Us

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

*Out now: David Nicholls's new novel YOU ARE HERE*
THE BOOKER PRIZE-LONGLISTED NOVEL BY BELOVED BESTSELLER DAVID NICHOLLS
A brilliant, bittersweet novel about love and family, husbands and wives, parents and children
'Perfect'
INDEPENDENT

'I honestly can't imagine loving a novel much more'
SUNDAY TIMES

'Funny and sweet - a lovely, lovely book'
GRAHAM NORTON

'A sad, funny, soulful joy'
OBSERVER

'I loved this book. Funny, sad, tender: for anyone who wants to know what happens after the Happy Ever After'
JOJO MOYES

Douglas and Connie - scientist and artist, husband and wife - live a quiet and quietly unremarkable life in the suburbs of London. Until, suddenly, after more than twenty years of marriage, Connie decides she wants a divorce.

Heartbroken but determined, Douglas comes up with the perfect plan: he is going to win back the love of his wife and the respect of Albie, their teenage son, by organising the holiday of a lifetime.

The hotels are booked, the tickets bought, the itinerary planned and printed.

What could possibly go wrong?


ONE OF BRITAIN'S MOST ACCLAIMED WRITERS
'One of the most astute chroniclers of England as it is now'
FINANCIAL TIMES

'An uncanny ability to make us laugh out loud, but also care passionately about his characters'
DAILY TELEGRAPH

'Nicholls writes with such tender precision about love'
THE TIMES

'No one else writes novels that are both relatable and revelatory in the way he does'
EVENING STANDARD

'Genuinely brilliant'
NEW STATESMAN

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

In a story told in hundreds of short chapters, each one a gem unto itself, a man tries to salvage his marriage and his family. Connie, the artistic wife of biochemist Douglas, has planned a Grand Tour of Europe to view the fine works of art in the last summer before their son heads off to university. But when she tells Douglas that she would like to end their marriage, how can they go forward? As plans have been made and reservations paid for, the trip must go ahead even as the dubious future of their marriage does not bode a pleasant journey. David Haig is excellent as the bewildered and confused Douglas. VERDICT Best suited to readers of relationship-focused novels set in modern times. ["The author's latest is another heart-grabber about discovering what makes us happy and learning to let go," read the starred review of the Harper hc, LJ 9/15/14.]-J. Sara Paulk, Houston Cty. P.L., Perry, GA (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Haig's performance of Nicholls's comic novel is nearly a one-trick pony; he voices the main character, Douglas Petersen, with verve, humor, and more sensitivity than Douglas likely deserves. But for almost every other character-with the notable exception of Douglas's teen son Albie, who is voiced like an idiot until the novel's climax-Haig's narration is one-size-fits-all, with little variation from one character to the next. But therein lies the performance's simple genius, because it perfectly reflects the limited way in which the highly analytical Douglas views the world. His inability to understand other people's emotions or motivations is the crux of the story. He loves his wife, Connie, but is baffled by her artistic temperament and by the fact that she's just announced, after over two decades of marriage, that she's planning to leave him as soon as their epic family holiday to Europe is over. He's relentlessly critical of his son in scenes that make the listener cringe for Albie's humiliations, but that are understandable voiced so well from Douglas's point of view. Overall, this is a fine performance by Haig, a British character actor perhaps best known for playing Bernard in Four Weddings and a Funeral. A Harper hardcover. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.