Me-Before-You-by-Jojo-Moyes

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AcknowledgementsThank you to my agent, Sheila Crowley at Curtis Brown, and to my editor, MariEvans at Penguin, both of whom immediately saw this book for what it is – alove story.Special thanks to Maddy Wickham, who encouraged me at a point when I wasnot sure whether I could, or should, actually write it.Thanks to the wonderful team at Curtis Brown, especially Jonny Geller, TallyGarner, Katie McGowan, Alice Lutyens and Sarah Lewis, for enthusiasm andfine agenting.At Penguin, I would also particularly like to thank Louise Moore, ClareLedingham and Shân Morley Jones.Huge gratitude to all on the Writersblock board – my own private Fight Club.Minus the Fighty bit.Similarly to India Knight, Sam Baker, Emma Beddington, Trish Deseine, AlexHeminsley, Jess Ruston, Sali Hughes, Tara Manning and Fanny Blake.Thanks to Lizzie and Brian Sanders, and to Jim, Bea and Clemmie Moyes.But most of all, as ever, to Charles, Saskia, Harry and Lockie.
Q&A with Jojo1. Tell us a little about where your ideas for your characters and theirstories come from.They come from all over the place. It’s often a snippet of conversation or a newsstory that just lodges in my head and won’t go away. Sometimes I get an idea fora character too, and then unconsciously start knitting them together. Me BeforeYou is the most ‘high concept’ book I’ve ever written – in that I could describe itin two sentences. But most of them are a lot more organic, and just contain lotsof ideas and things that I’ve pulled together. With this book I think the issue ofquality of life was probably to the front of my mind as I have had two relativeswho were facing life in care homes, and I know that in one case she wouldprobably have chosen any alternative to that existence.2. Which of the characters in Me Before You do you identify with the most?Well, there’s definitely a bit of Lou in there. I did have a pair of stripy tights thatI loved as a child! I think you have to identify with all your characters to someextent, or they just don’t come off the page properly. But I also identify withCamilla a bit. As a mother I can’t imagine the choice she has to make, and Icould imagine in those circumstances you would just shut down a bitemotionally.3. What made you choose to set Me Before You in a small historical townwith a castle at its centre?I tried all sorts of settings for this book. I drove all over Scotland trying to find acastle and a small town that would ‘fit’. It was essential that Lou came from a
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JOJO MOYESMe Before YouPENGUIN BOOK
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Chapter 22Chapter 23Chapter 24Chapt
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To Charles, with love
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‘Right,’ he says. ‘Got to go.
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‘I didn’t catch that.’The tax
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‘Yup.’ I hung my jacket on the
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My mother’s hand stilled. Her gaz
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‘Bernard.’ Mum shot him a warni
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sure they do a grant for people lik
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He shrugged. ‘You said you liked
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‘I’ll ring them to confirm the
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I was twenty-six years old and I wa
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old days you wouldn’t have dreamt
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‘Frank - the owner - sold the caf
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the French windows. Finally, she tu
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Treena made a face. ‘I think it w
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3‘This is the annexe. It used to
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‘Then let’s go and introduce yo
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mostly my bag, but you do need to k
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‘Will it help?’I blinked, my mo
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hum of the television in the living
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His head had sunk into his shoulder
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‘Oh.’I could feel her watching
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with him, so I’d usually go and s
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I got the feeling that this was in
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Sasha? I’ve been doing a lot of w
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for you and I hope you do want to s
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Diet Cokes. When they, finally, ord
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to stick with them? To help them th
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I blinked. ‘Well … I think some
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5The thing about being catapulted i
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You said that you were hiring me fo
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‘He says you’re trying to poiso
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By the time Hunchback Man died, I w
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divided into ‘transport’, ‘in
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to lose patience. Then, finally, I
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drew closer, I could see the consul
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I took a step backwards, closed the
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I left.I read my magazine, lifting
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Nathan was crosser than I’d ever
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I could hear my father’s exclamat
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‘I suspect you’re going to.’
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lucky. And she said from the day sh
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‘Will … ’ I said, quietly.
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7Spring arrived overnight, as if wi
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It’s not that I was some kind of
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‘What does she have to be insecur
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There were all sorts of things that
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I twisted his straw round so that h
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dehumanized briskness that characte
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‘Please. Georgina.’ Mrs Traynor
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another long silence. And then Geor
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8CamillaI never set out to help kil
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It was that I could suddenly see no
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When Will first told me what he wan
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9I didn’t sleep that night. I lay
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I had been tidying the living room.
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probably ask why I couldn’t be mo
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I slid out from the porch and was d
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‘No. That’s not it.’‘Which
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whatever it is you’re going to th
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I looked at my sister hard. ‘You
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10They looked a bit surprised. Actu
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We all stared at our cups of tea.
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‘You’re probably going to have
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‘Can quadriplegics get drunk?’
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‘Would you jump in my grave so qu
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Four hours later I had the beginnin
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‘You look cheerful,’ Will said,
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I backed Will’s chair down carefu
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We watched the Sisterwood Cup, and
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fears at all that I was going to or
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Will his posh lunch in a restaurant
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‘It’s not going to happen,’ s
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Nathan was staring at the cans of l
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badges we might have had a nice lun
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And I had ideas. Things I wanted to
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‘You’ve never been to a concert
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‘And it’s incredibly tedious,
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Nathan went to pack Will’s bag. I
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Will looked sideways at me, his fac
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‘Are you all right?’ I found my
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13Patrick stood on the edge of the
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‘Yeah? Well it’s still better t
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‘I get nervous when a girl says s
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‘So … ’ Dad opened the fridge
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‘If you do that,’ Will observed
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it’s like a brain synapse - it ca
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‘It does, Mum.’ My eyes had fil
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‘Good to meet you, Patrick,’ Wi
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I stared at it. Will’s card. I ha
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I looked up the same piece at the l
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Perhaps it was something to do with
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Like it was some kind of contest.I
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Will was silent for a moment. I wat
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He swallowed. ‘The day we go and
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Mrs Traynor had waited until Nathan
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She and Leo’s father had been int
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television?’‘No,’ said Will.
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‘I’d be finding out what I coul
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him twice, bringing him music and n
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I scanned down to the next one.Dear
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their lift was out of order. Others
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‘Because your boyfriend says no.
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‘Nathan will enjoy it. Oh, come o
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and Dad decided it would be best if
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my problems. They seemed embarrassi
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‘Was he with someone?’I put the
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‘Oh, well. Here’s my stop.’ D
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‘Are you okay getting your own te
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His voice, when it came, was carefu
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he could not live without his girlf
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In the afternoon, there was a knock
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‘The Regent Street? Nice.’‘Ye
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And then, as he left to go running,
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She blinked hard, as if trying to t
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‘How dare you suggest I would do
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‘Come on. It’s finally stopped
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moving on with their lives. I made
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to work out where I was. The tall h
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minutes, perhaps talking, and then
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world, the warmth of Will’s hand
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‘Um … nothing. Patrick’s away
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The morning of the wedding dawned b
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ground. Across the road from us in
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I just wanted to make it better.‘
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tense. They were like two dogs circ
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Will looked as if he were about to
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Something happened that evening. Th
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‘Come on. Let’s give these fuck
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19NathanThey thought we couldn’t
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propped him up, placing his legs ov
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I couldn’t really blame the guy.
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20‘You what?’We were on the hil
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‘But Will Traynor seems to take p
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Ritchie, had remembered my previous
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She glanced through it all in silen
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‘I could apply for a grant. Or ma
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‘All that said, the college idea
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sure that I didn’t lose sight of
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‘But I -’‘Nearly seven years,
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We never got to the bottom of what
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and that wretched Alicia running of
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22I ran into Accident and Emergency
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sure his own passport was still val
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I took his fingers gently in mine a
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‘How does he look?’‘Bit bette
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We sat holding our mugs. From the c
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‘I can’t.’I stared at my pass
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moved from his power chair until we
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cover of a blanket. The airline sta
Page 305 and 306: The hotel had, as promised, come up
Page 307 and 308: worked out that if he gave Will the
Page 309 and 310: I walked to the window and pulled b
Page 311 and 312: Two things happened on the last day
Page 313 and 314: ‘It’s a hard place to leave.’
Page 315 and 316: Will’s mouth closed on his words.
Page 317 and 318: I … I can’t live with that know
Page 319 and 320: 24There is nothing more disconcerti
Page 321 and 322: So although I looked childish - alt
Page 323 and 324: My voice broke into the conversatio
Page 325 and 326: 25KatrinaLouisa didn’t come out o
Page 327 and 328: Her voice was small, like Thomas’
Page 329 and 330: ‘Just leave me alone, Treen. Okay
Page 331 and 332: ‘Oh, that.’ She looked distract
Page 333 and 334: goodness’ sake. You’d think a m
Page 335 and 336: her umbrella and smiled, reaching r
Page 337 and 338: Twenty-six. Twenty-six of the bugge
Page 339 and 340: 26In other circumstances I suppose
Page 341 and 342: knowing what … what he’s …
Page 343 and 344: I didn’t look back. I ran all the
Page 345 and 346: things being better for him, then I
Page 347 and 348: ‘I know.’And there it was. He k
Page 349 and 350: ‘You look absolutely beautiful.
Page 351 and 352: Mr Traynor some questions may be as
Page 353 and 354: EpilogueI was just following instru
Page 355: You’re going to feel uncomfortabl
Page 359: highest or lowest, or be the most t
Page 362 and 363: purpose. I sat upright in bed, drag
Page 364 and 365: shaven, impassive. Even in the dark
Page 366 and 367: terrify two women and brutalize an
Page 368 and 369: as she crouched to hug her daughter
Page 370: PENGUIN BOOKSPublished by the Pengu
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