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Us by David Nicholls

 


Published: 2014, Hodder and Stoughton Ltd

Genre: Fiction

Themes: marriage, travel in Europe, relationships, teenage years

My rating (out of 5): ❤❤❤❤


Us by David Nicholls is a nice comfortable read.  To anyone who has been married for a while, and had anything to do with raising teenage boys, the whole thing will have a very familiar ring to it.  It is the kind of book that would be perfect to take on holiday, as the style of writing flows so easily that you can sit reading for an hour or so without feeling you have had to put any effort in.  

The book is about a likeable couple (Connie and Douglas) who have been married for almost twenty five years and have had two children.  Their first, Jane, died soon after birth and then they had Albie a few years afterwards. When the story begins Albie is 17, and will soon be leaving home, and Connie is wondering where this leaves her and whether she wants to stay married to Douglas. 

Many authors have examined the consequences of a marriage breaking down after many apparently happy years.  It is a storyline that resonates with so many readers because there is that emotional watershed when the children are flying the nest and parents have to return to being a couple again even though so much has changed in the intervening years.

Connie and Douglas began their relationship as an unlikely couple as she was was artistic and he was a scientist, but they found each other so fascinating that they were able to make it work.  However, as time went by, Douglas threw himself increasingly more into his job and lost touch with the needs and feelings of his family. In the end Connie wakes him in the middle of the night to say she thinks their marriage has run its course.

Before Connie's announcement, the family had already planned to go on a Grand Tour of Europe, to help prepare Albie for the adult world, and give him an opportunity to experience art and culture across the continent.  By the time they went, the holiday had become a mission for Douglas to save his marriage and keep the family together.  He planned the itinerary carefully and wrote a series of notes to himself that would enable him to be more likable and easy-going (or so he hoped!).

The book is constructed in a way that the past and present stories are interwoven and that allows us to see how the couple had come to be who they were.  There are some excellent little insights into Douglas's childhood, and quotes from his father that were quite funny, and I could quite picture the man from just a few lines.

I would have no trouble recommending this to anyone as it is honest and real and kept my interest for almost 400 pages.


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