What Is The Plot Summary Of Landline By Rainbow Rowell?

'Landline' hit me right in the feels because it’s basically a love letter to imperfect relationships. Georgie’s this workaholic who’s maybe taking her husband for granted, and the whole magic phone thing forces her to ask: If I knew then what I know now, would I still pick this life? The tension between career and family feels so real, and Rowell writes dialogue that crackles with humor and heartache. It’s not a flashy plot—just deeply human characters figuring out how to stay in love when life gets in the way. I finished it wanting to call my partner and say something stupid like, 'Hey, remember that time we…?'

Rainbow Rowell's 'Landline' is this bittersweet, nostalgia-soaked story about a woman named Georgie McCool who's at a crossroads in her marriage. She's a TV writer who’s finally getting her big break—a chance to pitch her dream show—but it means bailing on Christmas with her husband, Neal, and their two kids. When Neal takes the girls to Omaha without her, Georgie freaks out. Then she discovers this weird old yellow rotary phone in her childhood bedroom that lets her call Neal... but Neal from the past, like before they were even married. It’s this surreal, heart-wrenching exploration of whether love is something you choose every day or if some relationships are just doomed from the start.

The magic realism element (that phone!) is subtle but brilliant—it’s not about time travel so much as it’s about Georgie confronting her own fears and regrets. She starts talking to past Neal, remembering why she fell for him, but also realizing how much they’ve both changed (or maybe just stopped trying). Rowell nails the messy, mundane magic of long-term relationships—the inside jokes, the resentments, the way you can love someone so much but still feel lonely. The ending isn’t some fairy-tale fix; it’s hopeful but real, like maybe they’ve just gotten a second chance to pay attention to each other. It’s one of those books that made me cry in a weirdly good way, like when you finally understand something about your own life.