Book Review: Something Borrowed (St. Martin’s Press, 2004) by Emily Giffin

By Amanda Linsmeier

Something Borrowed (St. Martin’s Press, 2004) by Emily Giffin is a surprising and compelling novel. Rachel White is a young attorney in Manhattan; she’s somewhat reserved, extremely supportive and always does the right thing. In fact, she’s the complete opposite of her best friend Darcy who always manages to outshine her. Darcy is spoiled, demanding and self-involved. She’s the life of the party and always gets what she wants including Dex, her very handsome fiancé whom Rachel went to law school with. The night of Rachel’s 30th birthday party she gets a little too drunk and ends up in bed with Dex. Instead of feeling guilty for that act of betrayal, Rachel only feels guilty for the lack of guilt. Maybe she’s loved Dex all along? Maybe she introduced him to Darcy because she didn’t think she was good enough? Maybe Darcy has gotten her way one too many times. Rachel and Dex continue to see each other and what begins as a drunken encounter turns into true love. But there’s still the matter of Darcy and Dexter’s engagement. As the wedding day approaches and with no cancellation in sight, Rachel becomes more consumed with Dex and more conflicted by her friendship to Darcy. Has Darcy been a good friend to her? Has Rachel ever once gotten her way? Maybe there’s no such thing as right or wrong and she should follow her heart, no matter the cost.

Something Borrowed is a great read, although I imagine it could be uncomfortable for someone who has been cheated on. Readers who enjoy this story will be happy to know that there is a sequel Something Blue which tells Darcy’s side of the story. I liked this novel, although I didn’t particularly like Rachel. Darcy comes off as being the bad guy, but I ended up liking her, even through her spoiled and childish ways, more than Rachel. Rachel struck me as being very whiny and passive aggressive. The strange thing is that even through not loving the main character and also disapproving of the infidelity, Giffin somehow made me still root for Dex and Rachel. I wanted them to be together; I wanted them to win. Something Borrowed is surprising, intriguing and it’s like watching something dangerous; you want to look away, but you just can’t because it’s so deliciously exciting.