Me and you, growing old and dying together.”
Best known for his emotional love story of Dexter and Emma in One Day which sold millions of copies worldwide (the book is also adapted into a must-watch film starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess), David Nicholls took five years to come up with his fourth book, Us but it was definitely worth the wait for his fans.
Us is a simple love story of a middle-aged couple, Douglas Petersen and Connie, in which the wife thinks that their relationship of almost a quarter of a century has run off its course just before they are about to embark on The Grand Tour of Europe for their final family holiday as their son, Albie leaves home for college.
However, Douglas refuses to believe that Connie’s feelings about their marriage are true as he still loves her deeply and plans to win her back during this trip. Douglas is also struggling in his relationship with Albie and tries to mend this by learning how to be closer to his son who has always felt like a stranger to him.
Narrated in the optimistic and witty voice of Douglas, this ordinary story is so well written that it never fails to keep you engaged with its short chapters featuring interesting titles as you attempt to find out whether or not Douglas manages to rescue his marriage and also be the father that he has always imagined himself to be.
The story brings us travelling with the Petersens through Paris, Amsterdam, Munich, Venice, Florence, Madrid and Barcelona with many detailed scenes of these beautiful places and the funny incidents that befall Douglas in his journey to bring his family back together again.
Throughout the book, there are also many flashbacks that reveals how Douglas and Connie began their relationship, which allows readers to fall in love with their story.
photos via kmn04books.wordpress.com and writer’s own.
