Publication Sept. 30, 2014
Genre: family drama, travel
Review: Douglas, a "nerdy" and rigid biochemist tries to save his strained marriage and reconnect with his teenage son during a month-long Grand Tour of Europe. His wife, Connie, a much freer spirit then he, wants to return to her art and the freedom she had as a single woman twenty five years previously. Their son Albie, soon to be a college student, seems estranged and uncommunicative with his father.
The adventure in Europe changes Douglas and exposes him to new experiences and people that open up his previously narrow view of life. It changes the family dynamic as well. The ending is a surprise one.
Review: Douglas, a "nerdy" and rigid biochemist tries to save his strained marriage and reconnect with his teenage son during a month-long Grand Tour of Europe. His wife, Connie, a much freer spirit then he, wants to return to her art and the freedom she had as a single woman twenty five years previously. Their son Albie, soon to be a college student, seems estranged and uncommunicative with his father.
The adventure in Europe changes Douglas and exposes him to new experiences and people that open up his previously narrow view of life. It changes the family dynamic as well. The ending is a surprise one.
My rating: 5 stars. Great plot about family dynamics; wonderful characterizations. I may reread this travel and family drama as I reviewed it nine years ago!
Review
Here is the author's newest book, a love story that begins and develops during a long hike in the hills and dells of Northern England. I gave it five stars.
You Are Here by David Nicholls
Publication: May 28, 2024; Harper, NetGalley
Genre: romance, travel
Review: Michael and Marnie meet on a coast to coast hiking trip in the North of England that was organized by a mutual friend. They are both single, being divorced or separated from their significant others, and their friend Cleo has brought them together with this hike.
This is basically a romance that develops during a ten-mile hiking trip that brings the two people closer together. I liked how they open up to each other, albeit rather slowly and tentatively at first, on this hike. The book is character centered, the personalities of Michael and Marnie emphasized as they reveal more about themselves to each other.
The last part of the book had the most interest, as Marnie leaves the hike to return to London and the reader is left wondering if she will ever get together with Michael again. That there are still issues with their significant others to clear up adds to the drama.
An enjoyable book, though slow in the middle as conversation between the two doesn't advance the plot as quickly as it could. The descriptive writing is superb, however, and some of the conversation is witty and original in its humor.
Some of Nicholls' other books:
One Day, published June 2009. I plan to read these soon.
Description: Two people meet on graduation day and meet on the same day for the next 20 years, the book description of this romance seems to say.
The Understudy, published 2005.
Description: A hapless, bumbling bloke in love, an arrogant megastar with a potpourri of addictions, a sexy married woman out of her element in the fast lane–David Nicholls brings them all together in this knockout romantic comedy.
What are you reading/watching this week?
Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also, It's Monday: What Are You Reading, Sunday Salon, and Stacking the Shelves
