what he's doing.
You can entertain yourself for an afternoon with this, but don't expect any big emotional payoff.
Cute story. Nothing spectacular, but an entertaining light read. It was a romantic/chick-lit type of story written by a guy, which made it a bit different than other stories I've read in the genre.
A lame movie was made based on this book called Just Like Heaven. Read the book, skip the movie.
A lame movie was made based on this book called Just Like Heaven. Read the book, skip the movie.
Really fun read. Sexy guy.
I love this novel! It was the book the movie "Just Like Heaven" was based on.
What do you do when you find a stranger in your closet; particularly when she's surprised that you can even see her -- and she can disappear and reappear at whim? What if she then tells you that her body is actually in a coma on the other side of town? Should you have her see a psychiatrist or should you consult one yourself? Or do you take a chance and believe in her, and allow yourself to be swept up in an extraordinary adventure?
This is the beginning of the dilemma that Arthur, a young San Francisco architect, is faced with when he discovers Lauren in his apartment.
Arthur is the only man who can share Lauren's secret, the only one who can see her, hear her, and talk to her when no one else so much as senses her presence. So when doctors prepare to end Lauren's physical care -- which would destroy the magical bond she and Arthur cherish -- he must find a way to save her. For, after all, it is only her love that can save him.
If Only It Were True is a heartwarming love story impossible to forget, an adventure that is by turns breathtaking and hilarious -- a captivating tale that evokes the essence of romance and our boundless capacity to believe.
This is the beginning of the dilemma that Arthur, a young San Francisco architect, is faced with when he discovers Lauren in his apartment.
Arthur is the only man who can share Lauren's secret, the only one who can see her, hear her, and talk to her when no one else so much as senses her presence. So when doctors prepare to end Lauren's physical care -- which would destroy the magical bond she and Arthur cherish -- he must find a way to save her. For, after all, it is only her love that can save him.
If Only It Were True is a heartwarming love story impossible to forget, an adventure that is by turns breathtaking and hilarious -- a captivating tale that evokes the essence of romance and our boundless capacity to believe.
Truly romantic novel!
I loved this story, it was great!!
This was an awesome book! It was one of those books I read until I was too tired to stayt awake any longer. Very sweet romance story telling of one man's courage to do what his heart was telling him to do.
The concept for this book was intriguing, but the writing was just terrible. The dialogue seems forced, the characters are very one-dimensional, and the decision the characters make to lead to the "plot twists" just make no sense. The author tries to add a lot of random details - including suddenly fanciful character development for someone who is only around for a few pages - that don't actually add depth but just more words. In the middle of it was a glimmer of what the book should have really been about - the relationship between a boy and his mother - but it was lost amid a shticky ghost story.
Entertaining.
They must have made the movie Heaven Can Wait based on this book. But the book is not so light comedy. A women is in a coma, her body is seen by the man who rents her apt. Only he sees her and talks to her and falls in love with her and tries to make sure her coma body in the hospital is not disconnected from life support. I liked it, it was odd but good.
i loved this book! great love story
Enjoyed this ghostly story.
What do you do when you find a stranger in your closet; particularly when she's surprised that you can even see her---and she can disappear and reappear at whim? What if she then tells you that her body is actually in a coma on the other side of town?
A worthwhile read. Quick touching story.
LOVED THIS BEAUTIFUL STORY OF A PERSON FINDING A GHOST IN HIS CLOSET.
This has an interesting premise and is a different book: It magical where a gal is in two places at the same time. There is humor and the author examines life, love and grabbing what you can each day.
The basis for the movie "Just Like Heaven" with Reese Witherspoon. The book was about as good as the movie....not great but mildly entertaining.
Interesting concept!
Cute romance with a bit of humor
DIscover a beautiful ghost in your closet? No way! Yep! Arthur, a young San Francsician architect is faced with this dilemma when her finds Lauren in his apratment. Lauren is actually in a coma-and that's wehere the fun begins. Of course they fall in love-but can't be together if they do the right thing-or can they.
Great, fun, fast read!
Great, fun, fast read!
If you have seen the movie "Just Like Heaven" and enjoyed it, this is the book for you. Set in San Francisco, it is a book of faith in what is unbelievable. Is it the afterlife, or the inbetween life? What happens to a soul when the body is caught in a limbotic state?
Find out in a book about a woman comatose, and a man who found himself assisting her, devoid of the knowledge that he needed to.
Find out in a book about a woman comatose, and a man who found himself assisting her, devoid of the knowledge that he needed to.
I first read this book in 2004 (I think) and I remember telling my husband that it would make a great movie. I was so excited when I found out it was being made into a movie, until I watched it. Too bad the movie it was missing that special something that the book had.
This is an entirely different book then I have ever read. An interesting twist to a love story. I enjoyed it very much.
Sweet, unexpected love story.
First-time novelist Levy scored a bestseller with this book in his native France. It is a light, frothy tale of love conquering all, even a coma. Lauren Kline, a medical resident at San Francisco Memorial Hospital, is young, beautiful, and content with her life. Then a faulty steering mechanism in her old clunker of a car causes her to suffer head injuries in a shattering car accident. As she later explains, she could hear everything around her in the hospital recovery room, but could neither move, see, nor speak. She learns that she is languishing in a coma, having somehow survived being pronounced dead. Enter Arthur, an architect and partner in a restoration firm, who recently moved into an apartment and finds it comes equipped with an unexpected bonus-Lauren. Well, her spirit, anyway, since her body continues to reside in the very hospital in which she worked. She's not dead, so the apartment-dwelling Lauren is not actually a ghost, and she seems to have form and substance, but only Arthur can see and hear her. Readers learn that for months she has been psychically transporting her spirit all over the city until she finally comes back to her own apartment-now Arthur's. This feel-good story is an easy and engrossing read, and it should be particularly popular with teen girls.
This was a good book. It has a little of everything, mystery, romance and a little paranormal;
Arthur discovers Lauren hiding in the closet of his house . . . she is as shocked as he is. Turns out Lauren has been in a coma for many months, lying unresponsive in a hospital bed. Arthur is now renting Lauren's old house. Somehow, Lauren has managed to "teleport" herself through time and space . . . and until this moment, no one has been able to see or hear her, until Arthur.
It takes some convincing to get Arthur to believe, but once he does, he wants to help. It turns out that Lauren's mother wants to remove Lauren from life support. Find out what happens as Arthur falls in love with the image of LAuren that only he can see, hear and touch, and what happens as her body lies helpless in the hospital.
It takes some convincing to get Arthur to believe, but once he does, he wants to help. It turns out that Lauren's mother wants to remove Lauren from life support. Find out what happens as Arthur falls in love with the image of LAuren that only he can see, hear and touch, and what happens as her body lies helpless in the hospital.
A national best seller !
What do you do when you find a stranger in your closet; articularly when she's surprised that you can even see her - and she can disappear and reappear at whim? What if she then tells you that her body is actually in a coma on the other side of town? Should you have her see a psychiatrist or should you consult one yourself? Or do you take a chance and believe in her, and allow yourself to be swept up in an extraordinary adventure?
This is the beginning of the dilemma that Arthur, a young San Francisco architect, is faced with when he discovers Lauren in his apartment.
Arthur is the only man who can share Lauren's secreet, the only one who can see her, hear her, and talk to her when no one else so much as senses her presence. So when doctors prepare Lauren's physical care - which would destroy the magical bond she and Arthur cherish - he must find a way to save her. For, after all, it is only her love that can save him.
This is the beginning of the dilemma that Arthur, a young San Francisco architect, is faced with when he discovers Lauren in his apartment.
Arthur is the only man who can share Lauren's secreet, the only one who can see her, hear her, and talk to her when no one else so much as senses her presence. So when doctors prepare Lauren's physical care - which would destroy the magical bond she and Arthur cherish - he must find a way to save her. For, after all, it is only her love that can save him.
GReat Love Story
This is one of the best books I have read in recent times. Mystery, sadness, amusement, seriousness all in one small book. Great characterizations.
Liked this book so much have 2
Made into movie JUST LIKE HEAVEN starring Reese Witherspoon. What do you do when you find a stranger in your closet; particularly when she's surprised that you can even see her--and she can disappear and reappear at whim? what if she then tells you that her body is actually in a coma on the other side of town? Should you have her see a psychiatrist or should you consult one yourself? Or do you take a chance and believe in her, and allow yourself to be swept up in an extraordinary adventure? This is the beginning of the dilemma that Arthur, a young San Francisco architect, is faced with when he discovers Lauren in his apartment. Arther is the only man who can share Lauren's secret, the only one who can see her, hear her, and talk to her when no one else so much as senses her presence. So when doctors prepare to end Lauren's physical care--which would destroy the magical bond she and Arthur cherish--he must find a way to save her. For, after all, it is only her love that can save HIM. A heartwarming love story impossible to forget, an adventure that is by turns breathtaking and hilarious--a captivating tale that evokes the essence of romance and our boundless capacity to believe.
What do you do when you find a stranger in your closet and she tells you that her body is in a coma across town? Should you send her to a psychiatrist? Consult one yourself? Or do you believe, and allow yourself to be swept up in an extraordinary adventure?
That is the dilemma Arthur faces when he discovers Lauren in his San Francisco apartment. He is the only person who can see her, hear her, talk to her; no one else even senses her presence. So when doctors prepare to end Lauren's physical care---and destroy the magical bond she and Arthur share---he must find a way to save her. For it is only her love that can save him in return.
That is the dilemma Arthur faces when he discovers Lauren in his San Francisco apartment. He is the only person who can see her, hear her, talk to her; no one else even senses her presence. So when doctors prepare to end Lauren's physical care---and destroy the magical bond she and Arthur share---he must find a way to save her. For it is only her love that can save him in return.
